Ayon CD2 is AMAZING

Jim,

Sarcasm duly noted. The Ayon CD players receive nothing but positive buzz on Audiogon. My experience with Ayon left me pretty dismayed. I was especially struck when the person who sold me his Ayon then wrote to ask me if I was selling the unit because it was too "bright" (his words, not mine.). More evidence on this front...I recently had an e-mail exchange with another Audiogon member about power amps. As an aside, we discussed digital sources. When I mentioned my experience with the Ayon, he replied that he had just sold the Ayon CD-5 because he did not like it at all and could not understand how Ayon CD players are so well-regarded.

For anyone considering buying an Ayon, I strongly recommend trying to demo the unit if possible. If not they should at least first read Doug Schroeder's review in Dagogo of the Ayon CD-5, in which he ranks quite a few digital sources. The CD-2 comes off looking pretty weak in that review, considering its high cost. I frankly think he was too kind to the CD-2, as I thought my $800 Eastsound E-5 sounded better than the CD-2.

I used to own the Ayon CD-2 and could not understand why it was so highly praised. I thought it sounded very forward and lacked detail. Overall, a very fatiguing source. After I sold the Ayon, I received back channel e-mails from other Audiogon members who owned the Ayon, all asking whether I had sold it because it was too "bright". They wouldn't post this on Audiogon. Presumably to protect the value of their investment. But I don't understand the buzz. Certainly, the Ayon CD-2 was as far away from vinyl as any source I have ever used.

For the same money, the PS Audio Perfect Wave stack is far better than the Ayon. For less money, the Eastsound is better.

Budt, I think you were on to something in your March 15th post in this thread. I did not like the Ayon CD-2 and posted about it. Jimphd14, dripping with sarcasm, says I should just go and buy a Sony CD player at Best Buy. In another thread, in which I claimed the PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC & Transport sounded better than the Ayon CD-2, both of which I owned at the time, he claimed he also had owned the Perfect Wave DAC & Transport and that the Ayon CD-2 blows the PS Audio gear out of the water.

Now I just looked at his previous posts on Audiogon. He has a total of 8 posts to his name and in every one he recommends Ayon equipment. He claims to have owned BAT and Audio Research amps, the AMR-77, the Meridian 808.3, and in every case -- wait for it -- the Ayon CD-2, CD-5, Triton, Spirit, etc. was superior.

Regarding the AMR-77 vs. Ayon CD-5, the CD-5 is "a remarkable improvement over the AMR-77 -- NO CONTEST".

Regarding the Perfect Wave DAC&Transport, "The Ayon CD-2 is a superior unit to the PS Audio -- FOR SURE."

Strangely, he claims to have been an audiophile for 25 years, yet he has never written anything outside these 8 posts about his experiences using BAT, Audio Research, AMR, Meridian, or PS Audio equipment.

If you own BAT, Audio Research, Meridian, or AMR, be prepared for Jimphd14 to denigrate it by claiming its inferiority to Ayon.

Budt, you hint at a very useful recommendation, which is to look over the previous post history of Audiogon members who strongly praise one product over another. Such a check would confirm that the member is behaving like an honest broker, not a shill.

If it turns out that a member (like Jimphd14) has an Audiogon feedback score of zero, no items for sale, and uses the Audiogon forums solely to "pump" a single manufacturer (Ayon) while denigrating competitors' products, it is probably completely safe to ignore his posts.

Such posting behavior is juvenile and a disservice to the Audiogon community.

Jimphd14, why insult everyone who doesn't worship Ayon? I doubt you have heard the Berkeley DAC, which is a very expensive and well-regarded digital component. I also doubt you owned the AMR-77, the Meridian 808.3, the Perfect Wave stack, or BAT amps, as you have claimed in your 10 other Audiogon posts, which were all devoted solely to touting Ayon digital components and amps or insulting Audiogon members who don't agree with your Ayon endorsements uber alles.

I can only surmise that you have some undisclosed financial interest in Ayon. If so, disinformation and insults are a lousy way to protect your interests.

One thing that bothers me about Ayon -- besides the sound -- is the fact that it spends a fortune on advertising and on chassis work that makes the company the supposed "Bugatti of Audio", but it has no dealers in the US. Why is this? I suspect Ayon doesn't want to go head to head with other brands in dealer showrooms. While it might work for Ayon, it is not for the benefit of audiophiles who have to buy the unit from on-line retailers or used "sound unheard". Personally, if I could have listened to the Ayon CD-2 at a dealer like Stereo Exchange in New York, I would have known to stay away from Ayon to begin with.

Mlb, Melbguy1, I am not a dealer and have no financial interests in any of Ayon's competitors. My forays into audio amount to a rounding error for me financially. If you read my post history, you will see that I have commented about a wide range of products and have done so deliberately and as honestly as I can.

As I said before, I think that people should be able to use the Audiogon forums to gain useful insights about products they are considering buying. Can users rely on the opinions expressed in Ayon threads? I don't think so. Even if the majority of Ayon owners are completely honest in their enthusiasm, Jimphd14 is neither honest nor honorable and has muddied the water as a result. He resorts to implausible disinformation about competing products and personal insults towards anyone expressing a preference for any product that is not made by Ayon.

If Ayon components really compete with the best on the market, then Jimphd14, not me, is acting against Ayon's and your best interests. No company wants an immature fraud to speak in its behalf.

And Jimphd14's disinformation is also a disservice to manufacturers like AMR, Meridian, PS Audio, Berkeley, BAT, and Audio Research, all of which he has implausibly claimed are trounced by Ayon.

Melbguy1, I tried to post evidence regarding Jimphd14, but the moderator did not approve my post. I guess the acrimony is not "productive".

I do believe that this forum is supposed to provide honest insights about audio equipment choices and am angered that someone like Jimphd14 acts in an unethical and disrepectful way to spread disinformation. I guess I have learned not to trust everything I read on this forum, as some people don't use it in good faith.