ML 390s vs. ML39

if you currently own a 39, upgrade it without any hesitancy
if you are planning to buy a new cd player, go to the dealer have a audition and bring it home.In my opinion, 390s even beats the combo of 37 and 360s, however it is just my experience, your result may vary due to enviroment and gears matching. I won't spend 8 thousands bucks to buy an ugly gear even someone states that its sound is no:1 in the world. will you marry a witch just because her voice is fabulous. I doubt it.Some euro gears' price are rediculous in usa

Sylinnian,

strange philosophy about audio you have there m8. But to each is own, my priority is sonics, and as far as that goes, the AA Capitole (which i think is the player you are referring to when reading between the lines) is top class. I really don't see 'looks' as having a place in high end audio, and definitely not a criteria for choosing a >5K CD player. IMHO

Cheers

As far as the ML390s goes I just received mine and it sounds great straight out of the box. I am using all ML equipment. This player will remain in my system for a long long time with no regrets and the service department is great.

Badwisdom
I didn't mean to offend the owners of AA.Just respond to the different views of "look". If the Ferrari does not have the look will you buy it, if the Porsche does not have the look will you buy it. You wanna power and you got the power , just put the jet engine in the car. Will Michael Schumacher drive a car with jet engine. You said you didn't see the look having a place in high end audio, I can't dispute. It is some kind of taste.

I'd like to chime back in here - Since I've gotten my 390S back (and it's finally broken in), I'm amazed at the improvement over the past few weeks. Don't even question the decision to upgrade (other than the $$$). Worth every penny.

BTW, I've been comparing the sound of the 390S direct to a 332 vs. the 390S to a 380 to a 332. All ic's are balanced.

I find that while the direct setup sounds REALLY good, I don't think it sounds as good as the 390>380>332 with respect to imaging, depth of soundfield, tonal balance, and bass detail (from my notes). I need to continue the evaluation, as I only spent a few hours listening that night, but my initial notes on the direct setup was "not even close".

This came as a surprise to me, as I had read a great deal of discussion (here and elsewhere) on the sonic benefits of driving an amp direct from a variable source, and was even contemplating the possibility of being able to sell the pre-amp after I had proven to myself that this was the case. I can only assume that this speaks to the quality of the 380 in its own right, but I was under the impression that the 390 had a good deal of the 380 "under the hood".

Curious what others have found on this front.