Specifications

©DAGOGO 2010 – special reprint by permission. Page 7
Putting together, a sweet power supply, primo D/A converters, bridge tube rectification and other
features like gold-plated PCB boards and central one-point earth grounding, it combines to make
a superior topology, one that is heard as instantly recognizable as superior. A good example was
the brief comparison made between the CD-5 and the McIntosh MCD500 SACD/CD player.
Several days prior to the culmination of this review an audiophile friend who has heard the CD-5
in my system on two occasions had on loan the MCD500. He wanted a brief comparison to the
CD-5; I agreed as I thought it would be interesting to see how the two compared. The CD-5 was
quite a bit superior in every respect, especially in richness, smoothness, depth of the sound field,
tonality and dynamics. My friend and I called a quit to the comparison fairly quickly as it was
immediately evident that the players were not in the same league. It should be pointed out that
the MCD500 is a $7,000 player, and the CD-5 is $2k more expensive. The distinction in sound
was such that I would believe anyone who could afford either would not hesitate to own the
Ayon.
Remote Possiblity?
In previous articles about Ayon players I have been hounding Gerhard to include a simpler
remote, but to date it has not happened. This would have made the player an even more
pleasurable device. I have been using four different Ayon players in the past two years, and still
have to look at the controller every time I enter a command! If I listen in dim light I still have to
slide my fingers along the rows of buttons until I find the proper one to advance a track. A
simplified, cheaper remote for daily use would be most welcome. If it were made available now,
I would acquire it to avoid the hassles with button overload on the remote, half of which I have
not used with regularity.