EMM Labs or PS Audio?

Having listened to a friends EMM Labs XDS-2 and myself once owning EMM Labs CDSA SE you know you’ve bought through and through high standard of built and sound quality.

I think for the price of a used EMM Labs XDS you can buy both PS Audio new , though PS Audio have a way over inflated list price you can purchase each for around 3400 bucks with warranty of course

Another consideration hopefully by now PS Audio have cleaned up their screen glitches with their annual firmware updates and finally take what the more fanatical PS Audio fan chat with a grain of salt regarding the leaps of playback performance with each firmware update.
PS Audios top digital components were part of a shoot out of sorts involving eight highly regarded digital front ends ranging in prices from $3,800 to $30,000 hooked up and tried out in four completely different systems with a verity of opinion’s during the evolutions the PS Audio components were just OK amongst all of us agreeing .

Good insight, in_shore. After your digital shoot-out, which one or two brands stood out as best?

I think the most thrilling to me was a MSB dac with a custom home built server streamer outfitted with a line up of other expensive wires and 5 grand network switch .
However more down to earth and affordable and just recently listened to a Innuos Zenith server , a fellow in the group had hooked up to my AudioByte Hydra Vox dac.  He let me borrow it I then phoned the dealer just a few days ago and ordered the Innuos Zenith and I may add the Innuos Phoenix, a USB power supply / re-clocker that’s getting some attention , anyway it’s all fun .

It has been a long time since I heard the PS Audio combo, so take this with a little grain of salt.  I own an XDS1 which I just upgraded to v.3 status, and before that I had a CDSD/DCC2 combination.  While I liked the PS Audio combination (particularly vs. most other non-DSD players I'd heard), I liked the EMM Labs house sound better--it seemed just a little more real, dynamic and extended at the frequency extremes to me.  Cost a lot more, though, even used.  I can say that the upgrade to v.3 is a real eye-opener, it seems to have a great increase in information retrieval while at the same time making the music more involving, a tricky balance that they seem to have done just right (IMHO). 

I have owned both PS Audio DSD and I now have the DV2 with PRE. EMM  is in a different league. I have only compared DACS. DV2 much more transparent, quieter, much larger sound stage...

I'm curious how different the EMM Labs DV2 is from the XDS1 v3? I have both an XDS1 v3 here, as well as a Berkeley Ref 3. Both Great, in their own way. The EMM Labs is more forward, and a bit richer. The Berkeley is a bit leaner and cleaner. 8 have a Luxman D10x on order. Should be able to compare the three in a month or so.

The XDS1 v3 is old architecture.  The DA 2 V2/DV2 are so far beyond the old architecture there's no point in making a comparison. 

Ed Meitner is to digital what Nelson Pass is to analog....  

I have little doubt that the latest and greatest EMM Labs stuff is better than their old. But, according to the EMM Labs website, the XDS1 is still listed as an active product in their line. Plus the fact that I own one would make the comparison to the new DV2 interesting.

When mine was updated, I was told that one of the sections (digital or analog, I can't remember which) was virtually the same as the DV2, the other not.  I have no doubt the separate power supplies and additional space available in the DV2 would yield better performance, but I still am very happy with the XDS1.