I think I put this report a few months ago into another thread, but figured I'd update it and put it here as well.
In July I compared the Memory Player (as a "transport") in my system using both my Audio Logic 2400 and EMM Labs DCC2SE DACs, and compared it to both my Forsell and EMM Labs CDSD SE transports. Here are my thoughts:
To my ears, the Forsell (through the Audio Logic) clearly sounded the closest to my vinyl rig in terms of tonal balance, but the MP was equally good at conveying the emotion of the music, had a definite analog-like ease to it and presented more detail in a more focused way than the Forsell (though if you can't abide digital and only listen to analog the Forsell/Audio Logic combination is the closest thing in digital that I have heard to a good turntable). Bass was much better, in terms of extension and definition, than the Forsell, which tended to have a slight fullness in the octave above the last octave that partially obscured the deepest bass detail. The Forsell had a slightly larger soundstage in terms of height and width (again, like a good analog rig), though the MP seemed to be better at portraying the depth on the recordings. On a well-recorded analog piano recording (Moravec's Chopin Ballades on VAI) it was a toss-up, the Forsell blooming beautifully like a good record on a good TT, but the MP doing a little better on the attacks and almost matching the bloom. The MP did a good deal better than the Forsell on large-scale orchestral works, being better at unraveling very complex orchestral scoring. Ultimately, while the Forsell sounded wonderful, the MP sounded more like the real thing.
The EMM Labs transport, through the EMM Labs DAC and using the proprietary glass interface with the clocks synchronized, sounded closer to the MP (more focused than the Forsell), but still was not its match. Decay of instruments and hall ambience was reproduced better by the MP. In particular, both transports most noticeably fell a little short in the highs (cymbals, flutes, and violins), where they sounded a little "hashy" and slightly distorted in comparison to the MP, and, in the case of the EMM Labs, lacking that three-dimensional body. As a result, you can play the MP louder on material with a lot of high frequency content without any strain or edginess, which I have heard with every transport I've used in my system. In addition, the bass reproduction of the MP was substantially better, both in terms of extension and definition, which was a surprise to me because that is a particular strength of the EMM Labs combination. Bottom line is that the MP just sounds more like the real thing, and more "right", than the other transports in my system.
I then took some hybrid SACDs and put them into the MP, then listened to the MP playing the CD layer against the SACD playback of the EMM Labs transport, both through the EMM Labs DAC. I still preferred the SACD but the difference was much less than I have ever heard. SACD's smoother highs offset the advantage the MP had in that area on conventional CD, and SACD reproduction of ambience was just slightly better than the MP's, another area where the MP clearly bested the transports on Redbook. But the MP was very, very close to sounding like SACD--extremely impressive. If it could decode the SACD layer of a hybrid disc, I imagine it would sound amazing.
Also, out of curiosity I played the same discs from the hard drive of my Yamaha music server through the two DACS. While the sound was good, it lacked the detail, three-dimensionality and analog-like ease of the MP, especially in the highs. I had always preferred the sound of my two transports to the Yamaha, which I principally use for learning music or background music for parties rather than more serious listening. The Yamaha just doesn't quite have the "rightness" that I heard through the MP. I imagine a very sophisticated music server or computer setup would be a fairer comparison, but I do not have that in my home and quite frankly dont have the time, space or inclination for it.
After the audition, I bought the Memory Player, and have been loading discs into it for the past three months as well as listening through it. Because my aging eyes have trouble reading the display, I use a laptop to operate the unit, which is something I never thought I would do, and is not the greatest ergonomically, but surprisingly I'm getting used to it. I am very happy that I made the change, and all my initial observations have been confirmed over extended listening. The MP is addictive and makes other CD players I have heard sound just that little bit less involving and listenable. It is much more trouble to use than a straight CD player/transport, but then again so is a turntable. I will add that the differences I describe, while noticeable, are not huge in a quantitative way, but they do make a large difference in my enjoyment of music on the system.
