Playback designs followup?

Gerrye123: Quite the cynic! Have you ever even heard the combination? There is, in fact, a strong synergy between at least three of these components, due to the fact that the MM3s were primarily voiced with the DarTZeel amp and pre-amp. And, of course, the DarTZeel pre-amp utilized the NHB-108 as an integral element in it's design and voicing.

Think of it as genetic engineering. Inbreeding is something entirely different and certainly not complimentary.

Some readers of this thread may be interested in the thread about the Playback Designs MPS-5 firmware update, as follows:

MPS-5 Update Thread

I used to own the top of the line marantz 7a-s1 and it was broken in and it pales in comparison to the emm labs and the playback. I sold the marantz to get the playback and it likes going from a toyota camry to a Porsche.

Not to rain on your parade, but while the Playback Designs player might be great, your over selling it just turns me & many others off.

On a different note, a friend of mine owned one for several months and just prefered a unit by a different manufacturer. Different strokes for different folks. I love my EMM and there is no reason for me to change unless something is truly that much better. I find we spend tons of money for small incremental changes. Especially in digital where it is evolving so quickly w. Hi Res downloads and superior connectivity around the corner. I am holding out for USB 3.0 and a NAS Raid Terebyte drive. Then we are talking. Since USB 3.0 is not that far off and its throughput is much higher than even firewire, for me it is worth waiting for any CD Player/ DAC to handle this & hopefully multiple types of hi res files. Playing FLAC would be great as well.

Interesting response, Dgad.

I will say that the Emm line is a top alternative that a prospective Playback Designs buyer should consider. I think they're very close.

I've listened closely to Emm, dCS, Ayre and Esoteric, among others, but "there's no reason for me to change", as someone recently said.