Gentlemen,
I read a review on the Eastern Electric Minimax DAC and I went and purchased it for $650. There is no way conclusively - positively for sure that this DAC is an improvement, over the Ayon CD-2. I was hoping it would work but it doesnt. The sound stage is flat and non involving and sharp. I now own the CD-5 and the CD5 is by far superior, than any Minimax combo with an Ayon CDP. With the CD5, the musician is in my room. The Minimax DAC when connected to any Ayon product, in any method, does nothing special. It actually makes the sound closed in.
I think it is more an amplifier anomaly folks are hearing. My friend used it with his Cambridge amp and a CD2 and it made the soundstage really even even worse, but it may have made the soundstage a bit faster, different, but really an ugly combo.
Folks are always looking for the cheap way to outfit a system, but it is a waste of time. I have been there and done that and learned my lesson - you get what you pay for!
Jim
I read a review on the Eastern Electric Minimax DAC and I went and purchased it for $650. There is no way conclusively - positively for sure that this DAC is an improvement, over the Ayon CD-2. I was hoping it would work but it doesnt. The sound stage is flat and non involving and sharp. I now own the CD-5 and the CD5 is by far superior, than any Minimax combo with an Ayon CDP. With the CD5, the musician is in my room. The Minimax DAC when connected to any Ayon product, in any method, does nothing special. It actually makes the sound closed in.
I think it is more an amplifier anomaly folks are hearing. My friend used it with his Cambridge amp and a CD2 and it made the soundstage really even even worse, but it may have made the soundstage a bit faster, different, but really an ugly combo.
Folks are always looking for the cheap way to outfit a system, but it is a waste of time. I have been there and done that and learned my lesson - you get what you pay for!
Jim