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
Okay, using qobuz/tidal direct with the unit produces some fine sounds and is quite the experience.  Have to use this off the shelf crappy app called M connect. Makes the UI/UX on Aurender seem like a pinnacle of good design ;-( The unit is still awaiting its roon certification so I can’t use it as intended yet.  I hooked up my old oppo-203 which can become a roon ready endpoint but I have to run toslink out and to the MA3.  When doing so, it all sounds kinda flat and thin if I can beat describe it.  It sounds like a piano, and is recognizable but it’s far far from the real thing. So I just queued up some fat playlists in quobuz and letting it rip and sure is sweet.  The Brandenburg concertos are 300 years old this week so that’s sure been in heavy rotation!
Roon just went live with it's MA3 certification in past day or so.  I've updated my settings.  I am going to get some listening time this weekend with the MA3 as a decoder and render directly, removing the Oppo (and toslink thank the good lord)
Liking what roon did for classical music and compositions,conductors, etc.  LOVE what the MA3 has done to the overall playback.  Best I can describe without all those stupid metaphors or sounding snooty is the thing just kinda gets out of the way.  It’s rather strange.  It’s got detail, gobs, but subtlety is there too.  No ringing, no fatigue.  It’s rather laid back but still quite detailed.  I’d put it up against the Bartok any day of the week.  I stumbled across a qobuz playlist by Optimal Enchantment today and had it on while on the screens for work.  About two tracks in I sat on the sofa and just chilled.  40 minutes later I got direct reports Slacking me on why I wasn’t in the meeting I scheduled!  I hav.e had it continuously powered on since it hit the rack, maybe have 300 real hours on it.  Long break in, but wasn’t like driving it off a cliff, was gradual, but took a while to get here.  Running Nordost a Frey 2 xlr to the xp30.  Seems to match up great.  
So in the final analysis, was a great purchase so far.  No regrets, everything that the Aurender a10 was, and then more, and ROON!  
maybe it was last weekend but was listening to a Channel Classics LP by Rachel Podger doing Vivaldi la stravaganza.  A wonderful piece.  A wonderful performance and recording and just has that rightness that brings out the best in the system.  Then I found it on qobuz in hi-res.   It’s close...  LP will win every time, but I’ll tell ya, I don’t feel I’m missing much on digital.  Got find that recording and give it a whirl on your respective systems.  Now I got a boat load of money in the TT rig and some fantastic tubes but if wasn’t already a total degenerate there, I’d be more than smitten with the Meitner MA3.