[yage]

If MQA actually takes off - and that's a big if - I may be on the market again.

 
I wouldn't hold my breath. In my opinion MQA is a lossy codec for 'high-resolution' audio that is primarily concerned with marketing and satisfying the insecurities of the recording industry (i.e. removing the ability to access the real goods without some sort of licensing structure).

 

[austinpop]

I never said I was holding my breath!
 
As I did say: let's wait and see.

 

[ToddRaymond]

I heard the Codex briefly last week.  I heard the HE-560s through the pair of balanced outs, and was definitely impressed.  I didn't get a chance to hear it as a standalone DAC.  I could see with quieter music/music with a tremendous dynamic range, that it might not quite have enough juice for something like the HE-560s for some.  Nothing overly new here, since the same has been said about using it with the HD800s.  Considering many have figured it to be in the same ballpark as the QB-9 DSD, it's certainly a bargain.
 
I wonder if anyone could comment on how it compares to a Schiit Mjolnir 2.  I imagine the latter would offer up the extra power I'd prefer for the aforementioned cans.  I'd also be curious to hear more comparisons between it and both Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil.  I realize this one's not a multibit DAC, so it will offer a different flavour.  In fact, one could argue that the Schiit DACs won't so much offer a flavour (vs. the Codex), as they're fully faithful to the original samples and such.  I had the 'Gumby' (which I was very much pleased with), and am currently saving up for the 'Yggy', but for this could do for now, especially considering it could take care of amp duties.  Hmm, I say....

 

[KmanChu]

Can't speak to the Schiit dacs, and I do know the Hifiman does require a lot of gain, so the Codex may not quite have the voltage swing for the HE-560, but I wouldn't know since I haven't tried it with them. What I can say is with the HD800S and the LCD-3, if you are running out of volume then you are listening too loud and risking damaging your hearing. I never have gone above the low 80's on the volume dial in balance mode with either of these headphones. The only scenario I can think of might be some of the old classical recordings which were very low level when transferred to digital. 

 

[music_man]

the sciit i would bet has a better headphone amp. as for a dac i needed the codex due to a size requirement. as i previously stated i did not expect much. i am using it only as a dac for loudspeakers. i was extremely surprised. i am not for headphone amps in dacs though. if you can get an amp. i am betting the codex headphone amp is about a fiio. i don't know though so quite frankly i am just talking smack. now here is the real deal about ayre imo. it was so subtle i just noticed now. my shalco volume knob does not turn in a perfect circle. about .5 degree lopsided. yes, that is incredible nitpicking. the thing is a amp at that price should be as holy as the pope imo. especially given it's paltry specs. i don't mind at all because i really am not a nitpicker. i am just saying they are not perfect. nothing is. it is a shame for people that had issues with the codex but i find it unacceptable honestly. it simply should not do that. their stance may be as i said which is why they may seem to care less. there are too many variables for them that may not be the codex itself. source, program on source,settings in program, cables. if a dedicated like aurender it might just not jive. nothing is guaranteed to be comparable. even if it is analog we were talking about let alone digital. still, i feel your pain. they should at least be more helpful. yeah it sucks of them. my issue was with a longer cable than it liked but still under 16.33 feet usb spec. way under at 13 feet. however these audiophile cables often do not meet usb specification. so i can see their stance but they could at least offer to be helpful geez. i fixed it by powering it. which is no surprise since you will need to power cables beyond usb spec. the thing is mine is well under usb length. it may simply have too much resistance with a ton of thick silver. as far as the toslink i have no issues. i am using a cd transport that costs over 12x the price of the codex. if that is what you "require" for it then that would be complete bs. to be honest it should work fine with a $50 dvd player and a $10 3 foot toslink cable. just the fact that the ax-5 twenty is not absolutely flawless, even just cosmetically shows where they are coming from. i stated i needed a tiny dac that performs and alas, they showed me the codez. i thought it was great so i bought the amp the next week. amazingly beforehand i had never heard of ayre. to tell the truth if there is to be a "next time" i may very well look to another brand. the codex might be the only dac at it's price with sound like this. as for their "twenty" components i think one could do better for less money. again, here i had a height constraint so the ax-5 twenty fit the bill and seemed at the time better than the bryston etc. offering. i really have no issues with either even though some may. i am just baffled to hear about their customer service. i talked to alex and he was nice enough i guess. just going by what iothers say they experienced i think is completely unfair of them. i also think it is obscene the codex is not running on 3.34 streamlength drivers. it was built well after the driver it has. even just getting it to launch on windows 10 x64 pro is a chore. so, yeah i could see it might be flaky on some systems. i have no idea why the only driver is for windows vista/7. that in fact could be many a persons problem right there. the problem is there are just to many variables involved. for them to turn a cold shoulder is really shady though imo. i am just darn glad i do not have this issue. still the driver is bs. i am capable of reverse engineering the 3.34 driver. i do not feel i should have to, it is not legal and i certainly could not distribute it. in fact i have not even attempted it since it is a complete waste of my time since it is working here. i am very sorry about the whole thing to those that have had issues. ayre apparently is not perfect, but who is? if the dac were to be functioning as is mine i doubt you could do better often for 3x the price but the amp i am not sure. i am happy with both though. regardless of the stupid volume knob i guess i was pretty lucky. had i not been i would have used a stronger voice which i suggest those with issues do so. when working properly i think most people would be very pleased. perhaps not with the headphone output but as a dac. i would be hard pressed to find a dac at this price that performs as this one does and it just happened to fit my space. so i guess i was the lucky one here.

