new Meitner MA3 hit the rack today


Letting it warm up and run some playlists on repeat through it.  Gonna give it a few hundred hours of break-in before the first critical session.  Nice unit.  Roon 1.8 picked it up, but didn’t let me configure as an output since the certification is delayed by a few weeks.  Wasn’t really planning on switching the digital front end, as it’s more of a secondary source during the day, but I just couldn’t take the Aurender UI/UX anymore.  “A far more intuitive interface, Roon is” said Yoda.  The A10 sound was very livable long term but just got tired of that darn UI.  Roon could stream to it, but only over airplay, so what’s the point there.  Anyway, I’ll post up some thoughts when I get rolling with it for real.
73cuttysupreme

hey @73cuttysupreme, any further thoughts on your Meitner unit? I've been considering this one so any insight from your 6+ months of experience with it would be appreciated

Still in the rack, never been powered off, has performed flawlessly.  It just gets out of the way.  No issues with any Roon compatibility issues, even with all the the various updates, and now Roon 2.0 or whatever incremental build it is on.  Hi res streaming from Qobuz beats the snot out of Tidal.  Some of the MQA titles are great, but Qobuz is the defacto source provider.  This thing really excels at classical and Jazz.  Been going through the Naive label's Vivaldi project and I'll tell ya it sounds about as good as one can expect at double the price point.  No digital etch, great tone color, decay is 'just right'.  Just get one and don't look back.  If you are a snowflake and decide it's not for you, you can flip it in a single day on 2nd hand market for almost what you paid for it.

 

i spent some time with a buddy's DCS in the rack for a few months while he was out of country on job assignment.  I'll take the MA3, thanks!  and then go spend the 40k i saved on LPs.  The DCS is so nice, but the MA3 is about 95% of the way there for 1/8th the cost.  Head to head, unless you have a pair of XVXs and it's all VAC statement and Valhalla cabling, you're gonna be hard pressed to tell the difference.  Seriously.

Thanks @73cuttysupreme for your thoughts on the MA3...your comments carry a lot of weight given you've been using it for so long.  The DCS comparison is pretty eye opening!  

How does the attached files sound thru the MA3?  I could get rid of a box with my Bricasti M3 and Melco Na combo.