AMR / EMM / PLAYBACK Designs

I have not heard the EMM gear, but I do seem to read about a number of issues with the gear (now including their $25K flagship) is this the case? Or are these isolated idiosyncrasies which are quickly rooted out and nulled?

I cannot speak to use of the EMM Labs XDS1 as anything other than a player, but in that mode EMM Labs has been extremely successful in addressing earlier criticisms. The transport mechanism which is sourced from Esoteric works flawlessly and the time required to access tracks is similar to other top brands. The build quality is excellent, certainly much improved over past efforts. The unit appears to be very well thought out and very nicely implemented. The manufacturer is also quite helpful. I also like the fact that many functions are software based and any upgrades can be easily accomplished by reprogramming and do not require hardware changes.

Fcrowder, I also own an EMM Labs XDS1, and I agree with you. It's easily one of the best players I've ever owned. SACD is wonderful, and standard CD playback is also great. I use one of the digital inputs with my Blu Ray machine, and the sound is phenomenal. Movie soundtracks come alive. No regrets with this purchase.

Fcrowder and Docmark: You Listen XDS1 and PD
What the buzz the BETTER in terms of musicality.

I now have PD in my system and it is not even well broken in yet but so far I am very impressed.
It sounds like Berkeley DAC on steroid. I found its sound closer to Berkeley than EMM XDS1, surprisingly. Whatever Berkeley does well, it improves it while at the same time, it corrects many of Berkeley weaknesses, much better controlled bass, excellent pacing and rhythmic control. With XDS1, I felt like it did many things better but at the same time, Berkeley did certain thing that was crucial to me better.
To me, EMM is more hifi-ish where as PD is definitely more analog and more musical. However, some friends who heard EMM in my system also heard EMM XDS1 sounded better in other system so some of these is most likely system dependent as well.