AMR / EMM / PLAYBACK Designs

I tried the PD in my home with various headphones w/tube & solid state amps as a possible 1-box alternative to my EMM SE separates(CDSD-SE + DCC2-SE). I liked the tonality and ease of the PD, and actually thought the SACD on the PD was, well, perfect. But the PD on redbook lost control of the lower mids, upper bass and vocals and sounded, for lack of a better adjective, squirmy or wormy and kind of hurt my ears. The contrast with the EMM showed the EMM's wonderful control of all sounds, with a balanced presentation that is just plain truthful-- not warm, not edgy, not syrupy, but still liquid, with very solid, well-articulated bass.
EMM just gives the music a great foundation. To repeat, it is very controlled (I think that factor appeared earlier here). The PD highs were a bit sweeter even on badly recorded discs. I think that is why I liked the PD SACD sound just a trifle better than EMM, but not enough to matter much.

So, call me addicted to the EMM take on things.
(I just wish the CDSD transport wasn't so noisy, but it varies with each disc. It's not just my CDSD, I've heard a few. The noise varies from sample to sample.)
But it's worth it to me for that wonderful sound.
I really love EMM...

Hi Frankg, actually, I agree that the PD had more forgiving, sweeter, and well, better highs than the EMM, and also that it is more organic. And yes, it does have more weight in the images, but I felt that the images were overweight, and there was some sort of pounding I just did not care for. Maybe because I have had EMM so long, I am just used to it. The EMM never pushes anything at me, and seems to draw me in, and seems to have a "real" sound, something like the realness I remember with my old Apogee Stage speakers.
The EMM highs can be a little raw on some CDs, and I noticed that the same CD did not have this rawness on the PD, but is sounded like the the PD was somehow altering the sound in a strange way, and, as I mentioned, I just kept feeling that the sound was "wavy." I've been through a number of players (Meridian 508.24, Accuphase 75V, Sony 777ES and now Sony 5400ES) and I've never come across this particular affect. Maybe it was just my player, but that's all I have to go on. So, I am sticking with my trusty EMM SE pair (can't afford the new EMM gear).