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Streamer, DAC, Pre-amp, SACD, Reference CD Player

Remarkable Sonic Performance, as Master Studio Tape

Audio Oasis Award from Positive Feedback

Axpona 2018 Show - Ayon Audio & Lumenwhite

AXPONA 2018 - My Top Room for Sound 04-20-2018 | By Robert S. Youman |
From the moment I took my seat I was quite comfortable if not spellbound.


Bottom line, the sound quality was simply outstanding.
I was extremely impressed with the rich harmonic
presentation of this system. There was just a natural liquidity and flow
that could not be ignored.

Steven R. Rochlin of Enjoy The Music -                                       " Best Sound" Ayon Lumenwhite -                                        RMAF High End Audio Show 2017 Denver, CO.

Ayon Audio and Lumenwhite keep getting Best Of Sound at shows from not just us, but from other mags too and so once again they don't disappoint.

The 2017 Los Angeles Audio Show - The Absolute Sound

Robert Harley on Electronics

by Robert Harley  | Jun 06th, 2017 
RH’s Best of Show

Best Sound (cost no object)

USA Tube Audio’s demonstration of the new Lumen White 25 Generation 4 speakers driven by Ayon electronics was spectacularly great, with wall-to-wall soundstaging. 

Close your eyes and you’d never know that you were in a hotel room.

Ayon Audio
Ayon Audio distributor USA Tube Audio presented the world premier of several new Ayon products; I’ll cover just the amplification. The system included the Ayon Spheris III preamplifier ($34,500) or alternately, the S-10 Network Streamer/Preamplifier ($8300). The all-tube components, housed in gorgeous chromed chassis, fed a pair of Ayon Orthos XS Gen 4 mono amps which drove the new Lumenwhite White Light 25 Gen 4 Anniversary speakers in one of the show’s best-sounding rooms.  

The 2017 Los Angeles Audio Show - 
The Absolute Sound

by  Neil Gader  | Jun 15th, 2017   NG’s Best Of Show - LA Audio Show 2017

Best Sound (cost no object): 

Most Surprising was the stunning Lumenwhite “White Light Anniversary ($69,000).  

Lumenwhite White Light “Anniversary” 
Do blondes still have more fun? If it’s a wood-veneer finish, Lumenwhite certainly thinks so. It premiered Generation 4 of its famous “White Light” speakers—the White Light Anniversary Reference ($69,000). The Anniversary Reference features the world’s first all-ceramic driver array in a radically advanced “pressure-and-flow-dynamics-optimized cabinet,” with numerous innovative technologies in an all-out assault on the state of the art in reference loudspeaker performance. Sonics were brilliantly fast and open. To my ear Lumenwhite’s latest generation of ceramic transducers was uncolored and possessed terrific dynamic output as well as sensitive micro-gradients. Driving the White Light were all Ayon components including the vacuum-tube CD-35 SACD streamer, S10 vacuum-tube streamer, Spheris tube preamplifier, and Orthos II Gen 4 mono amps.  

2016 - THE SHOW NEWPORT Robert Harley - The Absolute Sound   The Show Newport 2016 - Irvine California  "Best Sound" "Cost No Object" Ayon Audio Electronics with the Lumenwhite White Light Loudspeakers.   
   
Neil Gader - The Absolute Sound
The Show Newport 2016 - Irvine California  "Best Sound" "Cost No Object" Ayon Audio Electronics with the Lumenwhite White Light Loudspeakers.  

AYON AUDIO AWARDED "BEST SOUND" MUNICH HIGH END AUDIO SHOW 2017! 

AYON AUDIO AWARDED "BEST SOUND" MUNICH HIGH END AUDIO SHOW 2016!

AYON AUDIO AWARDED "BEST SOUND" MUNICH HIGH END AUDIO SHOW 2015!    

PRISTINE CONDITION SHOW UNIT AVAILABLE ! AS NEW...

The Absolute Sound - Award - "The Bugatti of Audio" 

Best of Show winner 7 years in a row! 
Reviewers say: "Better Than Vinyl"

6 MONTHS SAME AS CASH FINANCING AVAILABLE !

1-2-3 YEARS SAME AS CASH FINANCING AVAILABLE! - 0% APR - NO FINANCE CHARGES.

