Ayre Codex vs. Lampizator Amber II

News flash...NJ isn't the only state where "probabably" is considered to be a new word. Come to think of it, the phrase "half a sissy" is a bit of a head scratcher as well. And, what the hell...what are "SPs"?

I promise you its beautiful and have run the Ayre Codex up to pretty much all Dacs at 5 k and it easily competes and then some.

Jim Smith wrote pretty much the same although he cautioned that he hadn't heard everything.

There seems to be some inconsistencies between JA’s measurements and the Audio Science Review ones. Not sure, of course, which are correct.


Disclaimer, I own (and love!) a Codex.

Codex measurements are awful. Probabably is not necessary to spend that much to upgrade. 

BTW I just looked at the Lampizator site and there are not data of the performance of their DACs, just blah, blah. Huge red flag for me. 

Yeah, don’t go after Lampizator if you purchase and listen via measurements only. Lampi is for sure for music lovers, as they get to the soul of the music better than many. To discount this brand after a skim of the website is short sided. 
I’m sure they measure fine, as they sound fantastic. Besides, what audio company doesn’t use “blah, blah” on their website and instead posts measurements? Next to none. Measurements are typically done and posted by third party. 

Codex measurements are awful. Probabably is not necessary to spend that much to upgrade.

The Codex measure very very very closely to the Pono in Stereophile, and the Pono was one of, if not THE best sounding portable I’ve ever heard, especially with IEM’s. This makes me think that there's no relationship to the numbers AND that Ayre reused the design practically lock stock and barrel.


ASR’s entire process is deeply flawed. It isn’t science, it is quality assurance. The Oppo though, also measured poorly and man, I hated it from first listen. So, their measurements have no correlation to user experience. If you want to listen the way a scope does though, follow them.


To actually review these DACs scientifically they need to listen first, or independently before measuring, otherwise it is just confirmation bias.


Best,
E