Ayre C5xe or APL 3910 ?

I've heard both side by side, but it was very briefly so I am not comfortable being conclusive in my remarks here. I will say that the Ayre sounded very, very good, but not necessarily better (or even as good) as the APL. Since that audition, the APL has undergone a change to a new brand of DAC (moving from Crystal to AKM), which owners say transports it [good pun, eh?] to another level. (But people always say stuff like that.) The APL Denon has a tube in it, by the way, while the Ayre is solid state all the way.

The Ayre definitely wins on looks and ergonomics. He's dropped those silly, cryptic icons that are on the CX7 and gone to a more conventional presentation. I probably would buy an Ayre if it offered a digital input so I could use my computer as a source. APL offers a digital input option for the 3910.

Ayre is not listed on either the exhibitor nor the product list for RMAF. Too bad, and it's right in their own backyard.

What might have been the JRDG digital player was being designed as a side project by Rich Maez, who recently left JRDG for Boulder. That's my understanding anyway.

His wife just last week had a baby. He's backlogged, but I'm sure he'll get back to you.