PRICE PROTECTION GUARANTEE - COME VISIT OUR WORLD CLASS SHOWROOM IN SCOTTSDALE ARIZONA

Our 90 Day Price Protection Guarantee assures our clients of our continued commitment to full satisfaction and delight. 

Should you find any Hi Fi product we offer from an Authorized Dealer in the USA for a lower price than the price you paid to us, we will gladly refund to you the difference plus 10% of that difference. 

Open 7 days, 10am to 8pm Ocean West 

USA Tube Audio - Since 1976 
Please call 1-800-676-1085 Sales X2 USA + Canada 
1-323-657-5993 International 
52-55-8525-6102 Mexico 
www.usatubeaudio.com

Ayon CD-35 HF
Whipped up by the great success of the CD-35 we got more and more requests to launch a special and limited Version of the CD-35, quasi a "digital" machine that should as "analogue" as never before. All music lovers engaged in top analogue turntables and/or reel-to-reel tape recorders also may feel to be approached. Many ideas, thoughts, suggestions, and a dedicated assistance of the people of the HighFidelity.pl magazine also were incorporated in the CD-35 HF project. Based upon the existing CD-35 technology every detail was re-examined carefully, refined, high-selected, re-adjusted, and the best-sounding components were implemented at the decisive points of the circuitry. Also, its slightly modified appearance, equipped with additional black elements, underline the exclusivity.


The CD-35 HF reflects a deep magical illumination of space, paired with a dynamic black deployment of power second to none. With its enormous musical representation and its tranquility in detail also the "long-term listening" is always experienced as being relaxed and inspiring.


Herewith, a new era of digital/analogue CD-reproduction presents itself in the foreground, a masterpiece of the art of sound.

Highlights V-cap TFTF coupling capacitors; Franc Audio - Ceramic Feet; WBT-210 NextGen RCA Jacks; Tantalum 2-Watt resistors for tube output-stage; AKM 4497EQ for DAC section; Black Finish for cooling slots, Top plate buttons, CD-LID and CD-inside housing; All components are matched at 1% level

Specifications

SACD/CD-Player

Ayon CD-35 HF

Conversion rate

768kHz / 32 bit & DSD 256

DAC confirguration

Fully symmetrical / 2 x 4497EQ AKM-Japan

DSP module (option)

PCM→DSD & DSD→DSD

Tube complement

6H30 & 5687

Dynamic range

> 120dB

Output level @1 kHz  / 0,775V -0dB Low

2.5V fixed or 0 – 2.5 V rms variable

Output level @1 kHz  / 0,775V -0dB High

5V fixed or 0 – 5V rms variable

Output impedance  Single-Ended-RCA

~ 300 Ω

Output impedance  Balanced-XLR

~ 300 Ω

Digital output

75 Ω S/PDIF (RCA)

Digital input

75 Ω S/PDIF (RCA), USB, I2S, BNC, AES/EBU,

3 x BNC for DSD

S/N ratio

> 119 dB

Frequency response

 20Hz - 50kHz  +/- 0.3dB

Total harmonic distortion @ 1kHz

< 0.001%

Remote control

Yes

Output complement

 RCA & XLR

Dimension (WxDxH) cm

48x39x12 cm

PRICE PROTECTION GUARANTEE - COME VISIT OUR WORLD CLASS SHOWROOM IN SCOTTSDALE ARIZONA

Our 90 Day Price Protection Guarantee assures our clients of our continued commitment to full satisfaction and delight. 

Should you find any Hi Fi product we offer from an Authorized Dealer in the USA for a lower price than the price you paid to us, we will gladly refund to you the difference plus 10% of that difference. 

Open 7 days, 10am to 8pm Ocean West 

USA Tube Audio - Since 1976 
Please call 1-800-676-1085 Sales X2 USA + Canada 
1-323-657-5993 International 
52-55-8525-6102 Mexico 
www.usatubeaudio.com

Ayon Audio CD-35 HF – High Fidelity –

The Sound of Master Tape! 

