Ayon CD-35 Signature tube CD/SACD player/ Preamp / DAC w PCM-DSD converter

Transcription

1 Ayon CD-35 Signature tube CD/SACD player/ Preamp / DAC w PCM-DSD converter AY 04 CD CD35SIG NZ$15, ea (incl. GST) CD-35 SIGNATURE CD/SACD player incl ANALOG PREAMP and USB DAC w PCM-DSD CONVERTER. 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 Signature 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 Signature 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. CD35 Signature version features special - Ultra High Speed switchable DSP module & Mundorf supreme Gold / Silver capacitors. Herewith, a new era of digital/analogue CD-reproduction presents itself in the foreground, a masterpiece of the art of sound. HIGH FIDELITY GOLD FINGERPRINT AWARD: "for the first time ever I decided to grant the GOLD Fingerprint award to the product that costs less than interconnects used to hook it up". REVIEWERS COMMENT: The audio world is dangerously heading towards price absurdities. The more expensive a product is, the more people write about it. Some of these devices are really worth paying attention to and truly make us understand sound better, but most of them are just manufacturers attempts to earn a lot of money. Gerhard Hirt, the owner of Ayon Audio, has a different idea. He thinks that it is more important for as many people as possible to be able to buy a high-end product without ruining their family budget to the sixth generation. It is for them that he has prepared his new to p class source a player that has been ostentatiously called the CD-35, even though it also normally plays SACDs. Its secret lies in refined up-sampling of PCM signal to DSD signal, the results of which have never been so good before. The device, which costs less than 10,000, can be freely placed next to players that are three times as expensive and it will not necessarily be the loser. REVIEWERS COMMENT: "The SACD format, which promised so much, has previously never really seduced me. Even the best players in my ears did not present any special advantage of SACD format over the CD. Ayon CD-35 was the first device that changed my mind about it,"..wojciech Pacula Sounds Inc Audio Solution The Ayon CD-35 establishes a new benchmark in SE-Triode vacuum-tube CD/SACDPlayer performance by combining a fully balanced PCM-DSD DAC. Page 1/5

2 The CD-35 is also prepared for computer playback and general DSD professional audio use. The CD-35 is in many respects a new ground-breaking CD/SACD-Player design with an advanced technology like a new vacuum tube output stage, new magnetic clamp system with separate CD-LID, new DAC design and a switchable PCM-DSD converter (DSP module). Note - the CD-35 replaces previous CD 5 which has been discontinued. REVIEW SUMMARY: "CD versus SACD versus DSD256: With CDs played back the Ayon CD-35 is a very musical machine. When music asked, the macrodynamical contrasts were huge and the player made lamps and chairs swing in the rhythm, while I was nailed speachless to my listening chair. The spatial perspective, lateral and front-to-back, is wide and deep, with very fine resolution. If you are the soundstaging freak, then the Ayon CD-35 may be the right player for you. It paints the sonic pictures with robust strokes and a bit of pomp, not unlike in a cinema where the actors on the screen are bigger than life. This is an exhilarating experience in the audio world where soundstage is often miniaturised. Well, I liked the sound very much in the red book format, but once the player is switched into the SACD mode I could hear immediately how inferior the sound of CD is to it. Take Orchestrio Zurich and Pictures from An Exhibition (Exton), play it through the Ayon CD-35 in both formats and here you are: in the SACD mode the room disappears and musicians start to wiggle in their chairs right in front of you, in your room. This recording has amazing ambience recorded and the Ayon could deliver it with aplomb. What I found interesting, though, was that the sound of the SACD was not that much different from the PCM upsampled with the DSD256. Does it mean that the Ayon neglects the SACD layer by virtue of an inferior technical solution, like Wadia or Soulution players? No, when I compared the SCAD layer with my reference player it was almost as good. What the Ayon does is that it digs out extra information, or better, it undigitalize the PCM layer through the very clever DSD256 upsampling towards higher fluidity and openness. I do not know any other player that is capable of similar magic. My resume is very simple: considering its price the Ayon CD-35 Signature SACD player aspires to one of the best buys in the high end audio industry. Based on a zero-feedback, pure tube circuit design and a tube rectified power supply, the CD-35 reveals the manifold layers of music with utmost transparency while projecting a deep and highly focused 3D soundstage. Its bass is extended and powerful, its midrange pure, liquid and permeated with natural warmth, while the top is extraordinarily clean and finely detailed. This Reference CD/SACD-Player offers an uncompromising quality level in every aspect. The CD-35 is one of the most exciting CD/SACD-Player with vacuum-tube output stage and the best sounding CD/SACD-Player what Ayon Audio ever built". Features Full-featured Tube Top Loader CD/SACD-Player. Class-A triode vacuum-tube output stage for single-ended & balanced operation The CD-35 is available in 3 different versions: CD-35 Standard, CD-35 Preamp (quadruple electrical-analogue volume control and 3 analogue line inputs) CD-35 Signature (DSP modules for PCM?DSD and Mundorf Silver/Gold caps) Some technical highlights: -New tube output stage, for the first time composed of 2 different types of tubes per channel, one 5687 & 6H30. -New tube rectifying with a Russian GZ30 version, -New DAC with 2 separate AKM converters from Japan; -A special feature for the CD-35 Signature-version: an ultra-high-speed DSP module switchable via RC is responsible for the conversion of all PCM signals (up to ) into DSD (switchable 128x or 256x) and also SACD can be lifted up to 256x. Page 2/5

