[swcwong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find a good power cord makes a lot of difference with Ayre stuff. You might want to have the CDP run in balanced mode as SE is clearly inferior for that CDP

An upgrade to an amp with balanced inputs in on my list.

I have actually not yet tried the Ayre with my SR-71 (I know it's SE). Anyway, I'll put up a post after I get around to finding some time to give it a good listen.

 

[Asr]

Further Impressions

I went through something like 10-12 different CDs last night to essentially find out what makes the CX-7e tick. Some of the first CDs I spun were confounding me and had me second-guessing what it was doing, so I pretty much just grabbed a random chunk of my CD collection to see if I could get a better handle on it. Spent hours listening, and listening, and listening again!

At this point all I can say is that I'm pinning serious hopes on how the CX-7e sounds via balanced, because in single-ended mode, it's not bowling me over. That doesn't mean it's not impressive - it is. It's just not really the kind of sound that tickles my ears the most.

I'd like to say first that the Arcam FMJ CD33, as good as I've thought it to be, is outclassed in certain key areas by the Ayre - from timbral accuracy to texture retrieval to image coherency. There's a realism to the sound of every single instrument that makes everything sound like a live ensemble - there's real weight, real force, and inner energy. And the unique sounds of instruments are clearer than ever, and the materials that affect their sound is also fully captured as well - be it wood, metal, cloth, etc. Soundstage is appreciably wide, but not as deep as I'd like it to be. But the image is still more defined than on the Arcam - there's a sense it's "airbrushing" (in a sense) the instruments onto the stage in front and to the side, but more to the side. I have a feeling that for the first time too that I'm hearing certain limitations in my interconnects, as the stage for the first time felt unnaturally split in the left/right aspect, and not enough to the center.

The mid-range of the Ayre is marvelous, a glory to behold....if you want to feel like a participant, that is. The fluidity and ease is truly astounding - there's a sensation of swimming into the music, following it where it takes you, and every second keeps you on its tail. It swirls, it heaves, it goes up and down, left and right, and you're always right there. The presentation makes it sound like a living machine, as if there's a ghost in there or something - it breathes, it moves....it's alive!

The reason I'm not totally satisfied with that is because this is a little too participatory for me, I'd prefer a sense of exploratory and being able to listen how I want to. That's what the Arcam offers, but the more I listened to the Ayre, the more something about it captured me. The Arcam's mid-range is noticeably thinner too (not recessed though, only in comparison), which is turning into a double-edged sword - a flat mid-range is something I should probably have for reference monitoring purposes, but it makes it sound boring. Ahh the life of trade-offs.

After several hours worth of listening last night, the one thing I came away with was a wish for a sound that implemented some of the Ayre's energy and dynamic streak but offers a level of refinement/grace/class that the Arcam still wins out on.

At this point I have to admit it's looking pretty likely I'll be tossing this CDP, as good as it sounds. Oh well, but it's all good in the pursuit of finding my sound, as elusive as it might be.

 

[Bosch]

Perhaps you'll get better amp-source synergy with different interconnects.

I'm not familiar with what you're using, but it took me a while to click that my ancient MI-330s were probably more capable than the newer Rudistor ICs I had been using with the Arcam 8.

However, having said that, I don't consider that I've heard the G08 properly until I can try it fully balanced.

 

[Asr]

Final Impressions

Most likely my last impressions on this CDP.

I've been spending a lot more listening than my impressions posts here imply - last weekend, almost every day this week late into the night - because I've been wanting to find out if this is the CDP for me or not, and I am very close to my final rig too, so this has been giving me a lot of insight.

First I have to say, this CDP is amazing! Truly and downright amazing. The areas in which it eclipses the Arcam FMJ CD33 are sheer prowess. The more I've listened to the Ayre and Arcam CDPs, the more I find that they just come from different worlds - both offer some truly excellent sound, just in different ways, and neither is really 100% better than the other. The Ayre has shortcomings in areas that the Arcam doesn't, and likewise the Arcam has shortcomings in areas the Ayre doesn't.

The Ayre is so deeply out-of-this-world musically involving with a hugely fluid sound that just captures your attention. As I've said before it has a kind of "American" sound compared to the "British" sound of the Arcam - assertive, bold, and full of rich tonal colors. My re-cabled K701 and AD2000 show what this machine's bass is made of - truly deep and powerful, it sounds like it's stirring a huge vat of oil or something. Almost borderline thick maybe, but not outright thick, just a lot of presence and power, the kind that exudes confidence.

