It got a glowing, gushing, review from Wes Philips in Stereophile. One unusual thing about it is that it is a 2 CHANNEL universal player. It might be unique in that regard.
I auditioned the C5xe in my system when it first became available and I was mightily impressed as well. Listened to both CD and SACD and really enjoyed both formats. CD playback provided a wide soundstage with clear highs and a well-defined bass. I almost bought the Ayre but then a week with the AA Capitole II changed everything. But for $3K+ less than the AA the Ayre is a real bargain (if one can consider $6K a bargain). Hansen has a real winner in this cdp.
Will the Ayre accomodate an external digital input? I want to be able to add hard disk as a source in my system, but I would love to not have to go back to separate DAC and transport. I think a few CDPs offer this.
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