Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

I have heard teh Atlantic, but not in the same room and system as mine. I personally like the micro and macro detail the the Ayre just nails.  I read that review of Steve's incredible ODSX and Plaskin calls his QX5 a bit forward.  I don't get that in my system at all and I have an Ayre AX5/20 running it.  If a recording is mastered forward, then it will give me that. If it's not, then it won't present that like many others will.  When I make a statement like that, I realize that I wasn't in the room when the music I"m listening to was mastered.  I can't know how they wanted it, but these are mostly tunes that I'm familiar with on many systems and if something is mostly 'not forward', then I'm making a broad based assumption that it probably wasn't mastered that way.  Visa versa.  

I now will sell my Ayre QX5, but like the Empirical Audio ODSE/SE, I will miss it greatly.  As for the Atlantic vs, I think the biggest difference is that the Lampi doesn't have quite the detail that the Ayre has and the Ayre's noise floor is the lowest of the two by a bit.  Charlie builds a lot of his own power filtering in the mids on up into all his units now.  The QX5 has special filtering in it. I also liked that it's got one of the best streamers built into it.  It sounds better by a smidge than the Aurender N100 that I heard side by side.  I also feel it's best in balanced mode.  The one thing I like about Ayre is that it's neither tube nor SS.  That is the Ayre sound and it's what Charlie has always been about, even back in his Avalon Accoustic days.  He's one of the few who were able to figure that all out. His diamond stages really pushed that concept forward in his designs.  

I just can't do tubes anymore. I love many of the tube designs and I owned Jadis, Quicksilver, Aesthetix, Conrad Johnson and Audio Research along with Counterpoint (best of most if not for breaking down monthly).  Until I got the Ayre gear a few years ago, tubes were all I owned.  Heck, I'd die for the Vandersteen 7 mk2's with Richards amp that is a tube/hybrid type of amp.  I have enjoyed the Lampi the few times I've heard them.  Would I own one?  Of course I would. Many DAC's I'd own, but I do feel that in the prices ranges I've ended up playing in, I got the right one for my system.

It's crazy as with MS, it takes me so long to write something like this, so please bear with me when I'm off on a tangent at times and if my thoughts aren't always in sync. Thanks.  

I do feel that there’s an overemphasis placed on speakers in audiophile threads/discussions at times. Obvious each link of the audio chain matters. If I had to choose one or the other, I’d select great electronics with "good" speakers rather than good electronics with "great" speakers. This puts me in a minority position but it’s based on many listening experiences.

Charles, +1.  Add me to your member count for this 'minority' position. : )

Ctsooner, You re in sync, no worries. My comment regarding the Ayre QX5-20 and Lampizator Atlantic comparison actually isn’t about determining which is better. That is pure subjectivity and taste oriented. My curiosity revolves around their very contrasting design (topological and circuitry)and approach and how this would play out in reproducing music. Each would have individual areas of strength but it’s their "overall presentation" that I’d find fascinating to hear side by side.
Charles

Guys I just realized that this thread is 4 years old and has almost 4k posts!  That's just crazy and fun to say the least.  Heard a lot of DAC's this weekend at Cam Jam.  Wasn't impressed with most of them to be very frank.  I felt very let down. There were a couple that were very nice, but you can tell that so many DAC's in the 2-8k range are not great.  There are many that are of course, but overall (in show conditions though), I felt let down by so many of them.  I was surprised by what IEM and headphone companies were using to showcase their top gear.  The Cayin stuff was really fun.  Not 'the best DAC', but we often digress in the thread and let it meander a bit.  I just thought I'd share that so many of the DAC's in this thread are outstanding values at various price points. 

I spent a lot of time on Sunday at the Schitt table.  I know I'll get flamed for this, but I really felt let down. I heard their top offerings in the most recent form I'm assuming and wasn't impressed.  I had borrowed aChord 2 to walk around with (well, roll around. Those who know me realize I can't walk by myself anymore, lol and I also sit a TON).  That smoked the Yggy with that big amp they had.  My own AK380cu DAP was more musical with more micro and macro detail.  Maybe it's just different tastes for everyone type of thing.  I spoke with a few close friends who are reviewers for headphones and IEM's and they don't know the hype, but didn't love the products, so I know it's not just me.

The real point is that I"m not disparaging anything, but again, it really made a huge statement that I'm blessed to have found this thread to sift through the chaff that is out here in the digital world.  Digital is harder to pull off than analog I feel.  Guys like Steve and the Lampi guy are in another class.  I also feel it takes some of the larger companies who have R&D budgets and economy of scale to pull off great digital for say under 2k (Ayre) or the MSB's of the world etc...  Some companies only do digital adn they too get it right....Aurender and some others.  It really hit home for me, what a great designer Steve is as his DAC, and I'm sure his soon to be released headphone amp are mind boggling.