Hi Stehno...very nice system! I also changed from the APL3910 (4 Crstal DACS/ch, not the AKM's that you had) to the Esoteric UX-3. Out of the box there was a quality to the UX-3 that was compelling, if also not quite as refined as the APL. With break-in, however, I much preferred the UX-3! I did run my APL through a preamp due to the 7m IC to the amps.
After totally digging the sound and the feeling of relief that I now had a very soundly designed and built player, I sent mine to Steve Huntley and he performed what he described as a Statement Mod ($3,000). He did a great deal of PS regulation and switched a massive number of caps on the analog and digital boards to Blackgates. It was 10 lbs heavier after I got it back from Steve! After a very lengthy breakin, the sound was much more complete and in most respects in another league from my stock UX-3. Wish I could have heard the SE before buying mine.
So why did you switch from the DNA-2 Rev A to the Nuforce? My friend has the same McCormick amp and revision and loves it. I've heard his in my system and it is a very nice amp.
