Is the Ayre CD CX-7e very sibilant?

[Vivek]

Hi,

I have an Ayre CD CX-7e feeding into an LFD integrated (using LFD cable). I also have a Project turntable with a Goldring cartridge. LAT cables feed Harbeth speakers.

I really do like my music system a lot. I found no problems listening to the usual assorted music that I listen to (jazz, classical, rock, hip hop...basically, anything that catches my fancy).

However things changed when I played some British pop that I bought - CDs of The Cure and Blur. I started noticing sibilance. Its come to the point where I notice sibilance in all recordings, even the ones I listened to earlier and found perfectly acceptable.

And when I listen to non-vocals - wow! Lovely (ok, now may be I am watching the high hat a little more).

However, the sibilance is a mere trace when I listen to my record player (played Ricki Lee Jones and some Steely Dan - virtually any song with an "S" in the title to test it out). Given the rest of the system is the same, I would like to know whether anyone else used the Ayre and found such similar problems?

All googled reviews of Ayre speak highly of it (and even I like it a lot), but there is no mention of sibilance.

Regards,

Vivek

[Steve Toy]

This could be a setup issue. CD players are often quite choosy about mains cables and supports, especially high-end ones. I doubt the player itself is to blame other than for being an open window...

The harsh top end causing sibilance is probably RFI entering the signal path via your mains cable or it could be the result of microphony. Are your interconnect or mains cable touching the wall?

Try some Black Ravioli from Coherent Systems or Still Points and dress your cabling so that cables don't touch the walls or each other where possible.

PS: Welcome to AOS.

[Vivek]

Thank you for your welcome note and response.

The various cables (power, interconnect and speaker) all look like Bombay at peak traffic hour - everything touching each other and the walls!

Let me try work around the problem by trying to direct traffic as much as possible.

Regards,

Vivek

[Steve Toy]

Let me know how you get on with tackling your logistical nightmare! Also, if you post some system pics it could help us to diagnose your problem a litttle better.

[Nick]

The rack you have it on doesn't have glass shelves by any chance ?

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the Ayre gear doesn't like glass.

[Steve Toy]

Now that could be a real possibility. Again, pics will help with system diagnosis.

[Vivek]

Hi,

No glass at all. Its all wood. I will try get the pics done over the weekend.

Regards,

Vivek

[StanleyB]

I hate talking about CD players and their fault symptoms after fixing on average five a day, 280 days a year, over a period of seven years. But I shall make a rare exception.

1. Has the bass also gone softer, with the onset of the sibilance symptoms?
2. Have you recently moved the CDP to a room with a wide variation in humidity, or is the room in which you got the CDP very cold unheated, and very hot when heated?
3. Are there large windows in the room that show a high level of condensation on them when your heating is on?
4. Have you got a spirit level of any sort, but preferably a light (in weight) one? i.e. not an industrial and heavy builders type..

Stan

[jandl100]

Hi Vivek, and welcome to the forum.

We've all got different tastes and musical requirements, and one person's system may well not "do the deed" for someone else.

I must confess, though, that I had an Ayre CX7e for a (very) short while and was very unimpressed with the sound. That was in comparison to a twice the RRP Burmester CD006 player, so you'd hope that the Ayre would not be as good!

(they were approx. same value 'used' though - German kit is not held in high regard in the UK for some reason).

In comparison to the Burmester, the sound was tonally thin, grainy, 2D and lacking in musical vitality (micro-dynamics?). And yes, the Ayre was a well run-in unit.

So maybe you are just beginning to hear the limitations of the Ayre? All kit has limitations, after all - and not necessarily in line with price, either, in my experience!

I'd seriously suggest you try one of Stan Beresford's DACs with the Ayre as a transport. Yes, I know it's only £150 or so.
http://www.beresford.me/others/main.html
I use one in my system, and I preferred it to a £3.5k Audio Synthesis DAX Decade. (The Ayre didn't even come close, imo).
Let it run in for a few days and if you aren't impressed, StanB will give you a full refund!

All just imo, but I think it's worth a try.

[StanleyB]

Or get me the circuit diagram of your DAC and I can turn it into a real piece of musical gem. Mind you, I hate modding CD players simply because of the hassle of figuring out how to post them back.

Stan