January 1, 2018 | 

WORLD PREMIERE

Below you will find a text regarding the Super Audio CD Ayon Audio
CD-35 High Fidelity (HF) Edition player. It is not a classic test, but
rather a record of the state of consciousness in the face of its sound,
its presence in the system. In my system, it has permanently replaced my
former favourite – the small, inconspicuous-looking Ancient Audio
Lektor AIR V-edition player, with all the modifications that I have
predicted for it.

Ayon CD-35 HF SACD DAC

That was not an easy decision for me and the Ayon player had stayed
in the box for about two weeks before I unpacked it, two more before I
seriously listened to it and yet one more before I finally started
comparing. It is because each modification of my reference system is a
hard time for me. This is not the reason why the Ancient player had been
my basic sound source for six long years – or even longer, since July
2011. It simply sounded and still sounds like a dream – like many times
more expensive players manufactured by the company’s excellent
competitors.

I had only felt jealous twice during that time and seen the player’s
fully exposed problems – after the meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society
devoted to the four-piece dCS Vivaldi system and while testing a
two-piece CEC player, with the TL0 3.0 belt-drive transport and the
discrete DA0 3.0 digital-to-analogue converter. I was also impressed
with two other fantastic sources – the Métronome Technologie Kalista CD
and the Chord Blu MkII/DAVE.

This time I had no more doubt and, with regret, decided to sell the
Ancient player, even though it has confirmed the good intuition of its
constructor and given witness to his knowledge, despite passing time.
Let me add that this is the last test that I have written for the
December issue of “HF”. Since January 2018, I am going to start tests
with another change in my system – the AC Siltech Triple Crown Power
cable which beautifully matches the Ayon player (it is the same top
level). The rest of the cables, i.e. the interconnects and speaker
cables came from the same series of the same manufacturer.

| Context

When we met Janusz, a man of Renaissance (as he calls himself), the
host of some meetings of the Krakow Sonic Society and owner of the Super
Audio CD Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition No. 02/50 player during a concert
break, we could not reach a consensus on whether the piano that Piotr
Anderszewski played sounded dull or simply pastel. Rysiek, Wiciu and
Bartek (participants in the same meetings of the KSS) thought that the
sound of the instrument was phenomenal and the performance outstandingly
smooth and balanced. Let us add that the artist got a few encores –
both solo and with the Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra that he performed
with. Janusz claimed that the sound was dull and that it lacked
definition and impact characteristic for a concert Steinway.

The discussion took place on the first floor of the NOSPR in
Katowice, i.e. the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony, regarded a
concert that was played as part of the 12th International Gorczycki
Festival and was continued during a meeting that we organized a day
later at Janusz’s. Did the differences in opinions result from the fact
that Rysiek, Bartosz and I sat at a balcony right above the piano and
Janusz at the front, slightly lower than we did, but quite far away from
the stage? Probably not, because Wiciu sat with him. Or did they result
from the fact that we hear things differently? There must be some truth
in that statement, but years spent on listening sessions have convinced
me that although we hear things in different ways, there is some kind
of consensus on what good performance and sound are.

And perhaps it is about what Wiciu noticed, i.e. expectations? That
could be closest to the truth. It was our first visit at that place and
first exposure to the sound of the hall and its look – everything that
the genius loci comprises, so we could have had different
impressions of the same sound. It is something that we also deal with in
the audio domain, perhaps mainly when it comes to absolute-top
products. Both examples are connected by the fact that although we can
discuss different things, we discuss things unattainable for other
people. Anyway, Janusz and I have exactly the same opinion of the Ayon
player.

It is a shame to admit it, but we need to face it – after the ICE
centre was built in Cracow, we come there so often that we are not
attracted by other, even better concert halls, a few of which we already
have in Poland (read more about the ICE and NOSPR halls HERE). But the
NOSPR hall is excellent. Its sound is the result of cooperation between
many project and executive teams, but the end result is the effect of
collaboration with the Japanese Nagata Acoustics company. In Katowice,
its work was supervised by Mr Yasushisa Toyota, a master in his field.

