[insomniac]

Well it was inevitable I suppose. I bit the bullet and picked up the Meitner combo of the CDSD and DCC2. Hearing bozebuttons' CDSD + DAC6e combo at the National Meet was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. Thanks, Tom! ...er, I think.

I have it hooked up to a Headroom Balanced Home with Max modules. Then out to a pair of Sennheiser HD600's with the balanced Equinox. Wow. The EMM Labs stuff is impressive. The build quality is solid and sturdy but with very (techy) utilitarian aesthetics. The front panels have a smooth satin finish. They aren't as sexy-looking as something from Sony or Esoteric, but rather, they have a computerish, get-down-to-business look.

I'm coming most recently from the Meridian G08 and the Reimyo DAP-777 and the EMM Labs source is definitely a notch above. The most immediate and striking difference is the startling three-dimensionality of the music. The performances are palpable. It feels like I could reach out and grab the performers. The G08 sounds GREAT imho and I thought the Reimyo took it to another level in terms of musicality and lifelike reproduction. But the EMM Labs combo is yet at a higher level. There is more detail, quite a bit more actually. The dynamics are better. But it's the soundstage, imaging, decay and transients that are so impressive and make for life-like music reproduction. I thought you couldn't get more three-dimensional sound than from the Reimyo but with the CDSD and DCC2, you do. It never gets edgy or sibilant and the sound is actually velvety and smooth, despite all the resolution you get. I noticed the EMM Labs combo had less low bass fullness than the Meridian and Reimyo, particularly the Meridian. It's not lacking by any stretch of the imagination, but it's faster and tighter and less boomy, so you lose a bit of fullness there. Perhaps it's more accurate bass.

Ok, this is after only one day. Haven't even tried the single-ended outputs yet.

 

[jjcha]

Damn. Congratulations man. These are impressive impressions. Palpability and 3D tangibility are the most important sonic characteristics for me. Have you tried this yet with the 010? I'm curious as to how these come together along with the Balanced Home.

Best,

-Jason

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha Palpability and 3D tangibility are the most important sonic characteristics for me.

You mean after "bass", right?

 

[lan]

Did anybody mention anything about them liking the DAC6e more than the DCC2?

bozebuttons he has a pretty decent rig.

Well congrats. Can you take a pic of the insides?

 

[insomniac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha Damn. Congratulations man. These are impressive impressions. Palpability and 3D tangibility are the most important sonic characteristics for me. Have you tried this yet with the 010? I'm curious as to how these come together along with the Balanced Home. Best, -Jason

Thanks, Jason. Haven't tried the Qualias with them yet but I will report back when I do. With the Sennheisers, three-dimensional and palpable are the first two adjectives that come to mind.

 

[insomniac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan Did anybody mention anything about them liking the DAC6e more than the DCC2?

Yes, bozebuttons got to swap out his DAC6e for the DCC2 for a trial and found he preferred the DAC6e. This made me debate long and hard whether to get the DAC6e or the DCC2. But EMM Labs themselves insist that the DAC sections of both units are identical. And in the end, I strongly preferred the preamp feature of the DCC2 over the additional output channels of the DAC6e. Not to say that for whatever reason bozebuttons' DAC6e didn't outperform the DCC2 he got to audition. Could have been a quality control issue or perhaps a burn-in issue. Or something entirely else I can't even think of right now.

 

[Luco]

So what interconnects are you using?

 

[insomniac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luco So what interconnects are you using?

I'm using the EMM Labs-supplied digital interconnects (I think they are made by Kimber). Then Cardas Hexlink XLRs to the Headroom amp.

 

[Jon L]

Yup, it's very difficult not to love the EMM labs if sheer resolution and detail is high on the list.

BTW, you do realize EMM Labs' forte is SACD playback..

 

[purk]

Wow...congratulations...... I own the Audiomod Sony SCD-777ES and after reading the review on soundstage.com, the Emm Labs must be quite amazing.

 

[bozebuttons]

Sorry About Your Wallet

The Emm labs Gear is the best that I have owned,initial impressions are good but the longer you live with Emm labs gear,you realize how really,really good it is.
Happy listening

 

[dannyandelyse]

Enjoy the big boy source.....great stuff!

 

[Salt Peanuts]

Congrats on your new source! I want pics!

 

[PATB]

Congrats insomniac. The EMM Labs combo is high on my need to audition list. From this thread, I am kind of glad I haven't had the opportunity to hear this gear. Otherwise, my wallet might take a beating.

Enjoy!

 

[immtbiker]

That was my DCC2 that Tom and I swapped with and Tom heard a difference that he liked better in the Dac6e. It was hard for me to hear but it could be attributed to the fact that the DCC2 only had 40 hours on it. Since I have no need for the pre-amp capabilities and have a full blown surround setup, the 6 channel was a must for me.Tom's Dac6e is the older original version and mine is, or was, the newer version. Some of the differences besides firmware is that the newer Dac6e's come with the same finish and rounded corners as the CDSD transport and the labeling is different.
The DCC2 is a beautiful unit with many more input/output options, but is only 2 channel which Tom uses his 6 channel for, but SACD is not dead yet, and each week many new offerings are available and is still very much alive to me.
Listening to TelArc's Tchaikovksky's 1812 Overture in surround sound is one of the most rewarding listening experiences I've spine tingled to.
The Redbook upsampling to 5.8 Mb is not sterile in anyway and truly makes redbook more intense without any sacrifices that I can see.