flatmap said:

 
I'd say, bring it on.
 
I looked through the posting at your link, but it would be nice to have the summary version. 

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Here you go.
 

Unacceptable, please post the color Visio diagram? Just kidding! Nice!

cygnusx said:

Unacceptable, please post the color Visio diagram? Just kidding! Nice!

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And I'm not kidding about the work in progress. Last night, I discovered a sweet little improvement in SQ by replacing the 2m Cardas Clear USB between my Intona and Recovery with a hard USB A-to-B adapter. 
 

austinpop said:

:rolleyes:  

And I'm not kidding about the work in progress. Last night, I discovered a sweet little improvement in SQ by replacing the 2m Cardas Clear USB between my Intona and Recovery with a hard USB A-to-B adapter. 

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Are you using a plain no brand adapter?

cygnusx said:

Are you using a plain no brand adapter?

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Yes, this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PVAJTPG
 
I also got an improvement from replacing the DC output cable from the LPS-1 with this barrel connector: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1JLN28
 
Both of these were based on others having tried and recommended this. So I claim no ownership for these ideas. Also, these hard adapters only work if you can align the two components suitably. I used coasters and little wood blocks to do this.

Completely agree 100% austinpop! that is the thing, it scales so well. you can make the codex into a reference class component for extremely high end signal chains. in fact if space is a concern i would only get the qx-5 if you were going to use the features. you can bring the codex as a dac very close and that is world class. ayre probably knows this but figures most people won't. so they are safe to still sell much more expensive components. the qx-5 is much more than just a dac though. i would say if you just want a dac, make the improvements if you wish and you can achieve reference class starting under 3 grand. other dacs do not scale this well. they are what they are. to begin with, out of the box the codex is competing with many $5k dacs and you can improve upon it tremendously. i am running the pc and whole stereo off of two separate on line ups's which means they are always powered by batteries being converted to 120vac. if you had much bigger than the ax-5 this does become a problem. the codex is great as is but has the potential to hang with the big boys.
 
Edit: one very important thing. I am using 3 feet of cat6 to a converter into 160' of fiber back to a converter and 3 feet of cat6. lot of noise in network. the computer is completely isolated form the codex anyways. both on the mains and the usb. you can also use a usb to cat5 converter which works very well as cat5 is better than the most expensive usb cables. just not when it is full of network noise in that application. the computer and stereo are even on opposite electrical phases. it is just a shame my speaker and equipment "stand". not much i can do about that but it still sounds very good. i find it is rather hard to ruin very high end equipment sound unless you face the speakers backwards against the wal or something lol. of course it could sound much better. i got it because i could but it is still a shame i could not place everything correctly after all of this. headphones would be no problem. however no headphone period is a match for the ax-5 and very high end loudspeakers.

I wasn't much of a believer in cable upgrades, but I just upgraded the Pangae AG USB cable that I was using with the Codex  with the Audioquest Coffee USB cable and all I have to say is wow.  There is absolutely a difference.  It's like a veil is was lifted.  I'm pleasantly surprised.  

you should try the diamond lol! i just realized this usb hub works passive. so the computer can be polluting it. i do not know if it shuts off the incoming when powered. one of few hubs with a b port. the litle aq cable that goes to the jitterbug is unraveling so i will just cut the +5v there. there is a difference. it did not sound as good and then i looked down and the power was unplugged. there is nicer power but with the jitterbug ahead of it this gets close for much less money. i have tried the iusb 3.0 and not a lot of difference. plus their linear psu you really want is the topic of great debate. austins system is obviously nicer. as you saw a lot goes with cables though. i am using very high end cables. not just usb but everything. plus power conditioning or in my case online ups. the ups's probably account for a lot of the good sound here in a more simplified system. much better investment than hydra or something imo.

Hahaha....Diamond maybe next.  Just spend a ton of money upgrading my main components and new speakers.  Still waiting for my AX-5 Twenty upgrade to come back home.  Btw, I also ended buying the Ayre P5XE for the turntable.  Busy making everything fully balanced.  Has anybody try the AQ Colorado XLR cables? I just bought a few pairs that were on sale at Music Direct for half the price.  I've slowly realized that AQ indeed makes some fine cables.   

According to Ayre and my dealer, with the AX-5 Twenty and Ayre's newer components, you really don't need to upgrade their stock power cables since these units have a RFI power conditioner built in.  Apparently, changing the cables makes only a very small difference.  I would imagine a consistent source of power on the hand could make an impact.   The AudioQuest Niagara 7000 seems very nice and better than the Hydra.  I'm not a fan of Shunyata.  

cygnusx said:

 
According to Ayre and my dealer, with the AX-5 Twenty and Ayre's newer components, you really don't need to upgrade their stock power cables since these units have a RFI power conditioner built in.

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Yes, the "Ayre Conditioner". Note that the Codex doesn't have one, probably because of space reasons.
 
 
If you haven't seen it already, Digital Audio Review did a short tour of Ayre's facilities and interviewed Charley Hansen about the new QX-5 Twenty. Link here.

yage said:

   
Yes, the "Ayre Conditioner". Note that the Codex doesn't have one, probably because of space reasons.

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I agree not enough space in the Codex.  I've upgraded the power cable on the Codex and got some improvements.  I'm seeing more bang for buck improvements with interconnect cable upgrades than power cable upgrades. 

I would use the best cables i could everywhere regardless. an online ups is better than any power conditioner/regenerator.  of course as usual that is my own opinion. the ax-5 twenty does not really have enough power for my speakers but it sounds good to me because it is quality power. i probably would not get their tt. i would get avid or something. or better yet trick out an old gerrard. it is strange how good that can be. Aq does make very good cables it is just the price of the top ones. more than you would expect. i mean like more than odin 2.

I'm using Pangea AC-14 XL power cables with my Codex, and am happy with the result. These are on sale - no, really on sale, not the fake everyday sale - at Audio Advisor.

For interconnects, I found a great deal on a used pair of Ayre Signature XLR. These sound fantastic! They are apparently very close cousins of Cardas Golden Reference cables, and have a seductive warmth to them.

austinpop said:

I'm using Pangea AC-14 XL power cables with my Codex, and am happy with the result. These are on sale - no, really on sale, not the fake everyday sale - at Audio Advisor.

For interconnects, I found a great deal on a used pair of Ayre Signature XLR. These sound fantastic! They are apparently very close cousins of Cardas Golden Reference cables, and have a seductive warmth to them.

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Did you by any chance try the Pangea AC-14SE Mk2 before buying the XL? Thx

cygnusx said:

Did you by any chance try the Pangea AC-14SE Mk2 before buying the XL? Thx

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Yes I did. I needed a couple more cables so bought the XL, and moved the SE MkII's to other components. But I didn't really try to compare the SE MkII with the XL's. I suspect the difference will be modest.