"Removing The Dude from my system and from your system posed the same results. So blaming other equipment in the chain (totally different equipment I might add) is not a feasible argument in this situation."
First of all, the end result was not the same obviously as I still own the Dude and you do not. So, the first half of that statement is incorrect. The logic expressed in the second half is not sound (to me).
I have a science and research background. One of the statistical terms thrown around is "confounding variable." A simple definition is a variable in a mathematical equation that potentially influences a given result. You want to say that variable x produces result y, but due to the presence of z, you are not able to make a clear and definitive statement. This logic applies to audio. A system, any system, is a multi-variable equation, and you have to try and decipher what influences what in order to back up your hypothesis, which in this case is "the Prism Orpheus produces superior sonics to the Dude." Another ruthless and ever present confounding variable in audio is "listener bias." We are controlled by our own musical and sonic biases whether we like it or not. Some people like warmth and bloom. Others like see-through and fast, etc, etc. Add to that ego issues, and Audio forums all become fairly tribal fairly quickly with the squabbling that goes on. I am not immune from that. Furthermore, many people use forums as a stealth store front, and so being involved with a product on a sales level is the ultimate confounding variable. At that juncture, things become pea soup, and no one can see straight. All the confounding variables mentioned drive me to strive for blinded listening sessions. That is one easy way to deal with some of these variables. I always try and use my wife and non-audio friends and blind them to the changes in my system.
On another front, the DIY nation is swelling by the day. The economy has hastened this evolution. You are part of that nation Ryan. That is a good thing. Getting good sound on the cheap is swell. classD audio has helped a lot of guys get good sound on the cheap. Your amps use one of the many kits they offer. The same holds true for your speakers. I think that is grand. The only issue I see arising from this trend is when everyone and his brother is making amps and cables and other things as a hobby and then marketing them as some new SOTA product at a fraction of the cost of mainline gear. While that is good in some ways, in other ways its bad as it takes business away from people for whom audio is a living, is how they feed their children, and have spent year after earnest year perfecting their product. Unfortunately, in the internet age, words are cheap, and bold proclamations abound.
I have heard PM. I think it improves Itunes performance, but I am not sure. Another Prism owner said it made no difference whatsoever. Who knows. Clayton Shaw of Spatial computing was playing with tube simulator DSPs as have others. Imagine that. People need a tube sound in their tubeless system. Other end users who have struggled with getting organic sound from their Prisms have also resorted to DSPs. Go figure.
