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Want to buy Ayre C-5xeMP but...

I have had the Ayre in my system for 4 days and at first I found it to be better than my CDP but after extended listening I am to the point where I don't want to let it go.

My only concern is should I go with a DAC and a server instead?

I do not want to hear a hard drive or the fan of a computer and my display is a DLP and has an annoying fan also, so I never have them on while critical listening. Even the faint noise coming out of the DVR is too much.

I know that music servers are the future of audio but I don't mind changing the CD's. If I want convenience I just burn discs with the songs that I am listening to most of the time and when my mood changes I can throw that one out and burn a new one.

I have thousands of songs on my computer and shuffling through them is great but in my system I am all about sound not convenience.

Are CD's dead and upgrading my CDP a waist of money?

2 channel part of the system consists of..

Krell Evo 707
Krell Evo 400 mono's
B&W 800D's
Meridian G08
Ps Audio PPP
Shunyata Python CX pc's
relentless
herman
2,215 posts
 
Perrew, what server are you using? How is it connected to the DAC. What software are you using (.wav are data files, not software)? Everything makes a difference.

Relentless, you are correct; at first glance it easy to assume that it is all the same, just a computer and a DAC but it is much harder than one initially thinks because there are so many variables. As I understand it HDMI has some issues as well. Ayre is USB only because they are using a form of asynchronous USB that they licensed from Gordon Rankin at Wavelength. Do a search over at Audio Asylum and visit Wavelength's website.

The bottom line is you can get superb performance going the computer route but you have to find out what works for you.
perrew
299 posts
 
Herman, its a PC with parallel Hard Drive running Win XP and Squeezecenter. Plextor 760 CD/DVD-Drive and Audiograbber for ripping. Its connected to the DAC with Wireless connection. My player has built in WiFi. As I said the sound is very very good and convenience is unbeatable, but if I had to choose I would still pick the CD since it sounds better.
relentless OP
36 posts
 
I brought the loaner back and got to talking with the dealer about the C5 or a DAC. He said that he has this conversation every day and feels that in the end you can achieve better sound with a hard drive and a DAC. He feels that CD's are not truly digital and have to be read so there is more time for error correction on a hard drive. I will do some reading on AA and the dealer is trying to get something together for me to audition.
herman
2,215 posts
 
Thanks for the info Perrew. have you tried to feed the DAC some way other than wireless?

Relentless, I don't think the statement about CDs not being digital is correct but perhaps he was alluding to the fact that when ripping a CD you can do it as fast or as slow or take as many passes as it takes until you get a perfect copy whereas when playing a CD it is done in real time. This makes it much more prone to data errors as well as the problems of reading it and at the same time trying to keep feeding the data to the DAC at a constant rate.
jtimothya
612 posts
 
  
I'd say this is the time to be buying CDs. Like turntables and tonearms after the CD proclaimed 'the death of vinyl', the CD player will only improve. And today, the C-5xeMP is a excellent choice.
 
http://www.soundstage.com/equipment/arc_cd5.htm
 
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