Playback Designs Merlot?

Pit;

I spent 2 weeks with the Merlot with my home system
I agree with you

i’ve listened to the Meridian Explorer2 ( current dac), Exogal Comet , Chord Quetest and spent 2 weeks with the Merlot 

The Merlot had big bass, not very forwTd tonality ( good thing) and lots of details , but not edgy

It made poor 80’s re ordings sound good

I like the DSD sound

jwff

Has anyone compared the Merlot on DSD to EMM labs (thanks in advance)?

I’m a huge fan of EMM on SACD/DSD, but they do not make a small format DAC that can fit on my desk.
I am specifically asking about DSD file performance.
Thank you.

Sorry;

I’ve not listened to the EMM dac vs Merlot 
my guess, as both are DSD, that they sound more similar than not

The DSD sound is big bass, great soundstage , great details, but a tad soft in highs that makes 80’s album sound good
PCM I find very overtly detailed

my opinion
gooduck 

jeff 

I too have come across this post from Google :).  I concur with the above observations.  Merlot is extremely musical. I find it lot better than DACs priced above it.  Not just DSD,  MP3 a very well handled and enjoyable. I am using Oppo 103 and find the OpBox (PLink) to be much cleaner and superior. I have not found a need for Syrah with OpBox and Oppo connected to NAS.  I would have taken Syrah had it included a PLink output, unfortunately, USB and ASIO did not excite me to invest on it.