 

[austinpop]

I have not had the chance to spend much time with Schiit gear. Since the Schiit-heads (no malice, just enjoying the word play!) don't do DSD, and since I have a lot of DSD, their gear just doesn't fit my music.

FWIW - I have heard the Yggy-Ragnarok combo with my HD800 at a local meet. There's no denying the muscularity of the low end, and the prodigious power. I only spent about 10 minutes with it, but to my ears it wasn't a good match for the HD800.

There's a sweetness and musicality in the Codex I don't remember hearing from the Schiit stack.

YMMV.

 

[music_man]

you have to hand it to them though. i mean their business model. how do they build all that in the usa for a fair price yet no one else can? the codex is ayre's cheapest piece and is at the end of schiits price range.
 
also, i do not fully understand myself why the jokes are so funny to adults. i mean they make me laugh and i am as old as sand. other 3rd grade jokes do not make me laugh but somehow they do every single time lol.  actually they might be a lot smarter than we think. obviously everyone knows the name if not the products.
 
they have their reasons for no dsd but if you have a lot so be it. it would not be for you then. agree. however getting into things like 10x dsd is honestly way above the limits of human hearing. 2x is fine. in fact you will find many an expensive dac does but 2x.
 
i still am guessing the headphone amp might be better but have no idea really. i bet the codex is a much better dac.

 

[yage]

  I'd also be curious to hear more comparisons between it and both Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil.

 
A fellow Head-Fi'er brought his Gumby over and I heard it very briefly in my system, where I usually listen to either an Ayre QB-9 DSD or C-5xeMP. The Gumby didn't seem to be as resolving as either Ayre source. It's pleasant sounding, but I didn't find it as engaging as I thought I would. I've also heard the Yggdrasil several times at meets. My educated guess is that the Codex is in the same league as the Yggy and a step above the Gumby.

 

[ToddRaymond]

Thanks for chimin' in everyone.  I should probably should just order and spend some time with it.  I very much doubt I'd me unhappy with it.  I'd like to upgrade the cables for my Hifimans, but am hesitant to get a cable that's terminated to the pair of 3.5 mm connectors if I'm just going to likely just wind up with a headphone amp that uses a 4-pin XLR.  Amp-wise, I think I could live with it for a while anyhow, and it'd be nice to be able to use my cans with my Pono Player.  Whether or not it would be a preferred DAC or not over the Yggdrasil would be up to someone who has spent a bit of time with both, but the Codex, especially considering its dealer markup, appears to represent a damn fine value considering its price.

 

[austinpop]

Thanks for chimin' in everyone.  I should probably should just order and spend some time with it.  I very much doubt I'd me unhappy with it.  I'd like to upgrade the cables for my Hifimans, but am hesitant to get a cable that's terminated to the pair of 3.5 mm connectors if I'm just going to likely just wind up with a headphone amp that uses a 4-pin XLR.  Amp-wise, I think I could live with it for a while anyhow, and it'd be nice to be able to use my cans with my Pono Player.  Whether or not it would be a preferred DAC or not over the Yggdrasil would be up to someone who has spent a bit of time with both, but the Codex, especially considering its dealer markup, appears to represent a damn fine value considering its price.

 


Do you have a local Ayre dealer in Vancouver? You should check and see if they can lend you a broken-in unit to audition. My local guy was absolutely awesome, although the rest of the gear in his "store" was wayyy more expensive.

Regarding cables, I was in exactly that situation. I am using the Codex as the amp for the last few months, but will be upgrading my amp to a Cavalli Liquid Gold (LAu) in a couple of months. The LAu has 4-pin XLR balanced outputs. I can tell you what I did.

My solution was to get a balanced Moon Audio Black Dragon cable for my HD800, terminated with 4-pin XLR, and separately, an adapter with female XLR to dual 3.5mm plugs for the Codex - like this one: https://www.moon-audio.com/black-dragon-extension-adapter-cable-v2.html. I'm sure other cable manufacturers can offer something similar.

This arrangement really pays off if you have both a main head amp, and a Pono player.

I was a little concerned about the additional connectors in the path, but have heard no noise issues at all. The XLR terminators that Drew@Moon uses are extremely high quality and fit really well together.

