[BlackstoneJD]

Don't get me wrong I use JRiver myself! Love it.

 

[cygnusx]

Those of you guys who have the Ayre AX-5 Twenty, any suggestions on a decent cheap phono pre-amp. Would like to buy the P5xe but I don't have the funds at the moment. Something under $500 to hold me off until later in the year. Thx

 

[jrfmd]

codex versus the "DAVE" 
I had one hour today with my Codex, a dealer's DAVE, my Focal Utopia, and my macbook pro computer full of cd quality music
the headset cable was the stock focal utopia's cord (unbalanced), the dave was fed the music via usb, the codex was fed via optical and all was done unbalanced
 
my experience is strictly a music lover with a long history of high end audio (30+ years and mostly high end equipment) no experience as a critic of any type so this is all in my own private  opinion. just as I heard it today.
 
my experience listening to classical music was that the Dave had a very "polite" sound. There were no shrill treble sounds (even when I believe the music had them present) and drums were missing visceral impact. The low bass notes seemed to be missing the ~30 cycle impact that the codex had in spades. String quartets were smoother and sweeter on the dave but more fun to listen to on the codex.
 
On vocal tracks they were very close but again, the dave was not as engaging as the codex and it seemed to be less dynamic (remember I'm running the codex in unbalanced mode for this test)
 
rock and roll, country, blues, etc --- it was a toss up: they both had very similar information but the bass and treble were different and the sound was different: close but I still preferred the codex.
 
In conclusion (if a conclusion can be drawn from an hour's listening) for my source(apple lossless cd copies) and earphones(focal utopia with stock cables in unbalanced mode) the codex was a clear winner.
 
Not what I expected.
 
Jeff Fischman

 

[cygnusx]

Try it in balanced mode, the Codex will blow away any DAC under $6k maybe more in my opinion. I've changed my entire system to make it balanced.

 

[jrfmd]

I agree
my new dragon black balanced is in the mail, I tried a balanced silver dragon with the utopia and codex but it down graded the music (too much treble)
I am still looking for a new stock utopia cable converted to balanced (awaiting moon audios response to my query).-- this may be the best match (since the single ended cable sounds so good
the dave is single ended so I believe it would have made a difference to my comparison of the dave to the codex
 
Jeff
 
 
.

 

[music_man]

dave is kind of a joke to me. the codex in balanced will make quick work of dave. now, to be fair compare dave to the qx-5 and the qx-5 will destroy dave. if that is your sound i would stop at hugo tt. however as i said the optical on the codex also seemed much better. nonetheless i feel it is better than dave in any respect. get isolated +5v and great balanced cables the codex can pretty much hang with anything at any price. rather amazing. i compared it to the msb select and the msb was quite a bit better but not incredibly better. if you are going to use the optical and do not have external +5v unplug the usb cable for sure. i think at that point the choice for the qx-5 is if you want the features. also if you are tight on space you can do no better period imo. ayre may have made the codex too good for their good lol. certainly not complaining about that! i feel it is much better than the qb9. some agree and some disagree on that though.
 
for a phono pre save your money and just get the cambridge cp2 for now. not kidding. it is not the bargain the codex is but it is as good as most $500 phono pres. if you mod it then it is as good as 2 grand phono pres. i use a modded one in the studio to sample lp's. that is with a sl1200. if you have the ax-5 and a tt over 5 grand you are going to need to aim higher. if the tt is in the $1,000 range it is fine.

 

[willywill]

Quick question will the Codex work with this Rotel RB-1552MK II. I want a 2 channel system in my house but i also want good desktop headphone amp .Right now the dual 3.5mm balanced are dominating my headphones collection 
http://crowneaudio.com/Rotel-RB-1552-MkII-Stereo-Power-Amplifier_p_98.html

 

[cygnusx]

I don't see why this wouldn't work if you use the Codex in preamp mode. Note, the Codex does not have a remote so you would need to change the volume manually.

