To answer your question, yes - it is reliable. I too found the tracking control annoying, simply because I had not seen that feature on any other CD player.
I don't know why they added it but I can honestly say that while I owned the Mephisto II, I never used the tracking knob. I never had any problem playing a CD. The unit worked flawlessly.
A friend of mine has a Mephisto as well and has never had a tracking issue either.
The things to look out for are:
1) Slower tracking times - sometimes the CD will not requster as fast you may be used to.
2) High pitched noise which is audible in SOME systems. Most preamps filter out the noise (mine didn't). There is a fix for that issue but requires a new board. You must have the board removed & sent back to France. Then Pierre will send you a new replacement board.
3) Check the suspension bolts When buying a used Mephisto, be sure the previous owner did not over extend or loosen the suspension bolts too much. They can be a pain in the rear to get realligned.
4) The bubble level sometimes does not work right.
-- All the above items can easily be fixed & most likely for free. Pierre provides the very best customer service.
UPGRADES??
Well, there is an aftermarket RS232 (DB9 Male to DB9 Female) cord available to replace the stock RS232 cable which comes with the unit. You will need to contact Pierre and discuss the availablity with him. I believe the price is about 100 bucks. The new cord is shorter (20 inches).
How does it sound??
Well here is what Pierre said to me today in an email: "Regarding the power cord, its shortness is a key point, sorry. No doubt that performances improve as we can measure easily the difference. For example, lower noise floor and even smaller residual distorsion on small signals. This is obviously good for sound results but I shall not describe them because as a good father I can only say pretty things about my babies. I simply think this is not up to me. Hope you understand."
I hope this helps you.
