Can any player challenge Audio Aero Prestige SE ?

Believe it or not, using a stock Rega Apollo as a transport feeding my Monarchy Audio M24 DAC I get sound pretty darn close to what the real instruments provide.

All I know is that my wife and I were listening to some piano music from the other room one night. I was getting a little misty -- the way I do when I hear beautiful notes emerge from a real acoustic instrument. I looked over at my wife and as she wiped a tear from her eye she said, "that sounds like a real piano playing in there." All I could do was nod in amazement and agreement.

So yes, I believe the above mentioned combo can definitely challenge the AA player. My only problem is what to do with that extra $12k I didn't need to spend. But I guess I have an unfair advantage that the Apollo/M24 combo is not a single-box player. Oh well!

Merry Christmas!

Haven't heard the Prestige. I just replaced the CapitoleII with the Emm labs cdse new player. Go with EMMlabs. Technology and sound is way beyond them

Plato, what tubes are you using in the Monarch M24?

To Snook, how the hell can you make the statement you made without having an Audio Aero or anything else of that calibre next to it.

Even if your piano sounded real to you through your system you don't know if a better playback system might still uncover things that you were missing such as overtones or harmonic structure of textural nuances that you still don't know that your missing.

The only way we know anything is empirical testing and evidence, your current setup might be way better than your old set up but you can't make the claims you made to dis the AA setup or any other player unless you had it side by side in your system.

Just a thought, I am glad you like your setup.

The same thing can be said to Snook 2, a Prestige SE is a compleatly different machine than a way out of date Capitole mark II. There were many parts changes and modifications done to make the SE or MK III versions of these players. There is also a new transport in the works with new software.

I have tweeked my player with acoustic system feet and a Sunny power cord on a HRS base and the sound of the Presige SE is amazing! The player really does sound like analog to a great degree!

So the major point I am rallying for is opinions are great but keep them to the facts. Unless you have a current Capitole or a Presige and you have compared those players to an EMM labs then and only then can you make a statement to which is better and that is in your system.

EMM labs players are beloved and despised as much as anyone else's digital front ends, There are many people who find the EMM labs stuff to be too anaylitical. I have not heard an EMM labs player in my system so I am going on what others have said, but I repeat the only way you know something empatically is to test in your own system.

So test away!!!

When it comes to listening notes...even comparing the Audio Aero players side-by-side to EMM Labs gear, there are no facts, only opinions.

The only facts are those obtained through test measurements, and no one here bench tests gear to my knowledge, other than perhaps Sean.