The Mating Dance Between an Audiophile and What the Uninitiated Would consider an Inanimate Object

Well, THAT was a long title – let’s see how the Blog software handles it…

One variation of this little dance goes like this:

We loved our Audio Note CDT2 transport. Paired with the Audio Note 4.1x Balanced DAC there was not the slightest digital etch or hardness to the sound – and whatever slight imperfections that it did have, well, it did not detract from it being definitively state-of-the-art nor did it impact our enjoyment of the music in any way.

Then we met another transport, the CDT3.

CDT3 next to CDT2

“Hi transport” we say with low expectations dripping from our test CDs. Yes, it was an enjoyable time we spent together, it was certainly a very nice transport and was admittadly better in everyway – though in some ways it was more better than others ways where it was only slightly better, it was especially better in the areas of PRaT, harmonic content and continuousness/flow/momentum – we were glad to have met it.

[The CDT2 is slightly more dynamic in the midi-dynamic range – or perhaps it is just that the note envelopes rise faster and decay faster – so I could see some people who would like this more aggressive sound, less analog and less continuous sound better].

But it wasn’t like we were going to abandon our long time partner, the CDT2. The CDT2 was our first Audio Note transport and we owed it some loyalty. Right?

Or is this just loyalty to our emotional investment in our belief that this is a really good transport and sufficiently good for us to be able to enjoy it unconditionally, forever.

CDT3 next to CDT2

Well, now it has been a month since we have heard the CDT3 and …. we miss it terribly. The CDT2 now sounds old and irritable. We now see freckles on our CDT2 that seem to grow louder each day.

Back of CDT3

Well, you all know how this dance finishes. We hope our CDT3 will be able to move in any day now – and though we still love our CDT2 terribly, we think it will be happier with a more appreciative audiophile.

Been there? Done that? Rinse and Repeat?

People who have been in this hobby for a long time know enough to ask before hand…

“Do I dare to listen to this thing?”

Funny thing is, we almost always say, with trepidation in every fiber of our being….

“Ok….”