Anyone have their Audio Aero Capitole MKII yet?


I just received mine today and was looking for other's opinions about the MKII right out of the box as compared to the MKI (or other comparable players).
listener

Showing 2 responses by subaruguru

This thread's request for "out of the box" first impressions seems to invite chaos, with somewhat masochistic yearnings as a consequence.
After running QA for a high-tech laboratory instrument manufacturer in France for more than 14 years I'd be surprised if you could find two Capitoles that sound even remotely the smae...nevermind right out of the box!
Good luck, guys....
Bryans,
I'm just being snide re my experiences working for a medical instrument manufacturer just north of Paris in the 80s. The LAST thing you want from Southern European manufacturers in particular is a low-serial number item after a redesign, as the retweaking continues ad nauseum.
We all remember the old adage about never buying the first six months' product from Detroit, right?
Well it's no different in the high end.
Re sounding different: my point is that assurance of the critical qualities of a newly-redesigned product in a manufactured lot is VERY difficult. The odds of getting two items that are clones is MUCH lower than after necessary process and component controls are tightened.
One might argue that CDPs are electronic...digital, and thus not subject to the variability of a transducer like a speaker or microphone/cartridge, but my point is that consecutive aerial numbers may even have DIFFERENT parts in them, not just more variability in tolerances that aren't tightened up by the necessity to do so that production time, market feedback, and durability (MTBF) issues might provide. Hope I'm being reasonably clear....