Ayon CD2 is AMAZING

Melbguy1 - I second that! We write what we really see and hear in an honest manner, as audio enthusiats, I too love the Ayon gear. Not with an agenda as Image Audio with over 5 known aliases. What is that all about. He claims he is out of business, but that is not what his website states. This is no place for imposters.

The website was up for renewal for one year service in August of 2010. It is still displaying, but I have long since abandon audio and long sold off all the inventory havng taken another bigger, and considerably brighter position within the real estate sector. Bottom line is continue to enjoy your audio, it's a great hobby and business at times. At present, I don't even own an audio system for personal use. No time !

"..yes if you want to spend an extra $2-3k for a pretty case. I wouldn't.."

I haven't heard the Skylla, but I have owned the Chord. I think it's safe to say both are state of the art. It's just that one looks like a Raysonic, and the other is the best looking DAC out there.

I think we can agree sound is foremost. But once you get to these prices, I repeat, you're buying the *whole package* - sound, build quality, support, and appearance (for some).

If this DAC sounds better than anything out there, I'll be the first to report back.

Budt, I think you were on to something in your March 15th post in this thread. I did not like the Ayon CD-2 and posted about it. Jimphd14, dripping with sarcasm, says I should just go and buy a Sony CD player at Best Buy. In another thread, in which I claimed the PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC & Transport sounded better than the Ayon CD-2, both of which I owned at the time, he claimed he also had owned the Perfect Wave DAC & Transport and that the Ayon CD-2 blows the PS Audio gear out of the water.

Now I just looked at his previous posts on Audiogon. He has a total of 8 posts to his name and in every one he recommends Ayon equipment. He claims to have owned BAT and Audio Research amps, the AMR-77, the Meridian 808.3, and in every case -- wait for it -- the Ayon CD-2, CD-5, Triton, Spirit, etc. was superior.

Regarding the AMR-77 vs. Ayon CD-5, the CD-5 is "a remarkable improvement over the AMR-77 -- NO CONTEST".

Regarding the Perfect Wave DAC&Transport, "The Ayon CD-2 is a superior unit to the PS Audio -- FOR SURE."

Strangely, he claims to have been an audiophile for 25 years, yet he has never written anything outside these 8 posts about his experiences using BAT, Audio Research, AMR, Meridian, or PS Audio equipment.

If you own BAT, Audio Research, Meridian, or AMR, be prepared for Jimphd14 to denigrate it by claiming its inferiority to Ayon.

Mcondan, without wishing to get into personal opinions, I agree with your comments referring the Ayon players overstated superiority are clearly not realistic. In Doug Schroeder's review, he rated the Perfect Wave stack as superior to the CD-2.

Re: the AMR, it is clearly a very good player, though it has a different presentation to the CD-5. The arguement over which is better has been done to death, so I wont go there. In the past i've been guilty of getting caught up in this Ayon hysteria to an extent. Now I simply believe the players I know (CD-5/CD-5s) are excellent players worthy of kudos.

I've only been into high end audio for 3 years, but experience has shown me only very experienced audiophiles, or reviewers should effusely comment on "which is better", otherwise it's best to just comment on general observations or ask specific questions. Just my two cents.