I am one of the people that just sold one. I didn't find it disappointing at all. It was very dynamic with excellent defined bass, nicely detailed mids and a great high-end; it's the first time I actually heard cymbals sound real, with a metalic sheen or shimmer in the decay.
Is it the best digital I've heard...nope.
It is the best $1200.00 digital I've personally heard though. Even though I think the Stereophile article was cheerleading a little too hard, I too found that the DAC would really shine on less than optimal CDs (the Strokes CD was actually listenable).
I sold because I came to the conclusion that the $$$ should go into the transport & unfortunately my audio kitty didn't hold enough for both.
Is it the best digital I've heard...nope.
It is the best $1200.00 digital I've personally heard though. Even though I think the Stereophile article was cheerleading a little too hard, I too found that the DAC would really shine on less than optimal CDs (the Strokes CD was actually listenable).
I sold because I came to the conclusion that the $$$ should go into the transport & unfortunately my audio kitty didn't hold enough for both.