Earlier, the Japanese company worked on building such halls as the
Suntory Hall in Tokio, Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles or Concertgebouw
in Amsterdam. Yasushisa Toyota took part in creating musical buildings
with such famous architects as Frank Gehry or Jacques Jean Nouvel. What
is interesting, it was Kristian Zimmerman, the most recognizable Polish
pianist next to Piotr Anderszewski, who proposed engaging this company
in works in Katowice.

That immediately directs us to the main topic of this article – the
already mentioned Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition player and to how music
played at home should really sound like. In this case, these two things
go together because one provokes the other – listening to CDs on the
Ayon player is so incredibly satisfactory that I ask myself whether this
is not even better than a live event. In the end, I have the best seat,
I listen to artists I have no chance of hearing during a concert and it
all sounds the way which makes me believe, at the very moment I believe
this is real music and not reproduction. That would be a point for
Janusz, as a listening session with the Ayon player resembles that
“ideal” location, i.e. ca. 12 meters from the instrument and not what we
heard during the concert in Katowice.

On the other hand, I am painfully aware that listening to recorded
music – and first recording itself – is transferring one type of art
into another domain, irreversibly transforming a live event into a completely different experience. I also know it is not real
in the sense that it has already taken place and only constitutes a
reflection of something real, filtered through the sensitivity and
skills of a lot of people. I cannot give up the doubt that I am dealing
with something that Filip Springer wrote about travelling and maps:

Using a map is dealing with space that
we own. We can do anything we want with it. A map lures us with and
promises freedom, frees us from our duties. The more accurate it is, the
easier it is to believe it.

There is only one problem – all maps lie. It has been like that since their beginning.
It
is obvious, as it is impossible to transfer the surface of a sphere
onto a plane in a way that allows us to avoid distortions. […] My map
also lies […]

Filip Springer, Miasto Archipelag. Polska Mniejszych miast, Krakow 2016

As regards Anderszewski’s piano, I forgot to add that it had no lid –
we talked to each other after listening to the first part of the
concert, with Armide Overture and Joseph Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D major Hob. XVIII:11.
After the break we also listened to Apollo et Hyacinthus Overture and
the Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, KV. 453 by Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart.

| The CD-35 overall

I am beginning to understand that I am
dealing with an archipelago – not only of stories but also cities
themselves. They cannot be connected using one line. I decide to divide
them into groups and connect them using circles. The result is not that
good, but looks more promising. So, I have some kind of a plan (that
will soon disintegrate) and some kind of a map – everything I need to
start some kind of a journey.

Ayon CD-35 HF SACD DAC

From a technical point of view, the CD-35 HF Edition player is a very
close relative of the basic model, i.e. the CD-35. It is a Super Audio
CD player and its Signature version has digital inputs (including a
USB), an analogue preamp with three inputs and an upsampler which lets
us change PCM signal from Compact Discs and DSD64 signal (SACDs) to
DSD128 or DSD256. It is a one-piece device, but is treated as a top Ayon
Audio source by Gerhard Hirt, the company owner. We (i.e. the Krakow
Sonic Society) also liked the player, which was demonstrated by the
Special Award High Fidelity 2016, given to the device in December 2016.

During the world premiere of the player at the abovementioned
meeting, Janusz and I got enchanted by what the small device can do. It
was not the best in the world and not even the best among those that we
had had in our systems – let us not forget about the incredible dCS
Vivaldi, Métronome Technologie Kalista CD, Chord Blu MkII/DAVE and
C.E.C. TL0 3.0/DA0 3.0. The thing is that everything it did, it did well
and we could not find any errors in it. Regardless of the type of music
played, it let us enter it deeper than other digital sources.

The CD-35 owes it equally to its digital and analogue section. It was
created for a few years, the longest of which (three years) was spent
on developing D/D digital filters that convert PCM signal to DSD. On the
one hand, it is quite a simple task that is dealt with by small
specialized chips, like in the Amare Musica Diamond Tube DAC DSD, but
such actions have never convinced me when it comes to top high-end. In
the end, it is all about changing one format into another, which always
affects signal (its content).

