By Paul McGowan From PS Audio

I work as hard as I can to get the most out of an old pair of shoes. Moving to new ones with all the discomfort of break in is a fight I don’t look forward to. Once accustomed to the new I can’t imagine going back to the old.

It’s that disorienting period of uncomfortable demands of the new that makes me hesitate, but as an adult, I can decide when to take the plunge. My 9-month-old grandson, Leon, has no choice in his struggles to learn the world. His entire being is a constant barrage of the new. It’s tough being little, really tough.

Change magnitude can be grouped into gulp sizes. The larger the gulp the longer you are disoriented. Getting adjusted to new shoes takes days. Moving to a new city or home takes months, sometimes years.

The trick with change is to expect it, but often we forget. Our move across the street seemed like it would go smoothly with only minor hiccups. After all, we just moved across the street—all our stuff, as well as our people, were unchanged. Yet, four months into the process I am just now getting used to the new digs and routine.

Sometimes it easier to adjust to wholesale change like a new system for a fresh start. But, more often than not, it’s better to take in smaller gulps of the new: Replace just the DAC, power amp, or preamp and get accustomed to the differences.

Old shoes wear out but that fact doesn’t make new ones any more comfortable.