Ayon CD-2 sonics? thoughts? opinions?

Here are some notes on the Ayon CD-2 that recently replaced my longtime love, the Cary 306/200. First, this is my system as it now stands:

Gear:
Ayon CD-2
Karan KAI-180
Squeezebox Duet, Bolder modified and with power
Dynaudio Confidence C-1
Sound Applications XE-12S modded to near Linestage
Cables: Gabriel Gold Rapture RCA Interconnects and Speaker Cables, Von
Gaylord Chincnilla Sig. RCA Digital
Power Cords: BMI Hammerhead Gold Mk1 and Mk3
Gabriel Gold Rapture on and off the CD-2 (see below)

Of note, the Karan is a relatively new addition and I had only a short time to listen to it with the Cary, but did listen thoughtfully to the tunes I have used most often for analysis of gear in the past. And, here are those tunes:
David Gray: The Ep's 92-94
Shine, Lover
John Hiatt: Crossing Muddy Waters
Crossing Muddy Waters, What Do we Do Now
Dave Matthews Band: Under the Table and Dreaming
Satellite, Pay for What You Get, #34
Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker
May Winding Wheel
Ben Harper: Fight for Your Mind
Please Me Like You Want To
John Coltrane Quartet: Ballads
Say It (over and Over Again)
Mike Doughty: Skittish
The Only Answer, Looks
Steve Earle: Train a Comin'
Goodbye, Northern Winds, Rivvers of Babylon, Tecumsah
Vallley
Sometimes Why:
MIddle, Hush Child, Let Down, Hallowell

The soundstage is enormous and fabulous and as good or better than the Cary, while the imaging less precise, but in a very nice way. The images are rounder, a little softer, and larger. With the Karan, the Cary's images were somehow diminutive on a large stage....while that left a lot of black background, it seemed less real than the Ayon. The notes are true on attack, but the decay feels a little attenuated.

The detail is comparable or better, but since the images are larger, there is less separation on vocal harmonies in close proximity. So, with more crowded or complex parts of music there is some congestion that is not
so pleasing.

It is a very revealing player, so the recording is stripped of any corrective blurring or bad production for better or worse. And, forget about MP3's, they sound terrible and suck any way.

The ergonomics suck.....Holding on to the slow cooker like top while changing cd's is and true pain in
the ass.

It is overall a more musical player with a sweet midrange (more about that below) and bass is very realisitic and well controlled. No bloat, but a ton of energy overall. This abundance of energy presents itself as this nagging bit of forward nature in the upper mids. Truth be told, that is actually always nagging me in my system and in the end it is probably the Dynaudio's fault They are accurate and unforgiving and sound great when piled on with clean power, but require reigning in to avoid listener fatigue. It's their (and
my) specific conundrum of needing gobs of power and liking a tubish
warmth.

The Ayon does not add the tubish warm I was hoping for, but it has so many good attributes that I am going to try a quad of '80's Rusky DR tubes and see if that will bring it on home.

So, with that aggressive sonic trait demand in mind, the BMI cord is a better match in my system for the player....the Rapture cord has a small of that sonic signature and doesn't work as well right now. But, the new tubes could change things and I would venture is a great match for a system with less
tendency towards the aggressive or one that is more laid back and needs a little push towards 'coming alive'.

The DAC portion is very nice with the same caveats as above and is where I really here the MP3 disgusting hashy stuff.

So, overall, I like the CD-2 better than my Cary, but am not blown away by it. I am anxious to hear it with the NOS tubes and see what they brig to the table.

And, to be fair, I have been under the weather for a few months and am bringing a less than optimal attitude and overall gestalt of life to the listening table so my best ears aren't on. So much pig's guts on the table.

Like the man said, "I've been down but not like this before." Don't want to be a whiner, but really and I am holding my own, but for the most part hunkering down in the bosom of my nuclear family wile my friend's are awaiting my inevitable bobbing back to the surface. That's gonna' happen
I am sure, just in my waiting chrysalis stage.....patient and expectant of beauty.

Besides, my dog needs a new knee more than I need a new CDP. New knee is good news.

Those are the notes from my very own underground.

A quick follow up on the CD2 with the NOS DR tubes. My oops in installing them was more of my own concern and less of a problem than my paranoia originally portrayed.

The player is now different animal, a pure joy. All the excessive energy is tamed and the microdynamics under control. Huge soundstage with a gentle and warm yet dynamic and detailed presentation. Hard to say 'reinvents your whole cd collection', but it is fun to relisten to things with it. The decays are now extended and I'm really not finding any deficits to my ear with the reproduction from this player. The DAC portion holds up the same high standard.....

Hopefully, I can get more out about it later next month. If anyone has any specific curiosities, shoot me a email.

Enjoy the tunes!

Budburma, thanks for your updates!

Most people here love to glow over whatever gear they are running. But, your honest perspectives of what you have heard along this journey should be applauded - thank you.

There's a big improvement to change the original tubes in aynon's CD player, I'm the owner of a CD-1, and was not satisfied with the little sound hardness remaining after break in, so I went for a pair of 6H30-DR instead of the original ones and switched the EH 6922 to a pair of Siemens Cca. The player is not the same ! Best improvement came from 6H30 DR, but be patient they take quite a long time before being at their top (at least 100 hours). Switching 6922 was not a so big improvement excepted to correct some sibilance on the top treble and change slightly the medium sound. I auditioned recently the CD-2, in comparison the definition is much better, coming partly from the real symetric implantation of components and mainly, to my point of view, from the PCM 1704 Dac (same as the one in the Audiomat Maestro).
But honestly I have the same result by coupling the CD-1 with a Whest Audio DAP 10 (unfortunately discontinued), this little box is quite a mystery for me, same effect as a high end DAC. Also coupled with a Burson audio buffer it gives interesting results (personally I connect the CD-1 in RCA to the Whest audio and in XLR with the Burson Audio buffer, both give a different sounding and I switch according to the kind of music I listen to).

This thread is a bit stale, so maybe no one will see my question, which is how difficult is it to replace the tubes in the Ayon CD-2? I have heard elsewhere that the tubes are difficult to access inside the unit and therefore are pretty difficult to swap with NOS tubes. Is this true?

I have the Ayon CD2 and Ayon Retailer here replace the tubes on my CD2, and yes the tubes are difficult to access inside the unit.

But I did not like the sound of it and return to the original tubes :-)