However, upsampling in the Ayon player, or rather its algorithm
prepared by specialists from StreamUnlimited, is a completely new
experience. Not only does the sound lack nothing, but, in a way, it also
lets us recover something from it, even if we play a SHM-SACD, not only
a CD. That is greatly aided by the tube output section with tube
amplification – probably the best digital player output section that has
so far been invented by Ayon.

| The CD-35 HF Edition overall

Whipped up by the great success of the
CD-35, we got more and more requests to launch a special and limited
version of the CD-35, a quasi-digital machine that should sound as analogue
as never before. All music lovers engaged in top analogue turntables
and/or reel-to-reel tape recorders also may feel to be approached. Many
ideas, thoughts, suggestions and a dedicated assistance of the people of
the HighFidelity.pl magazine also were incorporated in the CD-35 HF
project. 

Source: ayonaudio.com

Some sparks flew between the participants in the meeting (not from a
faulty plug). As a result, we met Gerhard before Christmas the same year
at a restaurant in Cracow, close to the market, to discuss an idea that
we all got at the same time, articulated by Gerhard: let us make the
CD-35 even better. Please remember that one of its design assumptions
was not to exceed the planned budget, i.e. €10,000 that a purchaser was
to pay for it.

There were a lot of ideas and Gerhard promised to examine all of them
with his engineers. It all proved more difficult than we had expected.
Now it seems simple and although everyone can improve something in their
player by changing components, please believe me – if this is to be a
holistic project, it is not going to be an easy task (see DC-Components: historia jednego apgrejdu – Eng. DC-Components: the history of one upgrade).
It took the Ayon team half a year and three people worked on the player
at that time. After examining various options, a decision was made to
make the following changes:

• V-cap TFTF coupling capacitors,
• Franc Audio Accessories Ceramic Feet,
• WBT-0210 Au NextGen RCA jacks,
• Tantalum 2-Watt resistors for the tube output-stage,
• AKM 4497EQ converters, one per channel, differently implemented,
• more silence drive,
• all important components matched at 1% tolerance level,
• black finish for silver elements – cooling slots, the CD-LID and CD-inside housing.

As Gerhard said, resistors took them most of the time. Originally, he
and his engineers only wanted to replace those in tube cathodes, but
when they heard how big a difference was made by that small change, they
decided to replace them all. And here problems started – the device
heats up a lot, as there are a lot of tubes within the little space in
it and the selected top-class tantalum 2-Watt resistors are not commonly
available, while the former ones did not yield the assumed sound
results.

 

An important element of the device are also Ceramic Disc feet
manufactured by the Polish Franc Audio Accessories company. Its owner,
Paweł Skulimowski, specially made a version with a white body for the
project. I was not initially sure about the colour, until I placed the
player on my shelf – then everything “went together well”. Thanks to the
feet, the device becomes lighter, is not heavy and “floats”.
Additionally, it sounds much better than on the original feet. It is a
great distinction for the Polish company, but a well-deserved one.

Another element that has been made with special care is the
amplifier. It is based on two R-core transformers and a choke, with a
tube full-wave rectifier for output tubes (a Soviet NOS-type tube) –
this role is played by double triodes – the 6H30N Electro-Harmonix and
General Electric JAN-5687WB from army supplies (JAN = Joint Army Navy).
In a Pi filter, one of the branches consists of very large polypropylene
and not electrolytic capacitors – this solution has been tested in the
manufacturer’s top preamplifiers. I only changed the fuses – the one
that can be reached from the outside is now Verictum, while the four
inside were manufactured by Creative Hi-Fi.

Assembling the tested version of the CD-35 takes the company two
weeks – the longest of all its products, with the exception of the
Conqueror – the firm’s top preamplifier. There are plans to assemble
only 50 units. At the back panel of each there is a special plate with
the “High Fidelity” logo, a subsequent number and Gerhard’s signature.
This version is called High Fidelity Edition.

| Hard facts

I was a little afraid of the first meeting with the version named
after the magazine that I had created – it is always an unknown, even if
everything that is done is based on good assumptions. That was
unnecessary – the result exceeded my greatest expectations. It will not
be an exaggeration when I say that this is one of the few best digital
sources in the world and, at the same time, it is closest in sound to an
analogue master tape, which makes it different from the few players
that I am talking about.

