Mutec MC-3+ USB

[Confused]

OK, I have just tried a few tracks for quick AIR3 vs Mutec head to head. It was actually quite interesting, starting with AIR I found myself pleasantly surprised at just how good AIR3 actually is, It was not as if I suddenly noticed some kind of drop back in the systems performance. Then switching to the microRendu + Mutec, the magic happened. Overall balance and tonally I reckon the Mutec and AIR3 sound very much the same, it is not a case of more bass, treble or anything like that, but it was the subtle stuff that struck me, decay on piano notes, guitar strings sounding like more real. I am actually thinking now that that the mR Mutec combo has indeed stepped up a notch, maybe there is something is this burn in stuff. (I did read something about clock oscillators settling down a little while back) It does actually show how careful you need to be with evaluating hifi kit and changes. For example, I have been looking to buy a linear PSU for the Mutec, if I had done this and installed it a couple of weeks ago, I am sure I would be declaring today how this wonderful LPSU has improved my system. Thinking about it, I am very careful not to change two things without giving a couple of weeks (preferably more) in between, it is for these reasons I am still stuck on firmware 9! If I'd switched to FW 10 a couple of weeks back I might be declaring that FW 10 was a step up. In conclusion, if you like the sound of AIR but are after that last bit of accuracy and realism, the Mutec is well worth considering. It is sounding terrific today, it is a couple of months since I last listened to an Aurender N10 (which I liked very much), and I don't think the mR+Mutec is giving anything away in comparison, who knows, it might be a touch better? (That is one head to head I'd like to try!)