I don't know which of the £1100 Maestro's components it is that takes so long to burn in. Maybe it's the same one that needed over 100 hours of use before it would allow the Bellini and Donizetti pre/power combo to loosen up and hit its stride. Whichever it is,there's certainly no hurrying it: audition the Maestro ahead of the mandatory running-in period (once again about 100 hours), and it will produce the sort of purely cerebral, uninvolving performance that fails to pluck at the heart strings.
 
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that this complex machine requires plenty of time to mature. After all, unlike 99% of CD players, it features a 24-bit, 96kHz-sampling DAC in a box fitted with a transport that can read only CDs. This explains why the Maestro has a coaxial digital input as well as output: it can decode the digital signal from a DVD player spinning a high-resolution disc (as well as standard 16/44.1 from a CD transport, of course). Few manufacturers offer this sort of flexibility - Denon is one other, with their DCD-S10 MkI and MkII players.
 
As anyone who's ever laid eyes on a Puccini or Paganini will be aware, build is one of AA's strengths. Making up part of the Maestro's 10kgs is a thick, aluminium front panel broken by a slim drawer, the classy circular display, and an unusual cluster of beautifully-finished control buttons (which cater for all the basic fascia functions you might expect to find outside the remote).
 
After the disappointment of the initial week's listening, I left the Maestro on repeat for three or four more days before returning it to a system where it cohabited with a DPA 50S, Crimson Electric monoblocs and a pair of Jamo Concert 8s. I was eager to hear what the Italian could offer against the considerable charms of T+A's CD 1210 R, which sells for £1150. With discs like OMC's How Bizarre and Presence's All Systems Gone, the contest was close in most respects. That typically clean, transparent Audio Analogue presentation was in evidence on both of these predominantly electronic albums, the Maestro inching ahead of the German contender when it came to detail and resolution. 

The T+A levelled the scores with its slightly fuller, weightier tonal balance on filter setting number three. The AA may provide easier access to its DAC along with 24/96 compatibility, but the CD 1210 R benefits from a wider spread of 'characters' thanks to its selectable digital filters. On top of this, it was the more vibrant, cohesive and musical piece of equipment. Where its punchy bass went with the pace on faster tracks and could boogie with the best on Blues and R 'n' B recordings, the Maestro took a calmer, less ebullient view of the proceedings. It remained an enjoyable player, it just didn't have as broad a range of expression as the T+A. 
 
At its price, Audio Analogue's latest has a lot going for it. The signal on the digital input can even be looped through to the digital output, the Maestro acting as a jitter-reducer. However, the bottom line is sonic satisfaction, and in spite of a sterling show on imaging and sound staging, the AA lags behind the all-genre prowess of the T+A CD 1210 R.

WORLD VERDICT
The Maestro is well up with the pack on most counts, but it isn't the most 
musical of machines.