I already pointed it out in the basic version, as its sound character
was then already so incredible and different from other digital sources
that a large group of music lovers, disgusted or confused, could
immediately start looking for something else, as this is sound
practically without edges, details, planes, 3D images and space. I am
exaggerating a little but not too much. I know the sound of analogue
tape played from a top tape recorder, as I took part in the recording
sessions of the Studio Muzyki Przestrzennej Teatru imienia J.
Słowackiego (Eng. Studio of Spatial Music of Juliusz Słowacki Theatre)
in Cracow, established by my mentor – Józek Rychlik. That was a fully
analogue studio – at that theatre, I played music from the Studer 820
and ReVox PR99 MkII tape recorders (three per each stage) and then I
heard master tapes played during shows, presentations and private
meetings.

So, I have never understood respect that music lovers pay to vinyl. I
was brought up on black discs, but they have just been one of the
possibilities for me, as far from analogue tape as other ones, but in a different way.
The CD-35, especially in the HF Edition, is closest to my experiences
of all the digital and most analogue sources that I know; only the
abovementioned CEC player does something similar. It is an absolutely
fulfilled sound. It lacks nothing, as it is not listened to as a hi-fi
product for even a moment. We choose recordings based on their musical
content and if this is good music, each has its own story to tell.

Of course, one can attribute certain features to this sound – it is
not ethereal or bland. A listener’s attention focuses on the midrange,
although the bass and treble are at their place. But, for example, the
CD Kalista and dCS Vivaldi pay more attention to high and low sounds –
not because they emphasize them but due to the fact that they construct
instrument shapes in this way, opening sound and giving it a solid
foundation. Compared to them, the Ayon player may seem to have little
courage – I got a similar impression when I listened to Chord and CEC
systems.

However, this is because the Austrian player builds the musical
message from the inside – it brings sounds to the surface and does not
construct them. Its message is incredibly homogeneous, similarly to the
sound of analogue tapes. All elements go well with one another, rule
together and nothing is specially energized. However, the incredibly
high dynamics characteristic for the way the CD-35 HF plays recordings
is unique. Never before have I heard anything like that from a CD or
SACD and only few, absolutely top turntables reacted similarly to an
impulse in my system.

It is sound at an incredibly high level – world class, not something
typical for a provincial artist or businessman. The sophistication is
manifested by a lack of complexes and perfect knowledge of one’s
strengths and weaknesses. However, this is also sophistication without
pretentiousness, as the Ayon player pays equal attention to the new
Seong-Jin Cho album with a selection of Debussy’s recordings, carefully
created by the Japanese and released as a SHM-CD and to a limited
edition album with Jens Pauly’s music that is close to drone, released
in a microscopic number of units by our friends from Karlrecords on a
CD-R (r/f album). What matters is what is concrete – music, emotions, value.

It is not that the player does not differentiate. It naturally does
it in an outstanding way. However, if I can put it this way, the
differentiation is favourable – it neither sharpens anything nor opens a
battlefield where it does not exist. It perfectly points out the
differences between Master CD-R versions and ordinary pressings, which
could be witnessed by the readers who are members of the Krakow Sonic
Society during meetings in Warsaw, at the Audio Video Show 2017. Having
listened to a better version of a given album on it – a Platinum SHM-CD,
an Ultimate HQCD, or perhaps the still inimitable XRCD in each of its
versions, we will look only for them, mostly because we will get more
music with them and not because they “sound better”, as this is, as
Janusz puts it, pure bullshit.

It is the first SACD player which makes me understand what this
format is about, which places it higher than a CD. So far, I have had an
impression that I am dealing with promises or perhaps potential
possibilities. The CD-35 HF immediately puts us in the right position:
sound with SACDs is smoother, deeper, more subtle and fuller (into the
inside). These may not be fundamental differences, but they are
important enough for me to start looking for these discs. Once heard,
SHM-SACDs or simply single-layered ones make us seriously deal with the
issue, on the same level as with the Master CD-R.

