I know I am a little behind on this one but I have had the pleasure of listening to a lot of the above players in my system. All that I have heard have been very good.I currently own a EMC1 with the 24/192. Other players I have heard in my system: The Linn cd12, Nu vista, AVM with 24/96, and Resoltion CD55. Also very familiar with the Audiomecca Mephisto II as my father owns it. I have heard the AA only in systems in New York and have not compared it side by side though I can say it sounded great. Here is how I would rate them: EMC1 gets best dynamics and bass. Mephisto II gets the most "vinal sounding" with its non agressinve fall in love with that midrange sound. The Linn is like mixing the two players together but maybe a touch softer that the Emc1. These are certainly the 3 best players I have heard in my system. The Nu vista did not do it for me in my system. It had a bright and light weight sound in comparison. It was very detailed, transparent and fast but lacked the bottom of any of the other players including the CD55 or the AVM. These are the sleepers in the croud as they both retail for about 3k and offer 85-90% of the "state of the art" performance of the top players. My overall vote goes to the Linn. But because it is 20k -one could buy all of the other players mentioned used for what one Linn would cost and play whichever one suits your taste for the day, I will stick with my EMC1 for now...
What's best CD player one piece price no object
I am awaiting the new Spectral one piece CD player, estimated to cost $9,500 and to come out early next year. What other players should I consider, given the rest of my system (Spectral amp and preamp, Watt/Puppy 7s, MIT interconnects)? Thanks for the input.