Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I was a long time Mark Levinson Nr. 31.5 user. I got disillusioned when they discontinued most of their digital line and could not promise an SACD transport or player was in development. I found a new home with dCS. Upsampled red book CD's have a liquid, totally natural sound that brought me to tears. A Chesky CD in this machine when paired with dCS's Elgar Plus DAC can make any of the high resolution formats blush. With SACD, the soundstage widens to what appears to be more than the lenght of my listening room. When I packed up my entire Levinson front end to trade for the dCS gear, I was sweating profusely. The dCS gear, is a major improvement in every audible way that now has me smiling every time I plop down in the sweet spot. Well worth the price of admission when paired with similar quality equipment.

Strengths:
Incredibly liquid, relaxed, "analogue" sound on both CD and SACD

Weaknesses:
Switching of the transport between formats induces annoying clicks sent to amp/speakers

Similar Products Used:
Mark Levinson 31.5