3 Signal Path We believe that the simplest circuits work best together with the shortest signal path. That is why our pre-amplifiers to date have used single-ended pure class-a circuitry. The shorter the signal path is, the less possibility of sonic degradation from various sources, including the wire itself. Even on the circuit boards, the copper traces are kept to a very minimum length. The completely redesigned circuit board provides a more straightforward and direct approach to the signal paths? Logical sequenced soft-start power up for extended tube life? Warm up function? 0dB negative feedback (of any kind )? Ultra short signal path? Simplest direct circuit path for purest musical sound and high reliability? Low output impedance for driving long runs interconnect to an amplifier, and any tube or solid state power amp? No solid state devices in the analog tube output (signal path )? Minimal discrete wiring for optimum signal propagation? No followers or buffers in the signal path? No DC servo that degrades the signal? High quality parts throughout? Fully hand assembled to insure the highest level of craftsmanship? Separate analog output stage for left and right channel? The volume is controlled in the analogue domain? DAC digital input - S/PDIF (RCA), AES/EBU (XLR), I2S, BNC, USB, 3 x BNC for DSD;? Digital output - S/PDIF (RCA)? Ultra-low jitter internal clock generator Power Supply The power supplies have been further refined with new components and enhanced AC line noise filtration. Separate power transformer windings and filters provide total isolation between the input and output stage which makes this a pure power source and it is a critical attribute for a 6H30/5687 output stage. We also use electrolytic capacitors with much larger storage capacity to make up for the loss in filtering when using resistors in lieu of inductors.? 2 separate R-Core / Low noise insulated power transformer for digital & analog? Innovative power supply provides a high speed energy delivery on transients? Separate and isolated power supplies over each stage of amplification? Tube rectification for 6H30/5687 analog output stage? Choke filtering for 6H30/5687? Regulated DC filament supplies with soft start for 6H30/5687? AC power line filter to avoid noise and hash from entering into the unit.? 10 separate voltage regulators Components The type of parts used therefore must have a synergistic relationship to the circuit they are placed in. It is this relationship of which type of part to use where, that ranks our products apart from the mass.? Selected, premium quality passive components used in all applications? High speed & high quality audiophile grade coupling capacitors? High quality special tube sockets with gold pins? Superior capacitors? High quality RCA & XLR jack? Gold-plated industrial grade PCB Mechanical Construction The high grade aluminium chassis impart a richer, more lustrous tonality with a cleaner back-ground and less hash and grain. All brushed anodised anti-vibration-resonance and non-magnetic chassis s are fully hand assembled to insure the highest level of craftsmanship.? Backlit function buttons? Modified suspension system to isolate the SACD/CD-transport from mechanical vibrations? Anti-vibration magnetic CD-clamp system with dark acrylic CD-LID? Front panel descriptions are engraved Page 3/5

