best interconnects and power cables for Ayre

I too have an all Ayre system. I have posted this before, and told of my trials of almost all cable connections, both interconnects and speaker cables. I found that using balanced cable is a MUST, and that Ayre and Cardas cables were the worst. The very best I found (don't laugh) is Anti-Cables with Audioquest Sky and matching Everest speaker cable a very close second. Because Ant-Cables are so much cheaper, and have a money back trial policy, they seem like a no-brainer..at least to try them. Audioquest has a new interconnect that is about 4 times the price of Sky. I tried that too...money was not a big consideration for this application and found that they were not nearly as good as Sky. If you are interested in power cords that I've had success with, let me know. By the way...I had a D-1 as well, and the C5xe I now have is very much better, unless you use the D-1 for video. The C-5xe is audio only. All this being said, your speakers may or may not like either Audioquest or Anti-Cables - you didn't mention your speakrs. Listen, listen, and then listen again.

The D1 - especially if it has been modified to the last iteration (it isn't currently being made any more) is a wonderful player. The C5xe however is better (not slightly) with Redbook CD's however, it also plays SACD and DVD audio which the D1 doesn't. Listening to the Tilson-Thomas Mahler SACD discs wants for nothing that I can hear. I have both units. In my all Ayre system, anything made by Cardas ruins the sound.