PMC Owners your opinions

Since there's only one reply, I'll share with you my thoughts. I auditioned the IB1s and MB2s extensively, mostly with Bryston 7B SSTs. This might not be the answer you are looking for, but a good source is a good source. I auditioned the speakers using a Levinson 390, Mac CD changer, and Sony XA777ES. No mismatch from what I heard. The Levinson sounded the best to me on CD, while the MAC was very musical. I think it would come down to personal tastes and preferences here. Sorry I can't be of more help.

I found the IB1s bass to be a bit too punchy (as if it's forced out) for my tastes, and the IB2s, which I have not heard, are supposely smoother sounding. Since you're looking at tube pres and in general, smooth sounding cdps, I'm guessing you're looking for a more refined and musical sound rather than strict accuracy. Another option to consider is to get a midprice player and use the money save to upgrade to the 7B SSTs. I think you'll obtain a better balance this way.

Freakygreek, I've personally chose to work backwards by buying my ideal speakers first and then the amps. I am out of funds right now, so I have yet to upgrade my source. I am of the opinion that the "sweetspot" for digital source is at a much lower price than amps and speakers (a reason there is much less consensus on what is a better source). If you have no space for the 7Bs, you can consider the 14Bs. I think the CDPs you listed are all good and I would think that the lower priced CX7 would not be blown out of the water by the more expensive players you listed (although I have no doubt that the higher priced CDPs you listed are better). Hence I suggested thinking about spending the extra thousands on better amplification instead, because it seems to me that digital technology is getting so good these days that you can find a great value at many price points. There are also some good valued DACs out there as well. I like the Emmlabs gear but I can't afford it. But moving from a 4B to a 7B or 14B is going to be a big step up. I just think that if you're going to spend $5K-8K on a CDP, you might as well consider buying a $3K-6K CDP and spending the rest on better amplification or speakers. Good luck building your dream system.