hi jax2:
here is another choice which will drive you crazy.....snip
I'll try to control myself.
It isn't your choices at all that drive me crazy. I have loved the Quad 57 in a friend's system, and probably would enjoy the Zanden and the CJ. I just would not express it quite the same way, and get tired of reading those sort of boring, glorified statements being elevated and hyped to be anything more or less than what they are...simply one person's opinion, just like all the rest. Spare me the rhetoric, please. You stated it far better in the brief statement in your second post, which was straight to the point:
i have yet to hear sytem that resembles the "classic" tube sound to the degree i heard when a zanden dac was part of a stereo system.
Enough said...nothing need be added or subtracted.
As far as your extraordinary abilities of discernment, and remarkable aural memory...whatever works for you. Good for you. You are a god among audiophiles.