Ayon cd3 Versus AMR 777cdp

Audio852: I never trust any reviews. When you buy machines the reviewers like - in Germany mostly Accuphase or ML you realy buy crap. Big companies behind no musicality, nicely build but thats all. Same with Transrotor turntables. Great design, very well build but total lack of musicality.
I know Mr. Hirth the owner from Ayon a bit and even he would not say that the CD-1 betters the C-5xe.
When you look into German high-end mags Ayon CD-1 is ranked with 80% and CD-3 with 85% of the Nagra CD-Players performance (Stereo).
The C-5xe is ranked much higher than CD-1 (135 points vs. 105 - Stereoplay).
I think both mags are closer to reality than 6moons.
Btw: I´m a professional musician and I really can trust my ears (30 years of classic music education).
Best, Frank

Hi Frankpiet,

Review magazines, 30 years in music education has nothing to do with what a person perceives as music to their ears and what they prefer. What everyone on this blog is saying, is that the Ayon CD players, simply sound better than the C-5xe and they prefer the Ayon players, as I do.

I personally met Mr. Gerhard Hirt, owner of Ayon Audio at the Munich 2008 show and I can assure you that he would just smile, chuckle at your statement, that the C5xe is better than the Ayon CD-1.

I too am a professional musician, pianist, for that past 35 years, I enjoy a front row center live event and that is what the Ayon cd players deliver!
MLK

a front row center perspective may be what you prefer , but it is a very forward perspective. i also question whether ayon players have a balanced frequency response.

if one prefers a mid hall or rear hall position, the ayon is not the answer.

i think the amr is less timbrally inaccurate than the ayon players.

Audio852: interesting - probably we should meet for a jam session ;) If you like CD-1 fine - you can get them very cheap used at german audiomarkt.de (for good reason).
Later this year CD-2 will be released for about € 3.500,-
which is said to better the CD-1. BTW: not few people over here believe that in terms of resolution, control and transparency even the CX-7e betters the CD-1. Probably germans listen in a different way to music as americans do ?
The only thing I can tell about Ayon: great speakers, great cables, great amps and a very nice Mr.Hirth BUT crap cd-players

Hi Frankpiet,
Yes, the Ayon CD players are the best, I agree. There are Ayer's, only 6 months old for sale right here on Audiogon
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1220946409
(for good reason)

There is no CD-2 coming out this year nor next year, there is a CD-5, I saw it in Munich and it sounded remarkable. There is no doubt that Americans listen to music in a differnet way than Germans do, it is all about space, we have more of it.

The only thing I can tell you is that the Ayon CD players are impossible to beat and using a solid state anything as a source is nuts!