For those who may encounter it, let me assure you that it’s a mixed result, not all bad. The noise is not appreciated, however the proportionately large jump in macro and micro dynamics is so good that one is tempted to accept the noise for the improvement in visceral impact of the experience. Just as vinylphiles accept a higher noise threshold to attain the analogue sound, I’m very tempted to ignore the elevated noise floor to experience the immediacy and vitality which the high power/high gain rig produces. Once the music started, the Legacy Focus SE speakers acted as though they had been hot rodded. I have never heard them sound so much like an oversized monitor, with all the attributes of a full-range, but the punch, quickness and vibrancy of a smaller speaker.
What if you currently have a higher-power amp, say 300wpc or higher, and you wonder if the Ayon would work for you. You need to answer a few questions: Can you accept the possibility of an elevated noise floor for a greatly elevated overall performance? If your answer is no, that you need absolute silence in the silent moments in the music, then you have two options: Ignore this player, or – and I am perfectly serious – get the CD-5 and ditch the amps. Knowing the Ayon player as well as I do, I would likely keep it and look for other amplification. My reasoning is that there are many amps which can do well with the CD-5, but there are very few players I know of which can do what the CD-5 does.
The amps which will be most highly benefited are lower-power, say, 25 wpc or even less and made for highly efficient speakers. The theory is, with use of the High Gain setting, such amps will be given enough power to handle more inefficient speakers. This opens up a new world for people to combine low power amps with inefficient speakers, possibly even magnetic planars or electrostats! Maddeningly, I do not have any SET amps on hand now to test this!
Low-power amps are not typically recommended for panel speakers because they have difficult impedance curves and are so tough to drive that they can even prove fatal to the amp. For those who cannot part with lower-power amps, outboard transformers such as the Speltz Autoformer are available. However, Ayon has now given a cause for single-ended triode fans to celebrate, as it seems another option is on the table with the CD-5. If you are a low-power amp fan and are curious about the CD-5, you should consult with Ayon Audio to gain assurance regarding potential combinations of amp and speaker. I also would caution the use of the CD-5 along with a low-powered amp and a device like the Speltz Autoformer. Consult with all manufacturers involved to arrive at your decision regarding usage.
Jumbo Jet Disappearing Act
It has been asserted that big speakers cannot “disappear”, that is, throw such a deep and spacious soundstage it’s as if they aren’t there. Just as magicians cannot get a jumbo jet to disappear if the stage is not set properly, so will you not be able to hear this effect if you don’t have your speakers set up properly in the room. I had obtained this result wonderfully with the Wharfedale Opus 2-M2 monitors as I had them five feet from the head wall, approximately six feet apart and 8 feet from my listening chair. The sense of the music emanating from far beyond the speakers themselves was very strong and the experience most satisfying. When such a convincing result is achieved, it becomes easier to see why some enthusiasts prefer some monitors even when they could own certain floor standing speakers.
While it can be fairly easy to set up monitors to pull off this “disappearing act”, it is not so easy for larger speakers, especially panel speakers. Prior to using the CD-5, I had not heard larger panel speakers disappear so convincingly in my room. One reason is that it is not a larger space, being 23’ x 13’. However, the Ayon is so good at enlarging the acoustic envelope that this helps in the creation of this effect. With the Kingsound King I was able to set up a fairly convincing example of larger speakers disappearing. In this case, the Kings were approximately 8 feet apart from each other’s inside edges, and four feet from the head wall. Considering the King is a speaker 6 feet all and 28” wide, they were quite adept at getting out of the way when playing live recordings in a fashion I would say was a semi-disappearing act. What made this experience so special was the ability of the CD-5 to, convincingly, not only set the vocalist deep into the center phantom image, but to fool my ears into thinking they were hearing spatial clues of reflections of a venue as if the sound was emanating from a distance. While I have heard other CD player’s move a voice forward or back in relation to the plane of the speakers, I have never heard one so thoroughly fill in the space between it and the speaker plane to create such a 3-D “acoustic hologram” of a performance. I have never heard any player, nor transport/DAC combo, come this close to sounding convincing. It makes players like the Cambrige Audio Azur 840C, the Rega Saturn, and yes, truthfully, even the Ayon CD-2 to a lesser degree, sound flat and two-dimensional.
