Couldn't resist adding a few thoughts of my own. These comments are addressed just to the question of performance, not purchase recommendations and especially not what makes sense for the $ involved.
dCS: I have had an early Purcell and Elgar and now a Purcell DSD and Elgar Plus. Operating in DSD the later versions are vastly superior to the originals, particularly if you acquire the $169(?) aftermarket firewire cable advertised on Audiogon. But I'm afraid that the Verdi simply isn't on the same level; the minute I inserted the demo into my system, the sound became thinner, brighter and more forward--amazing detail and space, but I couldn't live with it. The Purcell DSD and Elgar Plus are still the best redbook sound I've heard with the right transport, but I had to give up the Elgar's SACD performance.
Esoteric X-01: Wonderful SACD, much preferable to the dCS SACD sound with the Verdi in the system. Perhaps not the very last bit of spaciousness and depth, but very close. And the difference the X-01 as a transport feeding the dCS Purcell and Elgar Plus in redbook over the Verdi in sound balance and dynamic range is extraordinary. Very good CD sound of its own, but simply not as good as when feeding the dCS units through the digital outs. And yes, this puppy sounds much, much better after 750-1000 discs than it did at first. But beware: even after extensive break-in this is the most ruthlessly honest component I've ever heard. Quality of disc, and top to bottom balance of cables and amplification, are critical.
EMM: All of the above comparisons were through my system (Purist Dominus cables, Rowland Synergy IIi preamp, Mac 501 power amps, Eggleston Andra II speakers). I've heard EMM units twice, but unfortunately in other systems. A 6e being fed with a $10,000 plus CEC transport and Dominus cables sounded fabulous in one system (redbook only, of course); an EMM pair (DCC2)in a superb system (Tenor/Kharma) had amazing detail, but sounded lightweight and lacking in bass and impact, in SACD but even more so in redbook, to the point I had no interest in seeking a demo in my system. (Probably that was a bad decision, but who has time to do all of this right?)
In fact, it's my own impression that neither dCS nor EMM has managed to match the extraordinary quality of their DACs with comparable transports, but the one thing I'm sure of is that there are no completely relevant comparisons except in your own system. As to how to get them, well, good luck. But these are my experiences, for what they're worth to anyone but me.
dCS: I have had an early Purcell and Elgar and now a Purcell DSD and Elgar Plus. Operating in DSD the later versions are vastly superior to the originals, particularly if you acquire the $169(?) aftermarket firewire cable advertised on Audiogon. But I'm afraid that the Verdi simply isn't on the same level; the minute I inserted the demo into my system, the sound became thinner, brighter and more forward--amazing detail and space, but I couldn't live with it. The Purcell DSD and Elgar Plus are still the best redbook sound I've heard with the right transport, but I had to give up the Elgar's SACD performance.
Esoteric X-01: Wonderful SACD, much preferable to the dCS SACD sound with the Verdi in the system. Perhaps not the very last bit of spaciousness and depth, but very close. And the difference the X-01 as a transport feeding the dCS Purcell and Elgar Plus in redbook over the Verdi in sound balance and dynamic range is extraordinary. Very good CD sound of its own, but simply not as good as when feeding the dCS units through the digital outs. And yes, this puppy sounds much, much better after 750-1000 discs than it did at first. But beware: even after extensive break-in this is the most ruthlessly honest component I've ever heard. Quality of disc, and top to bottom balance of cables and amplification, are critical.
EMM: All of the above comparisons were through my system (Purist Dominus cables, Rowland Synergy IIi preamp, Mac 501 power amps, Eggleston Andra II speakers). I've heard EMM units twice, but unfortunately in other systems. A 6e being fed with a $10,000 plus CEC transport and Dominus cables sounded fabulous in one system (redbook only, of course); an EMM pair (DCC2)in a superb system (Tenor/Kharma) had amazing detail, but sounded lightweight and lacking in bass and impact, in SACD but even more so in redbook, to the point I had no interest in seeking a demo in my system. (Probably that was a bad decision, but who has time to do all of this right?)
In fact, it's my own impression that neither dCS nor EMM has managed to match the extraordinary quality of their DACs with comparable transports, but the one thing I'm sure of is that there are no completely relevant comparisons except in your own system. As to how to get them, well, good luck. But these are my experiences, for what they're worth to anyone but me.