Tekton Double Impacts

@david_ten - I agree with you because so far my dealings with Paul at USA Tube Audio have gone really well.  He's very matter of fact and confident regarding Ayon amplifiers.  

Jcarcopo,
-I’m glad you are having fun with this "ordeal" 😊. Life is to be enjoyed.
Human nature dictates that a few reported bad experiences dealing with retail dealers take precedence over probably 100s (1000s?) of good transactions.

Place of origin regarding manufacturer and assembly should not be ambiguous. Ayon or any other company should be clear and upfront. Having said this the bottom line for me is the sound quality and overall quality of the product. It could be high quality from China or India and mediocre from Europe or North America.

You have a terrific amplifier already but the problem is that there are numerous superb alternatives available and we can’t own them all. I’m thrilled with my Coincident Frankenstein yet I know there are 8 to 10 other amplifiers I’m familiar with that would be as satisfying to have in my system. I only need one out of the excellent pool of amplifiers.
Charles

I know this is off topic but the internal parts quality are high in the Ayon Audio products (gold plated printed circuit boards, R-Core transformers used in digital units, high end capacitors, choke filtered, etc).  I'm using the Ayon Audio S-5 Network Player/Preamp and I've had success when I added an Uptone Audio JS-2 linear power supply to feed a QNAP NAS drive, replaced the spinning drives with a single solid state in the NAS, added an SOtM network filter between the NAS and S-5, placed all digital components on SR Tranquility Bases, and upgraded the Ethernet cable to Revelation Audio Labs.  kept the Ayon Audio S-5 and sold my fancy digital front end computer and never looked back.

@charles1dad - See that’s sort of where I am at. I love what I have now and frankly believe very much in "hear no evil and see no evil". I already have a very neutral and enjoyable presentation, so much so that I’m using Reaper Mastering DAW software with some fancy-pants VST plug-ins to add a touch of warmth and richness to the final sound I hear as well some judicious/minor DSP/EQ calibration to account for very slight room/speaker anomalies. ( I know futzing with the signal is heresy to some, but I’m an audio-heretic so It’s okay)

Overall I don’t think it can be improved upon easily without some ’good ole’ confirmation bias which requires spending gobs more money. (I’m somewhat joking, but I’m not..really. I’m cynical that way)

I think the Ayon will also be utterly neutral, possibly flawlessly so, until I add some vst plugins which would likely negate it. So if I refrain from adulterating the sound in the digital domain and if by chance the Ayon perceivably increases dimensionality, soundstage size/depth, creates more of virtual reality effect, or enhances the separation of instruments, blackens the background, or increases palpability then I’ll think it’s totally worth the investment irrespective of the contamination from the placebo effect or my own confirmation bias caused by having spent a wad of money in search of said aforementioned superlatives.

What I am saying, I guess, is that I can’t lose really, but I can be a lot poorer for the effort. Lol

@mikeg - Thanks Mike, now I want the S-5 too. :-)

Thanks for everyone’s help. I know what I must do now.
(Stall for as long as I can before giving in)

@jcarcapo

I think the Ayon will also be utterly neutral, possibly flawlessly so

I doubt, if you are being literal, the above.... but I do believe you will love it's sound....

It's a heck of a nice problem to be dealing with. : )