 

[music_man]

i do not mean to start any trouble. my personal feeling is the codex is a little better overall than the qb-9 dsd. a few other people have felt that way too so i am not crazy. as for the qx-5 twenty, i would certainly hope that sounds better than the codex. who knows though. it is really a server and a dac. i take the codex as just a dac that happens to have a headphone output. i know there are way better headphone amps but dacs you really need to get into over 5 grand to blow away the codex. even then you must choose wisely. since it will in fact beat out some 5 grand dacs. perhaps ayre does not realize they created a monster. i think they feel this is just their cheapie offering. perhaps they should sit down and listen to it. seriously though i am sure the reason they are not gung ho on supporting it is due to it being their bottom product. that is a shame though. since for one thing it hits way higher than it's price point. i guess ayre could just not care. truthfully as i said though there are too many variables for them to begin to. i would not expect them to troubleshoot my pc or cable. the same goes for the qx-5 twenty quite frankly. although i bet they would offer more help with that. regardless, if it is working as mine is it is a very competent dac. i would say the dac is better than any schiit but as i also said i am not sure about the headamp. the head amp is probably just stuck on with an op amp. i doubt they have a 500va torroid powering bipolar jfets in there. as i dac, given it's size i am very well pleased. sure i have much better dacs but they are large and cost much more. i will say in this form factor i know of nothing better.

 

[cygnusx]

i do not mean to start any trouble. my personal feeling is the codex is a little better overall than the qb-9 dsd. a few other people have felt that way too so i am not crazy. as for the qx-5 twenty, i would certainly hope that sounds better than the codex. who knows though. it is really a server and a dac. i take the codex as just a dac that happens to have a headphone output. i know there are way better headphone amps but dacs you really need to get into over 5 grand to blow away the codex. even then you must choose wisely. since it will in fact beat out some 5 grand dacs. perhaps ayre does not realize they created a monster. i think they feel this is just their cheapie offering. perhaps they should sit down and listen to it. seriously though i am sure the reason they are not gung ho on supporting it is due to it being their bottom product. that is a shame though. since for one thing it hits way higher than it's price point. i guess ayre could just not care. truthfully as i said though there are too many variables for them to begin to. i would not expect them to troubleshoot my pc or cable. the same goes for the qx-5 twenty quite frankly. although i bet they would offer more help with that. regardless, if it is working as mine is it is a very competent dac. i would say the dac is better than any schiit but as i also said i am not sure about the headamp. the head amp is probably just stuck on with an op amp. i doubt they have a 500va torroid powering bipolar jfets in there. as i dac, given it's size i am very well pleased. sure i have much better dacs but they are large and cost much more. i will say in this form factor i know of nothing better.

+1. The codex is not perfect but when It plays...the music sounds really good. So good that one can probably overlook any of its short comings.

 

[KmanChu]

  the sciit i would bet has a better headphone amp..... i am not for headphone amps in dacs though. if you can get an amp. i am betting the codex headphone amp is about a fiio. i don't know though so quite frankly i am just talking smack. 

Dude, you really are talking smack! The headphone outputs are coupled directly to the XLR outputs, which is why Ayre suggests unplugging the rear XLRs before listening to the headphone outs. This leads me to think the very same output devices are used for the headphone outs. Indeed, if you look the preamp voltage swing on the XLRs is the same as the headphone outs. At any rate, it is a discrete design utilizing Ayre's diamond output topology. See @austinpop 's review, he preferred the Codex direct from it's balanced outputs vs the Senn HDVA600 (which I haven't heard, but it's highly regarded.) If you haven't tried the headphone outs then you really should. It is really quite remarkable.

 

[KmanChu]

+1. The codex is not perfect but when It plays...the music sounds really good. So good that one can probably overlook any of its short comings.

 
Agreed. There is nothing even close right now. It is too bad though, they should figure out how to fix the clicking, I would think it could be done even with firmware.

 

[music_man]

kman, i had no idea honestly. i figured it was just a cheap headphone driver board stuck on. i stand corrected then.
 
edit: if this thing sounds through headphones like it does into a loudspeaker setup then it really is like 10+ grand of components. maybe all don't agree but if you dig this sound you are set. this is imo worthy of an end game setup. of course it is not though because dac's are like cpu's. there is a way better technology every six months. still, you could keep this and be content. my cd's have not gotten any better, only the stuff that plays them back. that is questionable too. in the 60's you remember the equipment. it was robust to say the least. you can pry my old marantz and benjiman miracord from my cold dead hands.
 
anyways this is utter bs about the pops and clicks. i suggest everyone in this thread call alex. that should get his attention. they have an otherwise super grade dac that has a huge fly in the ointment. to me it is inexcusable. i don't care one bit that it is their cheapest product. they should stand behind all their items.
 
what they are missing or even perhaps miffed at is they created a monster. this is not like in the teac thread we say it is a $1k dac that can compete with $2k dacs(sometimes). i have had the codex steadily beat 10 grand dacs to my ears imo. this is in a serious business listening environment where i can instantly a/b. not my bedroom where it currently resides. so, this is worth preserving if not at least making to function properly.
 
as i have said i have heard $300 dacs with the sabre that don't do that. they made some mistake and i guess they do not want to admit it.