Quest for the Best - High End CD Player

[randerson3024]

The Lindemann looks nice! Are they sold in the US?

 

[humanflyz]

Positive-Feedback Review of EMM CDSA-SE

Interesting review pitting the EMM with the Cary 306

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by randerson3024 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Lindemann looks nice! Are they sold in the US?

http://www.lindemann-audio.de/en/con...ernational.php
In this list i don't see any american distributr. Strange. it's one of the top range products and receive very high praises on the build and sound quality.

Typically something you wanna sell in the USA as well.

 

[randerson3024]

Thanks. I will try and audition one on my way home through Europe later this summer.

 

[Kieran Comito]

Check out the Nova Physics memory player. That seems like a breakthrough product for cd playback.

 

[randerson3024]

Has anyone heard the new dCS Scarlatti? I just dropped over 40K on the whole dCS set, Verona Clock, Purcell Upsampler (for 176 Redbook), Elgar Plus, and the Verdi Encore, and now they come out with this! Oh well, at 68K, I won't be buying it any time soon. It is just gorgeous and uses the new Esoteric transport.

My AKG 1000's arrived today, but I have no cables, bummer.

 

[tmarshl]

I have now had my EMM Labs CDSA SE for two weeks. One thing that I wasn't aware of is that it appears that you need a period of break-in for each set of circuitry (Redbook and SACD). After a week or so, I thought that the redbook playback was fantastic - almost as good as the SACD. But the SACD has now pulled ahead with the most dramatic clarity, imaging, soundstage I have heard. I am very happy with the CDSA SE.

 

[909]

CONGRATS!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmarshl /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have now had my EMM Labs CDSA SE for two weeks. One thing that I wasn't aware of is that it appears that you need a period of break-in for each set of circuitry (Redbook and SACD). After a week or so, I thought that the redbook playback was fantastic - almost as good as the SACD. But the SACD has now pulled ahead with the most dramatic clarity, imaging, soundstage I have heard. I am very happy with the CDSA SE.

Glad to hear she's making progress... Also that you picked the top contender off your list (IMO). I recently compared my source to the X-03 and it wasn't any contest, IMO--the Reimyo was substantially better. The CDSA-SE made it to my short list as did the Nova Physics memory player. Yet after reading about the delay with the Nova company getting orders filled, pricing, seeing their website, and reading the reviews as great as the Nova player potential should sound I'll wait on that technology to become more mainstream and widespread. Also see if those Nova's are reliable too. But I believe in the idea behind the technology. As to your CDSA-SE, the price really kept me at bay. And I didn't think I would find one used under $6500 anytime soon. Nor did I want to pay a premium for SACD since I don't have the need for it. So I went with the Reimyo CDP-777.

You don't know how I would like to hear your source or better yet have a shoot out between the two. (my cousin lives in Santa Fe)

 

[tmarshl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 909 /img/forum/go_quote.gif CONGRATS! Glad to hear she's making progress... Also that you picked the top contender off your list (IMO). I recently compared my source to the X-03 and it wasn't any contest, IMO--the Reimyo was substantially better. The CDSA-SE made it to my short list as did the Nova Physics memory player. Yet after reading about the delay with the Nova company getting orders filled, pricing, seeing their website, and reading the reviews as great as the Nova player potential should sound I'll wait on that technology to become more mainstream and widespread. Also see if those Nova's are reliable too. But I believe in the idea behind the technology. As to your CDSA-SE, the price really kept me at bay. And I didn't think I would find one used under $6500 anytime soon. Nor did I want to pay a premium for SACD since I don't have the need for it. So I went with the Reimyo CDP-777. You don't know how I would like to hear your source or better yet have a shoot out between the two. (my cousin lives in Santa Fe)

Let me know the next time you are in Santa Fe and we will make it happen!

 

[ingwe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif one thing with Ayre is that any future upgrades are very cheap and Ayre will pretty much fix anything with an Ayre name on there for a small fee, even out of warranty.

+1

My Ayre CX7 is outstanding. I'm about to upgrade it (about 400 bucks) to the latest greatest. Their customer service is top-notch and Charlie Hansen is one of the good folk (he posts frequently over at the audio asylum).

 

[neilvg]

To add my praise to the EMM SE sound, I have been toying with a speaker rig as of late and had it connected primarily to a DV50 digitally connected to a D70 for DAC and Preamp Functioning. The sound was very good. However, I spent a bit of time listening to the EMM Labs which is generally dedicated to my headphone setup, and man, the differences, they are not subtle in the least! It is especially shocking when you hear only one source while getting the rest of the gear together around it, and then suddenly changing the source (for the better). It revolutionizes the sound!

I can't wait for my NWO 2.5t which will allow me to bypass the preamp and connect directly to my amps (100 watt Manley Monoblock Snappers). After the international meet I got a hold of the speakers Todd was using, the Sehring S700's and added their Bass Module which adds a passive bass module to each speaker adding more presence and low end extension (S702's). They really are excellent speakers, and pair well with the Manley's. Very musical, very warm and intimate.

Neil

 

[tmarshl]

The EMM CDSA SE keeps getting better and better.

I have now purchased a number of the highly rated (on SA-CD.NET) SACD discs, and the clarity, detail, imaging and soundstage from the CDSA SE is amazing. I guess the SACD circuits are getting burned in at this point.

I can be very happy with the sound from this source for a long time. Hopefully, the record companies will keep releasing excellent SACD discs. I have particularly enjoyed the outstanding jazz vocals of Tierney Sutton on SACD.

A few reviews:
http://www.emmlabs.com/pdf/reviews/E...PFO_DClark.pdf
http://www.emmlabs.com/pdf/reviews/E....Phil.Gold.pdf
http://www.emmlabs.com/pdf/reviews/E...PFO.review.pdf

 

[Icarium]

Mmm... I require APL to finish their current run and release their DAC before I upgrade sources!

 

[neilvg]

I'm curious to how the the CDSA SE sounds versus my CDSD / DCC2 SE with Aural Symphonics Optimism EMM... I noticed a differences when initally adding these fiber optic cables, but I haven't heard the CDSA yet, which theoretically has the best internal connection between the DAC portion and the transport in comparison to the two box version.

Neil

 

[Icarium]

Yeah I've always wondered what's the sweet spot between the isolation two box solutions offer vs decreased signal path length one box solutions offer... I kind of assume the super high end sources know what they are doing by usually offering some sort of proprietary connector between DAC/Transport. Meh, no idea.