Digital Processor Reviews

Ayre Acoustics Codex D/A headphone amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) running OS 10.10.4, Roon v.1.1 build 102, JRiver Media Center 19, iTunes 12, Amarra Computer Music Player, VLC, Reaper 4.78, XLD; Western Digital 2TB NAS Device; Oppo BDP-103 Universal BD player; Meridian Sooloos Digital Media System (Control 15, QNAP TS-669 Pro NAS); Apple iPad Air & iPhone 6. Benchmark DAC1 USB & DAC2 HGC, Ayre Acoustics QB-9DSD, AudioQuest DragonFly, Chord Hugo TT USB DACs.
Preamplifier: Marantz AV7005 in Pure Direct Mode.
Power Amplifiers: Classé CAM 350 monoblocks (2).
Loudspeakers: Emotiva 5, MartinLogan Prodigy; MartinLogan BalancedForce 212 (2), Velodyne Servo-F subwoofers.
Headphones: AKG K 240, Audeze LCD-X, AudioQuest NightHawk, Grado HP1, NAD Viso, Sennheiser Amperior.
Cables: Interconnect: AudioQuest Victoria (for DragonFly) & Diamond (USB) & HD6 Carbon (S/PDIF), Cardas Clear (USB) & Neutral Reference (S/PDIF) & Clear Balanced (headphone), Kimber Kable (various line level), XLO (S/PDIF) & HT Pro (line level). Speaker: Kimber Kable BiFocal XL.
AC Power: Dedicated 40A line (amplifiers), dedicated 15A lines (digital & analog components).—Jon Iverson

COMPANY INFO
Ayre Acoustics, Inc.
2300-B Central Avenue
Boulder, CO 80301
(303) 442-7300
www.ayre.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
headphile's picture
Submitted by headphile on May 25, 2016 - 9:49pm

It seems like a missed opportunity to not have Tyll Hertsens at least co-author headphone reviews when they are posted to Stereophile instead of Innerfidelity (Stereophile's review of the Chord Hugo TT is another example of this). I am an avid reader of The Enthusiast Network's audiophile websites and I have consistently found Tyll to be a trusted reviewer with invaluable headphone experience. His reviews include accurate comparisons and measurements that give useful context that can be used to make informed purchase decisions. I hope in the future more reviews like this will at least be co-authored by Tyll or posted to Innerfidelity.

Jon Iverson's picture
Submitted by Jon Iverson on May 26, 2016 - 10:41am
Great idea - will see if this is possible for the next headphone/DAC review.
cgh's picture
Submitted by cgh on May 26, 2016 - 10:26am

... watch stuff grow.

lennykp's picture
Submitted by lennykp on May 26, 2016 - 9:52pm

Did you try AYRE Codex as balance preamp? how does it perform?
Please ask manufacturer if USA model work on 240V also?
Cheers

acuvox's picture
Submitted by acuvox on October 31, 2018 - 8:29am

Ayre Acoustics has always scrupulously minimized or avoided generating RFI signals in its boxes. This means putting the control micro to sleep or hibernating, analog power supplies and static, non-matrixed displays.

This example is retro visually. The seven segment LED display goes back to the first pocket calculators from Bowmar in 1971, and the first digital watch in 1967. Pin count was a major issue, so calculator displays where multiplexed, switching the digits on and off in succession on the first microprocessors.

For only two digits, you just need 14 pins for the segments to run on DC. The extra 5 pins are insignificantly expensive in parts cost and circuit board space, but this critical design decision improves sound quality better than expensive internal mu metal shielding.

X