If you own 8000+ CDs, I would strongly recommend you the Accuphase DP-75V CD player. Results indicate that the Accuphase player is way smoother than the dCS gear which is slightly "analytical" as dCS people have been closely working with studio engineers and CD mastering facilities and prefer the extra analyticalness. See stereophile for a deatiled review of the Accuphase v/s dCS. For an audiophile who own 8000+ CDs, a simple one-box unit of the highest quality as mentioned above should be the "priority" as opposed to a separate CD transport, upsampler, dac etc and associated cables. I was earlier using dCS gear and have now switched over to the DP-75V and must say, the accuphase has "soul" and more musical. The DP-75V also supports addt. cards so the unit is future upgradable and also accomodated future expansion.
ML 390S vs dCS Verdi/Purcell/Elgar Plus
Currently owing a ML No 39 as digital source, I am planning to upgrade my system to either the new ML No 390S or (very expensive...) a dCS Verdi/Purcell/Elgar Plus combination. I have no heard the No 390S yet, but people have told me this is an absolute fantastic processor which has little in common with the No 39 and is even near SACD sound (?!). What interests me is whether the quality difference justifies the extreme price difference between these components. Any other recommendations welcome on upgrading my source.