it seems rather obvious that as much as the reviewer wanted to give a rave review to this unit he had to dance around issues of sound quality and price vs performance. ja's measurements left little doubt that something was amiss. whether potential customers like mcintosh products or not based on sound and style is one thing but one thing they can't argue about is mc's track record for reliabilty and service. does ja have any thoughts as to the measurements whether it was a defective unit or is the unit an overpriced very convenient server made to satisfy the mc addicts and not audiophile and/or music lovers? especially with the run of great products as determined by the market and the audio press the last few years it is surprising that they release a "stinker" especially if they have the acccess in house to the main part of the system and they should have digital knowledge from their mda series as mentioned in the review?