Is this a deal or what ....

Tireguy- why the sale of the Cap, and what have you moved to?

Sorlowski- Jtinn is right re: the digital stuff- I have a Spectral transport (uses similar VRDS clamping technology to Wadia), and use an Audio Note Dac. My philosophy is to get a transport that extracts the most detail/signal from the disc, then 'tune' by finding a dac that matches your listening preferences- i.e. 'warmer' or 'tubier' vs accurate, etc.- whatever sonic descriptors are appropriate.

Anyways, I owned a Capitole Mk I, and can attest to Tireguy's comments- it is easy on the ears, but in the end I realized that too many details were being masked over due to the inferior nature of the transport in that iteration of the player (although I found the Mk II better in that regard). Therefore, in the end, I found the 'two-box' solution to be ultimately more satisfying.

Tireguy- yes, the Emm Labs is the new thing and probably excellent considering the technology advance- it sounds enticing, however out of my league $$$, as Jtinn has quoted me full list @ $10k, and that's just for the dac! He wants another $5k for the matching Emm transport. Not sure if there is a money-back guarantee- I live in Canada, so can't audition this stuff- would be hard-presses to pop for $15k without even hearing it first...

It's OK though- I'm still pretty happy with the Spectral/Audio Note setup- in fact, I also use the Audio Note for home theater too (run satellite digital signal through it). The AN is very detailed dac, and I find I am getting the smallest nuances of the signal, whether it's vocals or music coming though.

Please let us know how you like the Emm Labs stuff once you get it though- I am sure it will be great. Did you actually get a chance to hear it prior to committing??