I've owned the Ikemi and a DAC 64. No experience with the EC gear. The Ikemi is a wonderful player, but the DAC 64 was clearly superior in my listening tests. I therefore replaced my Ikemi with the DAC 64. I used it with a Sony XA-777ES for a transport. In comparison to the Ikemi, I found the DAC64 to be somewhat warmer, but it was also capable of resolving a bit more detail, particularly in the midrange.
