Sorlowski,
I have stayed out of all these EMM posts until now as I really would rather be listening than trying to "convince" anyone else of anything. Before getting to my point let me first say that, as one of the first EMM/Philips SACD owners, I did experience some problems with the Philips SACD-1000 (as many did) and EMM corrected the problem.
Now, since you seem sincere in your question, I thought I would chime in because all I was really interested in when looking for a new digital front end a year ago was Redbook playback (and considered any benefit of SACD a bonus). Now realize that the following opinion is ONLY that - an opinion - and is based on MY tatses, MY system and associated gear (and its synergy or lack thereof), MY room and MY preferences (gee, I guess I have pretty much qualified the HELL out of my opinion to the point of leaving it all but useless unless you know me or have heard my system) - oh well, here goes anyway:
I put the Philips/EMM up against an Accuphase 75V, a Wadia 860 [not the 861] (with GNSC upgrade), an Audio Aero Capitole MK-II (with the P-934,743 chip - LOL!), a Linn CD-12, a Sonic Frontiers T3/P3 and a Cary 306 - IN MY SYSTEM -- and, for me, the EMM won the battle convincingly. I should admit that with a few of these players, they were on short loan for only a few hours from friends or dealers. I REALLY did NOT want to like the EMM because I wanted to stick with a one-box unit. I was also not in any way biased toward any one piece - I just wanted the best sound I could get in my system.
The EMM/Philips combo, TO ME, and to a couple of my friends, had better resolution and detail and yet was so much less "digital" and mechanical sounding. Trying to get the Nth degree of resolution and detail while also getting an effortless, relaxed and non-fatiguing presentation has always been my goal but getting those qualities, I have found, is not only a very difficult task, but many times is mutually exclusive with many high end products. The EMM Labs gear, assisted by my associated gear and my room treatments, has finally allowed me to reach my goal - with REDBOOK CD (which I listen to at about a 100 to 1 ratio over SACD).
Were all the other players weak or bad? No, just not as natural with as much detail and resolution and that spelled joy for me. But, as always, YMMV.
I hope this helps. If you are ever in the Metro Detroit area, drop me an e-mail and stop by for a listen.
Frank
PS- a couple of very nice guys from the Gon stopped over a few weeks ago specifically to hear the EMM stuff . These guys have been around audio a LONG time, have heard it all and are still peripherally associated with the high end business. I told them that I did not want to do the typical "audiophile dog and pony show" where I play only a select few discs that make MY system sound the best. Instead, I told them to bring THEIR reference discs so they might be able get a handle on any differences. I sat them down, left the room and turned em loose. The one gentleman has a Sony SCD-1 (I don't recall if it is a modified unit). I noticed they were shaking their heads so I figured they didn't like it. Went I went in the room, the one gentleman said he never thought he'd say this but the CD he played was "perfect" and didn't know where it could be improved. The other gentleman said he had heard this CD a gazillion times but was hearing all sorts of things (not just ambient info or useless info like paper clips dropping) he had never heard before - which added to the enjoyment. I say this NOT to brag about my system, but to brag about what guys like Ed Meitner (as well as MANY other fine designers) are capable of bringing into our homes! If either Ted or Dennis read this - feel free to chime in!!!
