source disappointment

The Audio Note is actually 4-5 years old and was upgraded with NOS tubes by the original owner, so I am fortunate in that the break-in phenomenon should not be a factor here.

I can understand the concept of appreciating something over time, but I don't feel like I'm at the point yet where I'm searching for the last 1% of improvement. I'm still looking for leaps and bounds. Like the difference that I hear when donning the Sennheisers and discovering subtle echos in the room where the music was recorded.

I think I'll try again with a 2003 CDP - Arcam maybe, and see if the DAC technology is the reason.

wheeler, trust your ears. if you feel you like your old panasonic better so be it. i have done the same thing as you. if you wait a while you will just acclimate yourself to the new sound....whether it is better or not......you are the only one to decide what is better. and better is what YOU like....

Newer, cheaper digital is getting better all the time. People should realize that with respect to digital, they are essentially buying a computer; one that, unfortunately will be well on its way to obsolesence in 6 months to a year. I've written about this here a number of times, but will simply repeat it. Almost 3 years ago, I sold an Arcam Alpha 8SE CD player. What did I replace it with? An RCA 5223P DVD player (which I still use today). The RCA (which I understand is Panasonic based and quite reasonably built-more solid than almost any of today's DVD players) simply sounded better. If I was to buy something today, I'd probably look at the Philips 963SA-a serious bang for the buck well under $400. Unless you have an outrageously expensive system and the room to go with it, along with tremendously deep pockets, I think that digital front ends are at the absolute top of the list in terms of diminishing returns in this hobby.

Wheeler:
IMO, the remarks made above all have the ring of truth and the wisdom of experience.
In my experience in the last two years, I have moved from an HT environment to a music environment. I have cycled thru a number of pieces, within my limited budget. I have taken the approach of focusing on the front end first. I am using MLs, and am using an Audio Logic DAC.
After acquiring the AL DAC, I used a number of pieces as transports and was disappointed that I heard no differences that seemed to me to be significant. Then I had the fortune to get a CEC TL2 Transport. I now know that the transport CAN make a difference.
The advice from Hdm is IMO spot on. The Philips 963SA IS a terrific piece for the money. I recently purchased one for the DVD player and for my first taste of SACD. For the $, this piece is amazing.

As a Linn Sondek owner I can sympathize with your search for the best possible source. My own opinion is different from Hdm's--I think there is a lot to gain from looking high up the scale. Higher than Arcam. I would compare both your players with a Linn Ikemi, a very good YBA, a Moon Eclipse, or even a Shanling CD-T100 like mine, before I would compare them side by side. I would do this even if I couldn't afford the best right away, just to know what the good stuff sounded like. Then I would look for the player that sounded closest to that without breaking my budget.

You do get more bang for your buck today than ten or even four years ago, but with respect to Hdm, there is a serious limit to the music you can get from a source under $1000, even with very good equipment downstream. At worst, the electronics and speakers will only reveal the source's imperfections more clearly--but that shouldn't be the case with your system.

One final idea has to do with how evaluations are done, and please excuse me if I'm repeating what you already know. Rapid switching between players--called A-B testing--is not the way to spot differences, in my experience. Instead, choose a varied selection of pieces and listen to them all the way through, first on one player, then the next. Pay attention to the music and the emotion, not the details like timbres, PRAT and the rest. If you find your mind wandering, it's a bad sign. OTOH, if you find tourself touched, that's good.

Best of luck !