OK. I spent the last couple of days listening in my main system after 96 hours of burn in. This DAC is great, and it just blends well with my other components. It has a wide, rich, expansive and very detailed soundstage and you are correct, it has an analog, smooth sound. I can't agree with your observations more and look forward to using the other inputs and other sources. I am more than pleased with what I am getting through the coax connected to my CD player. I have not tried laptop output yet but will eventually. I know the Xciter is somewhat being marketed to a PC/desktop type use, but I think this thing belongs in a larger system - in other words - justice may not be done to its capabilites if you listen to it through desktop speakers. It brought another level of improvement to the digital front-end of my main listenting system that I did not think it would. The soundstage consistently went outside of the outer edges of my floorstanding Snell speakers. I listened to a variety of CDs, mostly rock and acoustic:
Beth Orton - Daybreaker
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Brian Auger - Straight Ahead
Leni Stern/Wayne Krantz - Separate Cages
Suzanne Vega - Beauty and Crime
Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart
Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow
Chris Whitley - Living with the Law
Next up will be jazz. It is great to get a product like this since it makes you think of all those CDs you can't wait to hear! Now...if I could just replace that old Adcom power conditioner with ...a Hydra 6. It is all about getting to the music!
Beth Orton - Daybreaker
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Brian Auger - Straight Ahead
Leni Stern/Wayne Krantz - Separate Cages
Suzanne Vega - Beauty and Crime
Jorma Kaukonen - Blue Country Heart
Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow
Chris Whitley - Living with the Law
Next up will be jazz. It is great to get a product like this since it makes you think of all those CDs you can't wait to hear! Now...if I could just replace that old Adcom power conditioner with ...a Hydra 6. It is all about getting to the music!