Don't expect the 2.16 ultra to play Toys R Us on micro detail. Again, its presentation favors flow. It doesn't fillet music into see-through slices. That kowtows not to modern predilections for deep-throat mic porn. You know the kind. It highlights each drop of spittle, each inhale, each tongue-on-tooth action. Its admirers hope to sit in a singer's lap; or vice versa. As such I did not hear any unfamiliar detail. The Pink Faun excavated no deeper than I'm used to. It unearthed no new layer I'd not been to before. Its particular effect was very simple. I wanted to hear an album beginning to end to follow the bigger picture. I wanted to remain in the flow, not step/stop out by attaching my attention to flotsam. Many modern systems beg to differ. They're about hyper-realist detail density. They associate 'high resolution' with what for detail magnification is the extreme close-up/on-stage perspective. If that's your poison, I doubt the 2.16 ultra is. Yet it won't lay on gravy or sugar as valve-emulator kit might. As far as I could tell, its influence limits itself to setting up that in-the-flow state. When spelled out, it doesn't sound like much. When weighed on the usual 'mo' scale—more bass, more treble, more contrast, more width—it's virtually immeasurable, too. The flow state doesn't really trigger that scale. It exists elsewhere. Curiously enough, I imagined that listening with the network card's power disabled influenced that quality by feeling even more fluid. As you may appreciate, I keep stressing the point. Making contact with this is a subtle thing. One must really treasure it to create any meaningful correlation with the actual fee of admission. It's for advanced listeners who have learnt to pay attention also to how they feel while listening. It's not just about the contents of the experience. It's about the quality of the experience itself; and how that influences the experiencer. In the commercial scheme of things, how to rate refinements in that realm?

All I know is that I wasn't born yesterday relative to this component category. I just gave up on it for lack of meaningful returns over well-optimized far more affordable PCfi. Hence I'm bullish. Admittance to this 'psychosomatic' realm is rare. I certainly haven't met it before at this potency. I'm even prepared to say that it's nearly impossible to put an actual price on. As such this award was the only proper conclusion. It takes into account the ace software of HDinfo's Stylus player on the Euphony OS licensed to Pink Faun in a customized version; the hardware's build quality; the embedded user support; and finally the action/influence of the hardware and software on the listening experience.

Does this have any direct competition? I've not heard any. The most obvious contender should be the Extreme from fellow Dutchies Taiko Audio. As it happens, you'd not save any money if it were. That aside, this pinked-out Faun is the finest of its kind I've had the pleasure of reviewing yet; and by a substantial margin. So this old dog really did learn a new trick. There's still hope then…