I have owned the AA Capitole (not reference SE) and currently own the CDSAse. In a nutshell, on SACD for me EMM is incredible. On CD the EMM & Capitole are close. The description of the "tube" like sound of the AA is actually more correct than not IME. The AA has a beautiful musicality on CD that was great. It did lack bass and dyanamics. The EMM is not SS in sound but pulls away from this stereotype. The Reference SE is also supposed to be improved of the original in this regard. All in all, the EMM is truly an SACD player 1st and CD player 2nd with no covering up a bad recording or poor CD conversion etc. The AA is slightly more forgiving and might be better for some. I honestly believe there is no player that does it all.
EMMS Labs CDSA vs. AA Capitole Reference SE
I own an Audio Aero Capitole Reference SE. I have enjoyed this player since I have owned it. Support could have been better but the sound made up for that! I'm going to audition an EMMS Labs CDSA with the new German transport and most recent software, in the coming days. I am looking for comments as to what I should expect between the two units. Performance, quaility, which is better, strengths, weaknesses, ect. I know the bottom line is what I hear is what makes the difference. However, I value A'gon members and thier opinions and would like any comments that you may have! Thank you in advance for your responses ........