4 ? The aluminium feet are resonance absorbing types? Chassis finish: black / chrome Specifications SACD/CD-Player Ayon CD-35 Conversion rate 768kHz / 32 bit & DSD 256 DAC configuration Fully symmetrical / AKM-Japan DSP module (option) PCM?DSD & DSD?DSD Tube complement 6H30 & 5687 Dynamic range > 120dB Output khz / 0,775V -0dB Low 2.5V fixed or V rms variable Output khz / 0,775V -0dB High 5V fixed or 0 5V rms variable Output impedance Single-Ended-RCA ~ 300? Output impedance Balanced-XLR ~ 300? Digital output 75? S/PDIF (RCA) Digital input 75? 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 1kHz < 0.001% Remote control Yes Output complement RCA & XLR Dimension (WxDxH) cm 48x39x12 cm Weight 17 kg Award Summary During the CD-35 test I listened to both CDs and SACDs. I have to say that the difference between them was not big, and with the upsampling to DSD it was actually small. The discs when converted to DSD256 sounded incredibly emotionally mature. I prefer simple solutions and changing the format always seems risky to me; I believe that music should be played in the format in which it was recorded. Therefore the PCM to DSD upsampling never appealed to me and for me (even in the case of the most expensive devices) it always confirmed my intuition resulting in a sound full of artifacts. What people of StreamUnlimited managed to prepare together with Gerhard Hirt is a completely different story. Upsampling changes the sound in a very significant way (besides it also increases volume by 4-5 db). These are not subtle adjustments, but a transition from a very good, tasteful hi-fi to a full-blown high-end performance. The best digital sources present a slightly better differentiated sound stage in the back, their performance is also more detailed and dcs Vivaldi delivers even smoother one. However, none of the players that I listened at home wasn't able to deliver such a rich, saturated performance as Ayon did, nor such a big scale of the sound nor so large instruments. When one presses Play CD-35 fills the space between loudspeakers tightly with sound, and if particular disc includes such signals equally dense sound surrounds listener. I've never heard anything like that before. I'm not claiming that this is the best possible performance, because it is not. But it is, however, one of the most interesting sounds that I heard from any audio device. For the first time ever I decided to grand the GOLD Fingerprint award to the product that costs less than interconnects used to hook it up. Review...there is no point in beating around the bush about it so I'll get right to it and say that CD-35 is a remarkable device. - for the first time ever I decided to grand the GOLD Fingerprint award to the product... - Wojciech Pacula During the CD-35 test I listened to both CDs and SACDs. I have to say that the difference between them was not big, and with the upsampling to DSD it was actually small. The discs when converted to DSD256 sounded incredibly emotionally mature. I prefer simple solutions and changing the format always seems risky to me; I believe that music should be played in the format Page 4/5

5 Powered by TCPDF ( in which it was recorded. Therefore the PCM to DSD upsampling never appealed to me and for me (even in the case of the most expensive devices) it always confirmed my intuition resulting in a sound full of artifacts. What people of StreamUnlimited managed to prepare together with Gerhard Hirt is a completely different story. Upsampling changes the sound in a very significant way (besides it also increases volume by 4-5 db). These are not subtle adjustments, but a transition from a very good, tasteful hi-fi to a full-blown high-end performance. The best digital sources present a slightly better differentiated sound stage in the back, their performance is also more detailed and dcs Vivaldi delivers even smoother one. However, none of the players that I listened at home wasn't able to deliver such a rich, saturated performance as Ayon did, nor such a big scale of the sound nor so large instruments. When one presses Play CD-35 fills the space between loudspeakers tightly with sound, and if particular disc includes such signals equally dense sound surrounds listener. I've never heard anything like that before. I'm not claiming that this is the best possible performance, because it is not. But it is, however, one of the most interesting sounds that I heard from any audio device. For the first time ever I decided to grand the GOLD Fingerprint award to the product that costs less than interconnects used to hook it up. Link Page 5/5