Unpacking and installing the new unit was very simple and the box itself looked, felt and even smelled like a million bucks. I already knew how I was going to hook it into my mastering console, so all it needed was to make few quick connections and I was off and running. 

Using my trusted Oppo PM-3 headphones and Focal Solo loudspeakers, I started listening to most of my reference tracks and was quite shocked by what I was hearing! After a few songs, I felt let down by what sounded like a lack of musicality and sheen. In fact, some of my favorite reference tracks sounded like they were pixelated and/or rubbery in a digital sort of way. I remember thinking- “Wow, I thought this thing would sound….better”! As I listened to more tracks of varying styles and quality, it slowly became apparent that I was hearing much more honesty and details than I was used to. Very dynamic, unprocessed mixes sounded full of energy, depth and the stereo field was beyond belief- not just wide, but also full of dimension and height. Recordings made with poor quality converters, mixes with sloppy engineering and compressed masters sounded exceedingly harsh, flat and sometimes even “phase-y”, in ways I had never heard before. After this first listening session I was actually re-thinking how I felt about some of these references that I thought I knew so well.