 

[music_man]

i do not know if the codex has the right voltage to be a true preamp? also it is rather limited on inputs. no analog if you need that. i understand maybe you couldn't get the qx-5. it would be beter at that though i think. i am just recommending the codex and qx-5 because ayre is honestly knocking it out of the park right now. i am not a fanboy because i dislike the company on a personal level. however you cannot beat these dacs at their rspective prices. the ax-5 either. i know it does not have much output if you have big floorstanders but it is really a compact integrated. yeah, it's expensive but it might be one of the top few integrateds out right now. if there was a good way to run the analog wireless on the qx-5 i would put it in the closet. i would need another receiver for my urc and there is no true hi fi wireless option i know of. i mean it is certainly not like the odin 2 balanced i am using from the codex. yes, i know they cost 5x the codex but if you treat the codex right it will pay you back in spades. i do not hesitate to say given that, it is a reference level component. i stress the big thing is to use external +5v usb with it. oh, please do not buy the fake cables i am sure they suck and that is theft. not to be a jerk but it is not cool. unfortunately my aq little cable for the jitterbug ripped in half! i did not even abuse it. no big deal can get them for $25.

 

[flatmap]

  [...] i do not hesitate to say given that, it is a reference level component. i stress the big thing is to use external +5v usb with it. [...]

Say, @music_man, do you provide this +5v simply by going through a powered USB hub? 

 

[music_man]

yeas, more or less. i use a startech dot com usb port that accepts a usb "b" input. i power it with a linear supply from mouser which is the big deal here. i go out of the pc to a aq tiny cable, to a jitterrbug, from the jittter bug to the startech hub, from the other side of the star tech hub to the codex. unfortunately depending what cables this will be $500+. i am using aq diamond. however i would strongly recommend cardas clear if you cannot spend that much. the other thing is it really needs to be the startech hub and must have the linear supply. not only is the startech one of the few that accepts a full size plug but it seems to lend itself to musicality. combined with the jitterbug i cannot measure noise. i have access to state of the art test equipment. it is a flat line as low as high as it goes. absolutely do not plug anything else into this hub.
 
you can get isub 3.0 which in theory should be even better but their gear has a propensity to meet an untimely death. plus i prefer the sound of the jitterbug and startech anyways, they also have metal startech hubs with bare wire contacts for the +5v usb. I found it easier to just get a linear supply with a plug that matched the jack. you can also find an old radioshack "regulated" supply. those are very good. i found this alone made a large difference in the codex. please do not ask me to find the supply as mousers site is not easy. you can get it somewhere but it must be regulated or linear. otherwise this is pointless. i highly recommend this be done for the codex. the qx-5 does not need it of course.
 
it is also a must to use it balanced. either with phones or line out. use the best cables you can afford. use the isolation blocks i had recommended. not the coasters, the blocks. or ayre myrtle wood.
once all of this is done the codex is, as i said truly a reference quality component. if you want to forego all this just get the qx-5. you will still need good cables. so you are comparing a minimum of about $2,500 to much more. i think with this, it is closing in on "any" dac.

 

[flatmap]

Thanks for the detailed explanation of your approach and glad to hear your experience is so positive
with this configuration.  Very helpful.

 

[austinpop]

 

  Thanks for the detailed explanation of your approach and glad to hear your experience is so positive
  with this configuration.  Very helpful.

 
There is a whole host of optimizations you can do upstream of the Codex. I have applied a lot of these, and cannot stress how much better you can make the Codex sound with these tweaks, because the Codex scales so well.
 
The general theme is isolation, and it applies in all these areas:

• AC power: dedicated lines, regenerators, isolators
• DC power: linear power supplies, but particularly, galvanically isolated ultra capacitor designs like the Uptone LPS-1, Vinnie Rossi Pure 4 Ever
• USB "decrapifiers": Feeding clean 5V with an LPS on USB is just the tip of the iceberg. You have isolators like the Intona, and reclockers like the Wyred 4 Sound Recovery - but I would wait for the coming-soon Uptone Iso-Regen that combines both
• Network: isolators like the Emosystem EN-70HD or the Etalon, and FMCs (fiber media converters) that "air-gap" the ethernet connection just upstream of your renderer.

 
Feel free to explore this thread: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f22-networking-networked-audio-and-streaming/overall-isolation-network-universal-serial-bus-industry-standard-cables-connectors-and-communications-protocols-between-computers-and-electronic-devices-and-power-29916/

 

[austinpop]

^^^
 
If there is interest, I can post my current optimal audio topology (chain) here, so you can see how these tweaks come together. 

 

[flatmap]

  ^^^
 
If there is interest, I can post my current optimal audio topology (chain) here, so you can see how these tweaks come together. 

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