Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

That would be me Al, lol.  I've never been to any clubs or even a show in my life, lol.  Now I'm asking for club info and will be going to Cam Jam in NYC in Feb if the MS let's me, lol.....  What has life turned into?  

Al, can't wait to get the server in and have you over.  A dealer friend of mine in Houston, Timbr Audio, just taped a world class pianist in his store (they have a special room for this) and is sending me the whole session on a thumb drive.  I am hoping that becomes a bit of a reference for me, lol.  He's worked with Chesky and others in the past, so I'm sure it's recorded as good as it can be.  Yes, Matt, you will get a copy as will Richfield, lol..

How many of you use piano to when critically listening?  I know that's one instrument I was told to use back in teh early 70's.  It's a big reason I don't like so many speakers as that and cymbals can be brutal to properly reproduce IMHO.  

Piano is one of the main things I use when evaluating a system/component/change in my system. Particularly for imaging. If a system can't put a piano together seamlessly, front to back and side to side, then I know there's work to do still. 

Davinci2 has R2R for PCM and separate conversion (FPGA?) for DSD, right? How about the Boulder 2120 as far as D/A conversion?

How does the latest PS Audio and Playback Designs Sonoma compare with each other and to the very top of the hi-end?

I can't bail on SACD transport just yet, so upgrading my Cary 306 SACD Pro to PS Audio is close to a decent price point for me when on sale and I'd could still spin physical discs for a while before going hard drive.

Jh901 - I don’t focus on DAC chip and design. Just sound. I’ve heard good and bad ladders, and good and bad everything else. Implementation is more important then what chip design is implemented.

I‘ve never been a fan of the DS, in all of its iterations. But I have not heard the last 2. I have heard the Merlot, and I was not blown away. Sorry. He has a higher end product coming out that is supposed to be excellent. But I have not heard it.

I have news to report on the music server search. Stay tuned....

As many of you know, I have developed a wonderful friendship with Merrill of Merrill Audio. He has started utilizing my room, system and ears as one of many opinions during his design process when he needs opinions on new designs.

He has developed his own Class-D amplifier module that Is quite special. Today, he brought over the semi final prototype of his new monoblocks for the two of us to compare to my reference Burmester 911mk3 amplifiers. To say I was impressed with his new mono block design and performance is an understatement! They will be a level above the Merrill Veritas monoblocks I previously owned.

On initial listen they are stunningly fast, have a bottomless noise floor, complete lack of distortion, crazy tight and well controlled bass, are super clean and accurate and yet maintain musicality, pace and rhythm with complex textures and harmonics. I could happily live with them instead of my Burmesters; initial impression. With time I will likely find some flaws and more definable character traits. But wow!!! The Burmester amps retail for over twice what these will be; so their price to performance value is exploding off the charts! And I must admit that the 3-D renderings of the final appearance is strikingly attractic.

It it was quite a sneak peak. And I look forward to hearing the final production version, or any version in between!