CX-7 hitting the streets, and a typical reaction...

[JonMarsh]

Ayre's "affordable" CD player (the CX-7) is making some waves...



here.


-Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[Lex]

I would really rather see the specs myself. Any real comparisons done yet with Rega, Boulder, etc?

Lex

[JonMarsh]

The music lover quoted above:

I had the opportunity to hear the new Ayre CX-7 last weekend as well as the Linn Ikemi, Linn Genki, Arcam CD-92 (I own the Arcam CD-72).

Based on that audition, she took a CX-7 loaner home- hence the comments in the post I linked.


Re the CX-7:

Features

1. Multi-Stage Digital Filter - Extremely sophisticated multi-stage digital filter system. First filter "upsamples" to 176.4 kHz at 24 bits. Second filter "oversamples" to 1.4112 MHz at 24 bits.
   
   
2. Dual Selectable Digital Filter Algorithms - User selectable choice of time-optimized or frequency-optimized filter algorithms.
   
   
3. Segmented Architecture DAC - Upper 6 bits are converted with a PCM architecture. Lower 18 bits are converted with a 5-level Sigma-Delta architecture operating at 11.2896 MHz.
   
   
4. Differential Current-Output DAC - Ultra-sophisticated DAC allows use of dedicated differential zero-feedback current-to-voltage converters.
   
   
5. Zero-Feedback Analog Circuitry - Hallmark of Ayre designs ensures correct time-domain performance.
   
   
6. DC-Coupled Analog Circuitry - DC-coupled analog circuitry with no servos ensures perfect group-delay response at the lowest audio frequencies.
   
   
7. Balanced Audio Outputs - True differential balanced circuitry maximizes sonic performance. Single-ended outputs also included for legacy equipment.
   
   
8. Striking Industrial Design - Sleek appearance matches Ayre AX-7 integrated amplifier.
   
   
9. Digital Audio Output - AES/EBU balanced digital output features transformer coupling for total ground isolation.
   

Specifications
Frequency Response
DC - 20 kHz, +/- 0.25 dB

Signal/Noise
110 dB (unweighted)

Full Output
4.5 Volts balanced
2.25 Volts unbalanced

Dimensions
17-1/4" W x 13-3/4" D x 4-3/4" H
(44cm x 35cm x 12cm)

Weight
25 pounds (11.5 kg)


Regards,

Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[Lex]

I expect the person with the so what attitude over there, only posted so in a discremitory fashion, because a woman posted it. It really sickens me how some folks act in situations like that.

Kudos to her for having the "balls" to get one, and post her impressions with it! Isn't that a hoot, the woman actually sneaking in the new gear! Only difference is, we wouldn't tell "her" about it, as she did him. lol. Make sense?

Thanks Jon, the specs certainly look solid. I would bet it's a real sweet box! It's always nice to see a company that time and time again introduces solid products that should be able to edge out much of the competition in their price performance range.

Lex

[JonMarsh]

It is a sort of funny story to follow. The "boys club" mentality of some guys does irritate the bejesus out of me, but then there's lot's of stuff we come across in human behavior on the net which irritates me! I encoraged her in an earlier post to simply trust her ears, and go for what worked for her.

There's a lot of top flight electronics in the CX-7, including the DF1706 filter and the Burr Brown 1738 segmented DAC's, plus Charles' NFB circuits. A CDROM mechanism is used, but Hansent gets exceptional performance from it by supplying the clock for it off the ultra low jitter master clock for the DAC's, supplanting the clock in the ROM controller. If I weren't twiddling around with my own concoctions these days, I'd be buying one of these as soon as the finances permitted.

Regards,

Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[David Meek]

Maybe, someone should introduce AudioGirl to the non-sexist environment at HTGuide. Uh, we ARE a non-sexist environment, right?
:B

Now, back OT - Jon, you'd buy this unit without listening to it?
8O

Edited for content: 08/01/2002.




