I have both the CD7 (without the upgrade) and the C5xeMP. Both are outstanding units. I have A/B'd them in 3 systems. I prefer the overall musical presentation of the CD7 and so that is the one that remains in my reference system. But the Ayre is very, very, good, and perhaps the better value in terms of performance per $ spent.
ARC CD8 or Ayre C5mp .
The Ayre gets all the press and then some , but can it be as good as ARCs new CD8 ? The CD8 s cost is twice that of the C5mp and uses tubes . Im not a big fan of tubes , but maybe tubes would be the answer when it comes to digital . P.S. my distaine for tubes is not sonicly induced . Comments please .