Just to come back for a quick report. Took me only one A-B between the Avatar and the CXC to be able to tell that it was a massive upgrade. Two things that stood out most to me in the short comparison was as follow. One, the instruments are more separated(less smeared). Secondly, the detail in the music was clearer.
Just for your perspective. When I upgraded from an Oppo 103 to a dedicated transport the CXC, it took me at least five A-Bs to confirm with out a doubt that the CXC was slightly better. I would say it was about about a 10% improvement. Also when I compared the CXC to the Audiolab 6000a it also took me a bit to be able to tell that the CXC was slightly better.
So how much better was the Avatar compared to the CXC. I would ballpark about 20% better. It’s petty amazing to be honest. It definitely shocked me. To be 100% honest, I had my doubts on ever spending over $1000 on a transport as the CXC was so good already. I assumed it was at a point of diminishing returns. Boy was I wrong.
I liked the Avatar so much that I bought another backup CDM4 drive. Long live the Avatar! My CXC will not be missed ;)