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Lex]

I think we have proven we are David. I think Susan, (whereever she is), is only like the second woman moderator in history. I heard of one other, that didn't last to long.

At any rate, the Ayre is a nice piece, and certainly if you talk to her sometime and she want's to come where she's received a bit more warmly, we would love to have her!

Lex

[JonMarsh]

Hi David,

Now, back OT - Jon, you'd buy this unit without listening to it?

Well, you see, Charles Hansen and I go way back; he used to work for me in the late 70's. I gave him some speakers and an earful of philosophy re speaker design- as he's said when introducing me to some folks, I'm the grandfather of Avalon. He's definitely been a trailbreaker with non feedback electronics, and I've done some work with Ayre, such as on the baby preamp, and regarding some issues with the output stage design of the V1 and the V5/V6. And IMO, the D1 is the best sounding DVD/CD player that I've ever heard, incorporating as it does literally "heroic" efforts in noise suppression, system ground isolation, supply regulation, etc. It's also a pretty d*mn good DVD player too, with 108 MHz 12 bit DACs on the video.

Knowing as I do the design philosophy and implementation strategy Chas uses, and it's alignment with my own beliefs and techniques, I have to say the CX-7 is probably the *only* CD player I can imagine buying on "reputation" - but obviously, it's not just reputation here that is the basis for my beliefs.

But, I'm an onery curmudgeon, and like to make my own mistakes, :LOL: so intead I'm putzing around with a design using a 44.1 to 88.2 kHz upsampler and re-clocker, with a very high precision local clock, and 24/192 DACs, feeding a transformer based differerential input circuit for maximum CMRR noise rejection of the DAC switching noise while including a bessel roll off characteristic. It then drives my own NLFB discrete JFET + bipolar class A output buffer... just so I can be like Sinatra and say "I did it my way...."

(even if it isn't any better, maybe not as good, who knows?)

But you only learn on this stuff by working on it yourself- thinking, designing, constructing, and listening. And then going back and doing it some more.

"This time for sure!" - Bullwinkle J. Moose

Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[Audio Girl]

Okay, I promise to be good here and not get too slobbery about the CX-7. But I've just got to tell you...

Seriously, many thanks to Lex and David for the invitation to participate here. I look forward to it!

[Lex]

With a name like Audio Girl, we simply had to have you on board! Your welcome for the invite.

Now, come on, give us the scoop. I know Jon is salavitating big time. He's such an Ayre fan. I guess my Jupiter is gonna have to do me for a good while, but I still would like to hear more!

Lex

[Audio Girl]

:LOL:

Here is the more detailed review that I gave on AA:

"First, build quality. The unit is heavier than my Arcam DiVA CD-72, weighing in at 25 lbs, and considerably larger (17-1/4"W x 13-3/4 D x 4-3/4). It is a handsome piece of gear, packaged in silver with attractive blue LEDs. I've notice some criticism on DD for blue LEDs but I find this color of blue to be relaxing and stunning when the lights are low or off. The LEDs in the display area are easy-to-read from a distance, even on one of the lower shelves of my rack. There is a Standby/Operate button that toggles the unit between normal operation and standby mode. When in standby mode, a green status LED is illuminated, and all internal circuitry remains powered. According to the manual -- which is simple, user friendly -- "this ensures optimal sound quality with a minimum of warm-up time". I found that absolutely spot on when I resumed my listening session this morning.

Transport information: manufactured by Teac, the transport is plastic, but operates smoothly in transporting the disc and in removal from the unit.

