Metner MA3 vs Playback Designs MPD-6

Didn't Andreas invent the D/A converter?

Pretty sure that was Al Gore ...

So Im actually a dealer for both brands and have them both in my demo room. Let me try to be helpful for you JMeyers. Ill be direct and candid with my opinion. (24 year career).

MA-3 is a soft sounding DAC. It lacks the defined leading edge of the PBD. It is however a great value at $12K including streamer option. This DAC is best to be put into systems that are forward/strident sounding. So this is a colored sonic, best used to treat harshness in a system. In a balanced system, its too dark for my taste.

MPD-6 couldn’t be more different. Its got leading edge with no lack of definition whatsoever, while retaining organic, natural presence. Its more "real" sounding. This is the strong suit of the brand. Its simply more engaging than other DACs and real, in a natural way that is unparallelled. Yep, its a premium as well, but if you want to never buy another DAC, Playback is the stopping point in my opinion.

So the decision comes down to budget. if Playback is in your budget, its a no brainer.

Now for fact on an irrelevant subject. Who hired whom. lol stupid trivia..

Andreas hired Ed Meitner when Andreas was at Sony developing SACD for them. Ed is an analog engineer and did the output section of the DAC only. Hes good at that.. Ed left Sony to start Emm Labs. Thats when he hired Andreas to help him make the best DACs of their time. Andreas took off 3 years later and created Playback Designs and hired Bert Gerlach to do the Analog design.

As far as the home based Indonesian dealer on here Phantom Audio Visual, as I understand it, you were terminated by Playback Designs for trying to sell your demo DAC on Audiogon and pretending to ship from USA. So you are pissed off at Playback Designs for demanding integrity within their dealer network. If you are anything like the North American importer for Ares Cerat, this story makes perfect sense. Buyer beware. I had 2 people try to trade in Kassandra for MPD-8, but I will not accept Ares Cerat on trade.

LOL, I honestly feel bad for people trying to get good information here on AG.. its a shill show..

SEE ya... ;-)

Both Andreas and Ed are luminaries in the world of digital audio. I don't think anyone is trying to prove who is better. 

Also, there was no need to throw another dealer under the bus, but I guess we have come to expect this kind of vile behavior from this certain individual. 

@mikepowellaudio Do you have a PBD DAC available for home demo, either MPD-6 or MPD-8?