Wow, it is amazing to me that three users of this player had found it such a poor machine. Makes me wonder if something else in their systems was the cause of the bad sound they heard. If anyone is getting "a restricted soundstage and a mechanical, non-lifelike sound", you have to question what is in the rest of the system and how the system is set up in the room. If anyone is hearing noise "from several feet away coming from the machine", then it's a good chance their machine's laser system was damaged during shipping 'cause this machine operates silently. Anyone who has issues that "it did not live up to it's $3K sound" again need to check the rest of their system. Compared with the Resolution Audio Opus 21 ($3500) and the Ayre CX-7 ($2950), the Droplet was sooooo much more listenable and musical, complete with deep and wide soundstaging, pinpoint imaging, and a realness to the sound neither of those other players had. If "it just didn't fit into the system", then its sound had nothing to do with one liking it or not, it just did not fit inside a rack. This is NOT an "overrated player" by any stretch of the means. If you "have noticed on Audiogon that these players now go for nearly half off list", it might be because Americans think Chinese made products have little resale value and thus, priced it cheaply on the used market. Funny how the Opus (an inferior player to the Droplet), still garners the same price on the used market, if not more, than a year ago. Take full advantage of the low price of a used Droplet by owners who don't care for it. Once you get yours, put the unit complete with their spiked feet on 2"x2" maple blocks or myrtle blocks and hear its great detailed soundstaging abilities, very real sounding vocals with texture and harmonics to boot. Do NOT use any floor protectors underneath the spikes, they will make the Droplet sound closed in and plain ol' not good.
Email for more details. Thanks to a fellow Audiogoner, I have been a happy and proud owner of a Droplet for many months now, and it's still surprising me how real recordings of Sinatra and Ella sound, day in and day out. Not bad at all for half retail, not bad at all.
