AA Capitole Mk II - what the evaluaions brought?

I had a couple of the MK II's in NY at the HE Show and to be honest, they were fresh out of the box with no break-in time. I thought they were quite good but not where I wanted the sound to be.

It was not until I got back home that I really had a chance to spend some quality time with the MK II. I had a customer bring his over and we sat and listened for about 4 hours. This unit had roughly 200 hours on it. Although it still needed quite a bit of break-in, the difference between what I heard in NY and in my system was remarkable. There is so much transparency and resolution with retention of great musicality from top to bottom. The bass is greatly improved over the former model as well.

I am a dealer for the Audio Aero products as well many other digital products. While there are many great digital products out there, some that I do not sell, I have not heard anything that can come close to the Capitole MK II.

I completely agree with Jtinn. I formerly had a Sonic Frontiers T3/P3 combination with NOS tubes (a former $14,000 combo)that I replaced with the new AA Capitole. Out of the box, the AA did not have the resoltution, bass impact or definition or the focus of the T3/P3. (Yes, out of the box is an unfair comparison, so no critical listening or judgments were made at the time).

As the AA burned in, EVERYTHING improved. However, the bass went from a little tubby and non-impactful, to deep, taught and powerful. I now have had the AA running 24/7 for a little over 2 weeks and it is stunning. It now has great bass, fabulous resolution and focus as well as the least digital glare of any Redbook player or combo I have heard.

I must concur with all of the AA owners who have lauded its analog like sound. I have some issues with the tracking ability and the cheesy remote, but the sound will make you forget about those problems (even if the price won't).

I can only echo what has been said here. My unit is at about the 150 hour mark and i can still hear it improve. It has amazing detail and transparency, and yet is very 'easy listening' and lets you glide through the music. It is unlike any digital experience i have ever had. For the record, ive owned Bow Tech, Wadia, Meridian, Electrocompaniet and Accuphase and have always felt the need to upgrade. I don't have this feeling anymore, because this CD Player gives me everything i was looking for. Sure it has its occasional operational quirks, which are undoubtedly abnormal for such an expensive player. But when you listen to that CD spin all that just goes out through the window and you don't care.

I was under the impression that the 2 MKIIs were prototypes that belonged to Tenor according to what I was told, therefore those were not really the final product and probably are not what the real Mccoy should sound like.As an Audio Aero dealer, also the break in time is long but the sound does continue to improve.