should everyone just order emm?

Yes :)

French_fries: Service on the EMM Labs gear is done in the US. EMM Labs equipment has been around for quite sometime. This is actually going into the 5th generation of the technology and Ed Meitner is considered to be THE leader in the industry. The same question can be asked of any company in terms of future products. What I can tell you is there are absolutely no plans for a one box player. The build quality is excellent. All EMM Labs gear must answer to the rigorous demands of the pro industry which gets much more use out of equipment than we Audiophiles will ever utilize.

Tbg: There was a shootout done with the Siltech Exemplar and the EMM Labs. Most people that attended do not share your opinion. They found it very nice sounding, but highly colored.

Tvad: The Exemplar is a good modified player. It has a long way to go. For many systems, or for people that enjoy that type of colored or syrupy sound, it is a very good tone control. Very warm and not like real music.

For resolution, soundstaging, naturalness and neutrality, nothing I have heard is in the league of the EMM Labs. There are still some very good players out there that are quite enjoyable, including the Siltech Exemplar, but they do not do what the EMM Labs gear can.

Tbg: That is not fair. I am very objective and thought I answered in an extremely objective manner.

Norm, your biases in terms of listneing are very different than most of the people I run across. Most people I speak with do not like horns and SET's for long term listening. They like it initially for the beauty, but tire very quickly of the highly colored sound. You seem to really enjoy that kind of sound. Understand, there is nothing wrong with that. It is just your preference.

Tucker does very nice work and I enjoy the sound of his gear, albeit, it is not what I look for in my perception of accurate reproduction.

Unclejeff: I too grind my teeth very badly. I have a dentist appointment and am getting fitted for a night guard. My understanding is that continued grinding could possibly damage the occular nerve.

Wellfred: While I am not a fan of digital volume controls and can only equate the loss of "bits" or information (resolution) to prior experiences with digital volume controlled players, I do not have any real personal experience with the DAX in my system. Am I mistaken, or does the Audio Synthesis convert SACD back to PCM?

The EMM Labs converts all PCM recordings to 5.6 mHz (twice DSD) and the DCC 2 has an analog volume (remote) control as well as multiple analog inputs. At first take, it appears fairly expensive, but when you factor in the built in 2 channel (Switchman) preamp, some find it quite a bargain.

If you would like to do a comparison, let me know, I might have someone in your area who would be interested in participating.