2. digital
  3. 191176-3420

Ayre CX-5 / CX-7

 A friend loaned me his Ayre CX-5 CDP to listen to in my system.  I am impressed, however, when attempting to research this player, I’ve come across different versions of this CDP.  What I find is the CX-5, the CX-5xe, and the CX-5xemp.  The back plate of my friend’s player simply identifies it as “CX-5” (no ex, or exmp).  The only information i have found so far, is that the mp is a version upgrade that supposedly takes this unit, and upgrades it to a much higher level.  My questions are:

#1  Do I have these model designations correct (CX-5, CX-5ex, CX-5exmp)?

#2. What is the difference between these three (CX-5, CX-5ex, CX-5exmp)?

#3.  I may be looking to purchase one of these, how do I identify which one is which?

#4. Also, is there sonically much difference between the CX-5 and the CX-7?

In advance, thanks for your input!

louisl

Showing 1 response by soix

soix
10,187 posts
 

I agree with @v-fi and would be very wary of buying a CD player that’s 15+ years old and would certainly check with Ayre first to see if especially things like the drive mechanism/laser can be replaced at reasonable cost if/when they fail.  That said, the MP version is an excellent performer that probably holds up well even today, and here’s a review written by, um, me exactly 14 years ago!?! that might provide some helpful nuggets FWIW.  Hope this helps at least somewhat, and best of luck.

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/94-ayre-c-5xemp-cdsacddvd-a-player

More to discover