And the mid-range - oh, the mid-range. First, the imaging is just spot-on direct more than anything. It's not a laidback spacious/ambient type image, but more in-your-face and forward. I don't think depth is one of the Ayre's strong suits. That said, the mid-range is also bold, with a very strong push towards body and fullness. When you hear an instrument or vocals, you also feel the power inside, the aching, the soul. It is a little too controlled in the dynamics aspect though - volume shifts are quite smoothed over, as the machine has the kind of sound of showing you the gradation between louder and softer, instead of just jumping between them, like my Arcam does. Trying to fill in the volume gaps, so to speak. I don't perceive this as a good thing - loud and soft should startle you, you shouldn't expect them. The Ayre kinda makes you expect an oncoming loud or soft part.

Treble is very good too - controlled, extended, and allows for very fine resolution. However there's nothing particularly special about it - this is pedestrian treble response IMO. Compared to the Arcam, it could be a bit better - clearer and faster, with even more resolution around the edges of notes, and it seems a bit uneven compared to the Arcam which sounds completely flat. Extremely fast & high sounds are incompletely rendered on it, pretty obvious on the AD2000. I think there's a problem with its attack as well.

Overall, I remain impressed by the Ayre - the musical picture it paints is awe-inspiring, and the sound it creates is so much more vivid. It can show you all the layers in music without them sounding separated, to create a superbly-integrated musical whole front to back, left to right. Backup groups of singers, for example, sound like another part of the track rather than together with the main vocalist, as might happen on lesser CDPs. (Another area in which the Arcam isn't as accomplished.)

But just because it impresses me doesn't mean I love this sound, and comparing it to the Arcam, I prefer more qualities about the Arcam than I do about the Ayre. Where the Ayre integrates everything into a solid image, the Arcam separates everything into individual components - and that's something I prefer more. I prefer that separated sound, I like to hear everything going on in a track. I've found I don't want the CDP to decide for me what it's going to cast to the side and place less importance on - I want a sound that gives as much equal attention to the individual layers as possible, and the Arcam does that. Granted the Arcam's main deficiency is that it's not very musically involving, and it does sound bass-light next to the Ayre, but it just has more of what I like.

So the quest begins for the next balanced CDP that hopefully has all of what I like...

And on a final note, I have to add that both of these CDPs are amazingly responsive to the effect of an aftermarket power cord! Comparing generic 18 AWG to the Signal Cable Silver Res Reference is such a noticeable difference that I couldn't live with either CDP without the Signal Cable power cord! There's just so much more information with the Signal Cable, truly astounding - more soundstage, a myriad of improvements in articulation and speed, deeper bass, etc. Listening to either CDP without it has become truly depressing!

Oh and on a separate note, the Black Cube Linear is an amazing amp too!!! This unknown amp deserves more credit, it scales effortlessly and its energetic drive is the best I've heard. Some sonic flaws with it compared to my memory of the HeadAmp GS-1 (and I miss the GS-1's transparency as well), but nothing major.

 

[Bosch]

Thanks for the impressions. They were very illuminating and (ahem) balanced...good to read opinions that weigh up the pros and cons equally. That is why I keep coming back to Head-Fi (or any of my fave message boards, for that matter).

If you were upgrading from a lesser CDP, I'd say the Ayre could have been a winner. Pity you didn't hear it balanced. My jump from Arcam Alpha 8 to Meridian G08 accomplished the intented Redbook upgrade. I too like separation and imaging. If I feel the need to foreshorten the soundstage, I just choose different headphones, e.g. Grados.

 

[Asr]

Further Impressions - Measure mode

Until yesterday, I'd been listening to the CX-7e solely in its Listen mode. I'd forgotten it had the Listen/Measure switch and remembered yesterday, so of course I had to check out what would happen in Measure mode! My overall impressions of it in Measure mode can be summed up into a single sentence: whoa, now this is more of the kind of sound I prefer!

It's still not completely what I'd like, so I still feel safe in moving to a new CDP, but several facets of the sound improve from Listen mode:

- Agility & speed: the CX-7e sounds a bit sluggish in Listen mode. I already said its treble response wasn't the best, but in Measure mode it almost completely changes - much better, much more in line with the Arcam's speed, but not all the way there. Much better crispness to sound, with faster recovery of faster and higher-frequency sounds.

- Transparency: the CX-7e doesn't have the sound of being completely flat in Listen mode, but gets much closer in Measure mode - flatter mids (less engaging, less body), more treble sparkle, leaner bass. The engaging quality of the mid-range in Listen mode is also gone in Measure mode - much more clinical-sounding, a better sense of separation between instruments rather then integration. That "cohesive image" I mentioned earlier isn't heard in Measure mode.

- Accuracy: Measure mode simply sounds more pin-point accurate - more details heard, better tracking, actual separation between layers, and a better sense of an open soundstage.

Really nice to find out how the CX-7e sounds between Listen and Measure modes, wow! Not that it helped me to decide to keep it, but you really have to explore all avenues when it comes to a configurable CDP.

 

[chesebert]

heh..to each his own

The next 'upgrade' is to run them balanced.