Here are some notes on the Ayon CD-2 that recently replaced my longtime love, the Cary 306/200. First, this is my system as it now stands:
Gear:
Ayon CD-2
Karan KAI-180
Squeezebox Duet, Bolder modified and with power
Dynaudio Confidence C-1
Sound Applications XE-12S modded to near Linestage
Cables: Gabriel Gold Rapture RCA Interconnects and Speaker Cables, Von
Gaylord Chincnilla Sig. RCA Digital
Power Cords: BMI Hammerhead Gold Mk1 and Mk3
Gabriel Gold Rapture on and off the CD-2 (see below)
Of note, the Karan is a relatively new addition and I had only a short time to listen to it with the Cary, but did listen thoughtfully to the tunes I have used most often for analysis of gear in the past. And, here are those tunes:
David Gray: The Ep's 92-94
Shine, Lover
John Hiatt: Crossing Muddy Waters
Crossing Muddy Waters, What Do we Do Now
Dave Matthews Band: Under the Table and Dreaming
Satellite, Pay for What You Get, #34
Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker
May Winding Wheel
Ben Harper: Fight for Your Mind
Please Me Like You Want To
John Coltrane Quartet: Ballads
Say It (over and Over Again)
Mike Doughty: Skittish
The Only Answer, Looks
Steve Earle: Train a Comin'
Goodbye, Northern Winds, Rivvers of Babylon, Tecumsah
Vallley
Sometimes Why:
MIddle, Hush Child, Let Down, Hallowell
The soundstage is enormous and fabulous and as good or better than the Cary, while the imaging less precise, but in a very nice way. The images are rounder, a little softer, and larger. With the Karan, the Cary's images were somehow diminutive on a large stage....while that left a lot of black background, it seemed less real than the Ayon. The notes are true on attack, but the decay feels a little attenuated.
The detail is comparable or better, but since the images are larger, there is less separation on vocal harmonies in close proximity. So, with more crowded or complex parts of music there is some congestion that is not
so pleasing.
It is a very revealing player, so the recording is stripped of any corrective blurring or bad production for better or worse. And, forget about MP3's, they sound terrible and suck any way.
The ergonomics suck.....Holding on to the slow cooker like top while changing cd's is and true pain in
the ass.
It is overall a more musical player with a sweet midrange (more about that below) and bass is very realisitic and well controlled. No bloat, but a ton of energy overall. This abundance of energy presents itself as this nagging bit of forward nature in the upper mids. Truth be told, that is actually always nagging me in my system and in the end it is probably the Dynaudio's fault They are accurate and unforgiving and sound great when piled on with clean power, but require reigning in to avoid listener fatigue. It's their (and
my) specific conundrum of needing gobs of power and liking a tubish
warmth.
The Ayon does not add the tubish warm I was hoping for, but it has so many good attributes that I am going to try a quad of '80's Rusky DR tubes and see if that will bring it on home.
So, with that aggressive sonic trait demand in mind, the BMI cord is a better match in my system for the player....the Rapture cord has a small of that sonic signature and doesn't work as well right now. But, the new tubes could change things and I would venture is a great match for a system with less
tendency towards the aggressive or one that is more laid back and needs a little push towards 'coming alive'.
The DAC portion is very nice with the same caveats as above and is where I really here the MP3 disgusting hashy stuff.
So, overall, I like the CD-2 better than my Cary, but am not blown away by it. I am anxious to hear it with the NOS tubes and see what they brig to the table.
And, to be fair, I have been under the weather for a few months and am bringing a less than optimal attitude and overall gestalt of life to the listening table so my best ears aren't on. So much pig's guts on the table.
Like the man said, "I've been down but not like this before." Don't want to be a whiner, but really and I am holding my own, but for the most part hunkering down in the bosom of my nuclear family wile my friend's are awaiting my inevitable bobbing back to the surface. That's gonna' happen
I am sure, just in my waiting chrysalis stage.....patient and expectant of beauty.
Besides, my dog needs a new knee more than I need a new CDP. New knee is good news.
Those are the notes from my very own underground.