Compared To PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport and DAC
A few weeks prior to the arrival of the CD-5, I had developed a keen curiosity to hear PS Audio’s hot new product, the Perfect Wave Transport and Perfect Wave DAC. It seemed every reviewer covering digital products wanted a set and there were few to be had. Dave Kackenmaster of PS Audio had initially estimated delivery time for a review set in November of 2009, but the date kept getting pushed back further due to demand for them. I was interested in hearing them sooner rather than later, so when Brian Tucker of Pro Audio Ltd. in Barrington, Illinois was leaving town for a week, I arranged to hear his set in my room. It was a fine demonstration of the outer limits of Redbook capabilities. When I had to return the combo I was disappointed and thought that I would likely not hear such a nuanced performance again in my room any time soon.
How wrong I was! Only several weeks later the CD-5 arrived. Had the arrival of the Ayon not been delayed for similar reasons, I would have been able to discuss a head-to-head comparison. I was preparing for a letdown but instead got a big pick-me-up as the Ayon was every bit as exciting as the Perfect Wave! I could hardly believe my ears, as the same exquisite detail, deft handling of treble, and extended bass with a far more nuanced presentation than normally heard from Redbook was once again filling in my room. The key impression I note between these two excellent sources is the difference in perception of “weight” or solidity. Both of them had superb detail retrieval, however as I spent a week immersed with the Perfect Wave I felt repeatedly that I was reliving my experience years prior of ownership of the PS Audio HCA-2 amp, that being Class D. I did not own that amp terribly long as it seemed a bit facile, a tad too sterile, and light in the bottom-end. It was my first introduction to Class D, so initially I was impressed with the power, but over time I was disenchanted with it sounding too lightweight.
The Perfect Wave gave me a similar feel. After a week of using it I was still working with cables aggressively to address that lean and underweight sound. When the CD-5 was inserted into the system one of my first reactions was, “Yes! Now there’s substance!” It would have been a very interesting comparison between these two, as I think the Perfect Wave might be a hair more exact. But my ear tells me the CD-5 is a fair bit more inviting. In the weeks following, it has not taken much time at all to conclude that I could easily consider the Ayon my reference without pining for the Perfect Wave combo. Gerhard is doing some things in CD player design which are as exciting as any products currently available.
Exquisite Sound
Exquisite is the proper word to describe the sound of the CD-5. This is the closest to a perfect player I have used; apart from the Gain/amplifier matching question, it is difficult to find a meaningful criticism of it. It would take another reference quality player to discover what one might consider a weakness in its presentation as it is a very complete, well-rounded source. Whereas most CD player’s show their weaknesses readily, being edgier, veiled, clinical, lacking in bass, lacking in separation of the instruments, not good with older recordings, not good with certain types of music, etc. the Ayon excels in every aspect I have examined.
In comparison to the CD-2, the CD-5 is far more refined much more capable of rendering a deep and realistic sound space. It reveals more information but in an utterly smooth, appealing fashion. It also digs deeper in the bottom-end, refining and extending what is heard from the CD-2. This player absolutely refutes the assertion that along with higher detail is higher listening fatigue. I have listened to this unit for countless hours and have not had tiredness from harshness of listening to digital media at all.
One of my tests for high-end shrillness and fatigue is to listen at higher levels to sopranos. I’ll crank up Celine Dion or Sixpence None the Richer and see if my ears can take it for half an hour. If the system has treble which is too hot, then I’ll find myself turning it down to escape the sonic assault. But this never happens with the CD-5, nor does it with rock bands like U2 or Tears for Fears.
- ← Previous page
- (Page 4 of 5)
- Next page →