Janusz, the host of the Krakow Sonic Society, is a man faithful to
his beliefs, consistent in what he does. It was him, a music lover, who
opted for Japanese mini LP editions a long time ago and then for all
their upgrades, and now zealously believes in SHM-SACDs and does not
want to hear about anything else. Even though I do not give up CDs so
easily and do not get nervous when I listen to them, as they also sound
great, I fully understand him, also because the softness, the inner
softness of the sound makes us able to listen to music for a long and
very long time, loud and very loud – and yet we do not feel tired. We
get a lot of information, but not through an attack, but osmosis – like
in real life, like during a concert.

This is a player which most deeply and successfully appeals to my
sensitivity, my aesthetics and my needs. It does not occupy much space,
but offers a lot of conveniences, e.g. a fantastic DAC that I
successfully tried out during the test of the Fidata HFAS1-S10U audio
server/file player and, more recently, with the Lumin D2 file player.
There is also an analogue preamplifier, even though in my system sound
was better with an external preamp – the Ayon Audio Spheris III.

The Ayon player is THE choice, it was the Ayon that seduced and
enchanted me.

| Story

I have been trying to present the essence of my observations
regarding the Ayon Audio CD-35 High Fidelity Edition player. I did not
want to make it an obvious story based on the assumption that something
that bears a “High Fidelity” logo and that has been created taking into
account the remarks and comments of people from the Krakow Sonic Society
cannot sound bad. I have wanted it to be a reliable and accurate sound
analysis. I collected materials, listened to music, compared and
analysed. I made a few attempts at writing the test and I felt the
absurd of what I was doing each time. Finally, I decided to write
individual paragraphs as if it was a conversation. I think I have
managed to tell you more in this way than with the aid of a classic
test.

It was Professor von Ranke who
established a lot of standards for the work of a historian and, as one
of the first researchers, put emphasis on the narrative aspect of
history. Meeting him allowed me to understand that even such a precise
rule as a law of physics must be told to be understood. I think that, in
fact, the story does not have to differ too much from a poem. [Leopold
Ranke (1795–1886), a German historian – Editor’s note]

Filip Springer, op. cit.

It is the kind of a player that makes a classic description a little
pointless, as it twists what can be said about the device a little – the
more that this story continues and I am still learning about the
player. So, I decided to present you my thoughts on it, my reasoning,
counting that conclusions will be obvious. The basic one is the
following: it is one of the best sound sources in the world and only
good tape recorders with master tapes or their copies and a few
turntables can produce yet more natural and better sound. The same level
is represented by, perhaps, three abovementioned SACD and CD systems
that are still so different that it will be easy for potential
purchasers to say “yes” or “no” to the Ayon player. It is
state-of-the-art modern digital technology.

AYON AUDIO in “High Fidelity”

 

Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer)

Conversion rate: 768 kHz/32 bit & DSD 256
DAC: 2 x AKM 4497EQ
DSP module (option): PCM→DSD & DSD→DSD
Tubes: 6H30 + 5687

Dynamic range: > 120 dB
Output level (1 kHz):
– Low: 2.5V fixed or 0 – 2.5V rms variable
– High: 5V fixed or 0 – 5V rms variable
Output impedance (XLR | RCA): ~ 300 Ω | ~ 300 Ω

Digital output: 75 Ω S/PDIF (RCA)
Digital inputs: 75 Ω S/PDIF (RCA), USB, I2S, BNC, AES/EBU, 3 x BNC for DSD
S/N ratio: > 119 dB
Frequency response: 20 Hz – 50 kHz (+/- 0.3 dB)
THD (1 kHz): < 0.001%
Dimensions (WxDxH): 480 x 390 x 120 mm
Weight: 17 kg

Ayon Audio USA – 1-310-601-7976 Ext 2 & 1-800-676-1085 Ext 2 Sales  – www.usatubeaudio.com