Where Does The CD-5 Stack Up?
Audiophiles are constantly looking for a realistic comparison, a scale if you will, by which to get a straightforward perception of how different components stack up. I will give you myscale, a quick take on how some of the Redbook players I’ve used in the past three years rate, by referring to a ladder’s rungs, positioning them in order of lowest to highest. Let’s begin at the first rung of the ladder, which is in no way to indicate absolute quality, but merely to compare to other players I’ve used. Here is how my “Ladder of CD Players” would look:
1st Rung: Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 with Upsampler
3rd Rung: Rega Apollo
5th Rung: Rega Saturn
6th Rung: Ayon CD-1
8th Rung: Cambridge Audio Azur 840C
9th Rung: Ayon CD-2 and
Now an extension needs to be added to the ladder…
13th Rung: *PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport/DAC
15th Rung: Ayon CD-5
*Note: Perfect Wave rating based on one week demo in my room; I freely admit this is not enough time to render a definitive judgment.
This illustration should impart several of my conclusions regarding the CD-5 in terms of sonic satisfaction, most obviously that I find it in a different category from most others. It also holds the greatest improvement in terms of increasing quality over any other step up in players I used. It is clearly the best of the Ayon players as well. One might suggest that it had better be far superior at the price point. Don’t doubt, it is… by a long shot. In fact, thinking back to all the sources I have heard and elevation of performance between sibling players, this may be the largest disparity in absolute performance I have encountered.
Back To The System Drawing Board?
The CD-5 is the kind of player which makes one rethink sources. I mean really rethink them, as in, “Why have I always spent such an insane amount on speakers when a source can make this much of a difference?” To that end, I can’t believe I’m saying this, I wouldn’t have dreamed of suggesting it years ago: overweighting spending on speakers may not be the absolute best means to achieve one’s dream of a no-holds-barred system. I can see working with the CD-5 and a budget of an additional $25-30K to arrive at a rig which would rival a fair number of $100K rigs at this past CES. So good is the quality of the CD-5’s sound that it’s the only Redbook player I’ve used that I could confidently suggest one purchase first, then assemble the rest of the rig around it. Like I said, this year several rooms at CES and T.H.E. show used the CD-2. Next year, if they’re smart they’ll use the CD-5! I know of at least four or five rooms which I left thinking, “If they had used the CD-5 they would have sounded waaaay better.”
Superlative Streaming
I have not entered yet into the realm of USB connected sources for high-end listening; however, I have been using Sonos Digital Music System, which I link to my CD player or DAC through a coaxial digital cable. For this review I relied upon Wireworld’s Gold Starlight 6. I have yet to hear the Sonos sound the equal of my Redbook source, though it can come close.
To give a sense of how good streaming audio can sound through the CD-5, even though I no longer have the CD-2, I would liken the sound of it to the CD-2. In fact, the performance of the CD-5’s DAC section is so strong that with upsampling of the Sonos’ signal, the resultant sound may be better than the CD-2’s Redbook performance! I admit I’m going on memory, but in use of the player the past pattern holds, meaning streaming audio input into Ayon players sound surprisingly close to their Redbook sound, so good is the processing.
Just prior to the arrival of the CD-5, I was giving serious consideration to a modification of the Sonos unit. The itch to do so has largely been scratched due to the upsampling by the Ayon. Zipping through a playlist I created to assess the quality of streaming audio in a rig I was finally satisfied enough with the sound quality to begin using it as a source for reviewing. Up until this point, I have refrained from using streaming music or Sonos as a tool for reporting on equipment as it has not been up to my standard. Now, with the sound quality better than the majority of Redbook players on the market, it is suitable. It should speak volumes when an economical internet based device can deliver much higher than average CD sound. The credit goes to the superb upsampling DAC in the CD-5, and a premier digital cable in the Gold Starlight 6.
Your Choice
The question to be asked about the CD-5 is not, “How good a player is it?” It’s really good, reference quality good. Rather, it is a question of what kind of system is desired. Sure, you can run the thing as a stand alone player, which I would certainly recommend to those who have near pinnacle quality attending components. For the rest of us the question becomes, “Do I really need a preamp for my two-channel rig?” In many of the best sounding systems I have built, the answer is “no”.
The CD-5 can become your player and your preamp. With its prodigious capabilities it can do so at a level which exceeds all but the best preamplifier and CD player combos. In fact, I think it would be very difficult to find a pairing of player and preamp which could perform at the level of the CD-5 for the same total price. Remember, such a rig would have to overcome the degradation of the signal from the addition of a component and a set of cables. What makes this Ayon so formidable is that it’s the complete package – screamin’ good Redbook, a clean and rich sounding preamp stage, chocked full of inputs, with looks and a U.S. distributor with a good track record.
Gerhard Hirt has come up with another player with an extremely attractive set of attributes. Aside from some potential matching issues, it has the capacity to help audiophiles radically improve not only Redbook listening but entire system development! The CD-5 is unlike any Redbook player I have ever used; it does things unlike any player and makes me want to hold tightly to it and beat back anyone who would try to take it away!
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