Audioman, your responses indicate to me you have spent a lot of time reading websites and reviews, but don't seem to have a clear understanding or appreciation for the differences between the two preamps. You seem to place a high importance on the measured figures of the CD-5s. Cheap cd players from your corner audio store can have excellent measurements, but in reality measurements reveal little about the sound qualities of a component. The fact is the Orbis is an ultra new linestage concept, with a remarkable 6H30 circuit (parallel single-ended design with high current bias point yes we are talking about a preamp). Ayon spent a crazy amount of time on R&D for the Orbis to get out a new performance standard. Compared to the CD-5s, Orbis is a superior circuit design imho. It has in-house designed & built transformers, a regenerator ps which compensates for waveform irregularities to provide a clean, low distortion sine wave (It is not a filter as you described, though of course the Orbis uses chokes and filters elsewhere in the ps). Ayon are using a superior custom 4 channel/24 position volume potentiometer & new chassis with superior ventilation. The importance of the ps & volume control in preamplifier design can't be over-emphasized.