Parent company, Ayre & Charles Hansen: Ayre seems to be a very solid company based on the research I have conducted on the web and at AA. Thus far, I have found their service to be excellent, timely and responsive. As you can see, Charles Hansen quickly responded to my question at DD about the hookup to my Tascam CD recorder. (If I had read the manual before posting the question, I would have found the answer to my question). Further, I emailed Ayre today regarding how to contact Charles by email and Charles quickly responded to my email with his address, and was more than willing to address my questions. Am I concerned that this is Ayre's first effort at CD player (only)? No. My research revealed that their DVD player -- which has been highly reviewed -- is excellent for viewing videos, but also produces excellent CD playback. I really don't view this as their first stab at building a CD player since some consumers purchased the DVD unit to use as a CD player.

Remote control: small, black, trim, user friendly. The upper section of the remote control may be used to control an Ayre integrated amp or preamp. The lower section is used to control the CD player functions. I am not picky about remote controls and this one more than adequately does the job.

Specs:

Maximum Output Levels 2.25 V rms -- unbalance outputs
4.50 V rms -- balanced outputs

Analog XLR Output
Polarity: Pin 1 = Ground
Pin 2 = Non-inverting (Positive)
Pin 3 = Inverting (Negative)

Frequency Response: DC - 20 kHz

Power consumption: 30 Watts

My preferred music genres: Indie rock, alt. rock, classic rock, pop, some country (mostly older material), folk, latin, acoustic guitar, orchestra, some blues & jazz, R&B. I do not care for classical, hip hop, rap. CDs used for listening: Trespassers William "Anchor", Wonder Boys soundtrack, Neil Young "Silver & Gold", Van Morrison "Tupelo Honey", Dwight Yoakum "A Long Way Home", Ryan Adams "Heartbreaker", The Lucksmiths "Staring At The Sky", Steely Dan "Two Against Nature", John Mellencamp "John Mellencamp", Cowboy Junkies "Trinity Sessions".

Now, the good stuff: how does it sound? The sonics are very revealing, detail oriented but not fatiguing. My listening session lasted approximately 4 hours last night and about the same today. The treble is detailed but not overbearing to the bass & midrange. I found myself enjoying some CDs which I had lost interest in listening to. Excellent bass reproduction; noteworthy on all selections and particularly Mellencamp's "Your Life is Now".

The soundstage is deep and wide. It is easy to identify the placement of instruments and vocals. Female and male vocals were excellent, particularly the female highs. Transparent, neutral and involving sound. This player definitely reflected which recordings were poorly mastered (something I hadn't been able to tell on the Arcam). Much more detailed imaging that my current player.

At $3000, I find the player to be a value. It easily smoked $3,600 and $4,000 players which I auditioned.

Downsides: No HDCD capability (although I played HDCD CDs and can't imagine they could sound better). No mention of upgrade path capability (for example, to SACD). At its price point, I expected the remote control not to be plastic, but again this is not an issue for me.

I hesitate to give more specifics because its so early in my demo process. If I purchase, I'll let it break in and come back for a more detailed review.

How would I sum up the last 24 hours with the CX-7: so far, so good. Or rather...so far, so wonderful."


I will add that the transport does concern me a little. It is plastic, is somewhat noisy, and does not seem as stable as the one in my Arcam. I believe it is a CD-ROM transport from Teac.

Anybody else had the chance to hear the CX-7?

[Lex]

Nice review Mary! I agree, a 3K CD player shouldn't have a plastic CD tray. Nor a plastic remote. However, my 2K Rega has a plastic remote. However, no tray at all, since it's a top loader. A bit of an inconvenience for a lot of racks, but no moving parts translates to a very still disc during rotation. That, I like. :B

If you get a chance, you may want to audition a Jupiter. It's a pretty darn good player in it's own right, and 1K less in money. I found a demo for 1200, so I came out smelling like a rose!

Lex

[David Meek]

Hi Audio Girl! ;x(

Welcome to the Guide. And a Texan to boot! Hehe. Now were getting to the point that we can give the Canadian contingent a run for their money.

