OK so Pauly had recommended this other little number a few years back. I loved the thing, but it was a lemon. The unit I had couldn't handle simple CD playback. It would take pauses and skip on CDs that were fresh out of the shrinkwrap while the engine was off. That was an actual test I did. The last one, actually. Also, the aux input was non-functional. The time I wasted trying to get my (then) brand-new iPod hooked up was the last straw.

So for Christmas this year, my fiance and I decided to treat ourselves to this sexy little number.

We just got it installed today. I may update this review at some point. So far I'm in love with it! You can make it illuminate in red or green (just in time for X-mas). It features CD-R & CD-RW playback, which is great for me- I can run a mix out of Pro Tools onto a CD-RW and give it a real-life check in the car. It can play multi-session data disks as well. It can handle CD-DA, MP3, AAC, WMA and Sony's ATRAC format. It also comes with a cute remote with glow-in-the-dark buttons.

The first thing I noticed is "DSO" which stands for Dynamic Soundstage Organizer. Techno-jargon it may be, but it really adds a "wow" factor to the sound. There are three settings and a bypass. I cranked it to 11 and I must say, WOW... It sounds amazing.

I popped in an MP3 CD and I was able to navigate very easily, just like on my previous unit. The file name scrolls in the display- you can move up and down directories, and through the contents of them. Now mind you this particular MP3 CD directory tree was well-designed by yours truly. Artist and album subfolders work wonders, and I truly am anal retentive about it.

OK, I'm a Mac user. I use iTunes. I really do notice a difference between AAC and MP3. AAC sounds lightyears beyond anything I've heard from MP3. The fact that this unit plays AAC disks was a major selling point for me as most of my 100GB music library is in that format.

As a test, I created a disk of mixed AAC and MP3 files. I created a playlist in iTunes and used it to burn a CD. I have to say it sounded amazing on this receiver. But here comes the negative...

Although I was very happy to see that the songs were in the order of my iTunes playlist, that was really the ONLY way to navigate through the disk. Linear. I would have to somehow know, or memorize, that song 135 was "Evidence" by Faith No More. That's not intuitive at all, it's obnoxious. There is no folder structure when you burn through iTunes, only the convenience of a quick and easy burn of your playlist. In the future, *I* will be the the architect of my disks' folder structure. iTunes will merely provide the AAC encoding and ID3 Tag editing.

Plugging in my iPod, I was knocked on the floor. No, not by electrocution- by the sound. I've plugged my iPod into soundboards and used it to DJ, and it never sounds as good as a CD player... But after a little tweaking (aux input gain +4, max volume with flat EQ from the iPod), I couldn't believe how amazing it sounded. Mind you I was using a 1/8" audio jack, I didn't spring for the iPod controller interface. I read some very bad reviews of it. The main issue- a horrible navigation system. It's due to the same complaint I had about the iTunes-created disk... but multiply my example by 10. (With over 1,000 songs on my iPod, how the hell am I going to know the number of the song I want to listen to? I'm not.) I'll plug the 1/8" jack in and deal with some quality loss. (to be honest, I don't hear ANY loss).

Another thing I should mention: This unit does not play FairPlay AAC files (from the iTunes store), nor WMA files with DRM. But what the hell would you be doing with those anyway? :)

All in all, I freaking love this thing. I may have to spend some extra time laying out a disk, but it will be worth it.