We've now enjoyed the MPD-8 as the center point of our music playback system for four years. And after this time and and hundreds of listening hours we continue to be in love the musical engagement it delivers. Ann has a second system in her office, but she regularly says "Listening there is very good, but it is no where near the magic of the MPD-8."
What makes the MPD-8 so special for us? We value a system that delivers the timbre of real instruments performing in a real acoustic space. And we also value very high resolution and transparency. We're not looking for a dissection tool that brings hyper-detail that, for us, sounds artificial. But we need the detail and transparency that allows us to easily differentiate among instruments, to hear the rosin on the bow, to hear the vibration on the skins of the timpani. We also value dynamics--not just the ability to play loud, but the more important ability to react quickly with the micro-dynamic changes that allow the similitude of life to recorded music.