Anyway, you'll find this a MUCH more pleasant atmosphere. You can post just about any level of question (from newbie to whiz-kid) you want and get an answer that's understandable and informative without the attitude. This is a dign . . . dignif . . . dignified . . . aw' who am I kidding? We like to have fun, too.
;b>'>

Stop by the "At the Movies" forum sometime - new opinions are needed all the time.

Back OT: yes, I would expect for $3K, the mechanism to be cast metal at least and single billet carved at best. The remote wouldn't concern me as at that price point, many owners will have a programmable remote that is controlling their system. Many manufacturers are taking that into consideration and consequently putting the money into other aspects of their components. I haven't heard the CX-7 yet. Surprisingly, in Houston we only have two higher-end dealers (that I'm aware of) at the moment and I haven't had time to visit lately.




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Eduardo]

Welcome Audio Girl

Thank you for taking the time to post a great review. Please keep us updated on your decision. I would love to see some pictures of your system. Maybe you can post some in the gallery. What are you using for a reciever, amps and speakers?

Lex I looked at the Jupiter at my local audio store and thought it sounded great. Your lucky to find such an awesome deal.


:LOL: Tex - you crack me up with your emoticons.

http://home.nc.rr.com/ejimenez

[Bob]

Jon,
While the company employees and shills for Outlaw and EAR tend to get my eyes rolling, I love your Ayre anouncements. They are informative and matter of fact, as opposed to the rants and shouts that are so common on the internet. Of course, that's also because the Ayre products really do perform and don't need fast talking, shouting, barkers.
I have been on the look out for awhile now for a used Ayre pre amp. Charles Hansen has built as good a pre amp that can be done, with present day technology, IMHO. My Casablanca ll is perfectly o'k for movies but, no AV pre amp that I have heard can equal a good 2 channel pre for music, especially vinyl. So far, every time I see one pop up for sale on Audiogon they are snatched up before I can grab it. My time will come eventually though.
Keep the info on Ayre products comming. Mr. Hansen is one of the few good guys in audio, actually builds great products that sound musical instead of just a bunch of hype and unjustified prices.

[JonMarsh]

Hansen has built as good a pre amp that can be done, with present day technology, IMHO

I very much agree with you about that, Bob. The K-1 is a marvelous peice of technology, with or without the phono module, and the K3 is a great value (just wish it had the higher position count attenuators of the K1). The -X versions have improved the power supply and grounding arrangements, and reasonable cost retrofits are available for the older units. They've been very conscientious about providing upgrade paths for their products, but not in a manner which attempts (IMO) to exploit the customer base.




K3-x Preamplifier




K1-x Preamplifier



Theta builds some very good gear, too. The Casablanca is what I lust after for my future surround requirements- right now, I'm "limping" along with just stereo, but don't feel sorry for me! :LOL:

If I didn't enjoy tinkering with electronics in the audio path, I'd almost certainly own mostly Ayre gear- but I don't think of it as something to push (this isn't religion, afterall!). Generally, I just hope folks looking for gear in that range will take an opportunity to listen to it, and decide for themselves if it meets their needs. I've had a number of friends and aquaintances (including professional colleagues in the Munich division of the company I work for- a German semiconductor firm) find that Ayre offered something they had been looking for and were losing hope of finding.

Best regards,

Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[Bob]

Trust me, I don't feel sorry for anyone with a great 2 channel system. I'm envious. 5.1 is interesting at first but, personally I seldom play films loud anymore and don't watch even my favorite films multiple times like we all do with music. I feel lucky that I have heard 3 really great systems over the years and know what I am trying to acheive. I've got the right speakers (they are the same ones used in 2 of the three systems I liked) and the right amps to power them. I have been dragging my feet on getting a "real pre amp" instead of the AV pre-pro and a cd player instead of a transport until I liked the sonics in my room. First it was to lively and I got carried away and over treated it. I feel that I have finally got it right and now is the time to get serious about the Ayre pre amp and a player. Would love to get close enough to vinyl that I could get rid of that part of my system but, maybe digital will never be that good.