[Romanee]

Well. Nicely written, and from a guy who I've thought of as reserved and "well-considered" when he chooses to post impressions or critiques.

I've actually had a daily-recurring note to call or e-mail you to ask "what do you think of the Predator?", but have obviously been too insanely busy to get to it.

Thanks for removing this "to-do" item from my jam-packed agenda!

Yours is a glowing personal statement indeed, and an enjoyable read.

From your note about not having it play 24/7 to "burn in", I'd guess you don't have a huge amount of play time on it yet. If that's the case, it's my experience that it gets significantly cleaner and more musical with (a huge number of) additional hours.

I was able to briefly compare a 350+ hour Predator and a 1000+ hour Predator, and the immediate impression by comparison was that the younger one actually seemed a little noisy and fatiguing. Of course the more mature unit's cleaner/more extended highs allow more dimensional & layered imaging, better timbre and texture, inner detail, sense of physical volume and resonance to instruments, etc., etc.

As time passes, I'll look forward to reading your additional impressions.

Lots of fun!