View Full Version : Broken Ayre
I'm without my lovely Ayre C-5xe SACD player at the moment. It started skipping badly on hybrid SACDs but not so much on single-layer discs and not at all on CDs.
The workshop has a service note about the disc clamp mechanism allowing the disc to not spin correctly and we're hoping it's that. Looks like the fab Ayre warranty will cover me in any case, even if it needs a new drive.
Meanwhile, my Blu-ray player and Caiman will keep me going.
Sorry to hear that, Martin. It does get well used, after all! ;)
Hope it gets fixed soon :)
Marco.
HighFidelityGuy
04-02-2011, 10:22
Bad news Martin, hope you get it sorted quickly. At least you have a spare player so the music can continue. :cool:
Yes indeed and the Technics is getting more air time these days. However, I do love the sound I get from the Ayre and miss it - hopefully it will be returned complete with band aid(!)
miss it - hopefully it will be returned complete with band aid(!)
Hopefully you won't have to wait until Christmas though Martin! ;)
Sorry to hear of your woes, sounds like you've worn it out (there's a Marantz KI graveyard in my loft of the ones I've killed through over-use - in my case a good opportunity to upgrade, but luckily covered by your warranty.)
I hope I haven't worn it out. The thing is, this is a C-5xe MP which is in the Stereophile A+ category and sounds gorgeous. What would I upgrade it to? The dCS gear is ludicrously expensive and I'm not convinced it sounds any better.
Well, there is always the vintage route, Martin. Trust me, obtain a classic Sony battleship player, like mine, and have Mark from Audiocom modify it, and the result will easily be as good as your Ayre...
You need to lose your 'hi-end' audio head a little, dude, and think maximum SPPV, like with your Techie..... ;)
Hopefully, though, you can get the Ayre fixed! :)
Marco.
Reid Malenfant
04-02-2011, 14:46
Martin would need an SACD spinner Marco ;) Not quite the same thing, but i guess older models are available :scratch:
Sorry to hear the news Martin, as the thing is under guarantee i'd expect all will turn out well at the end of the day :)
Well, there is always the vintage route, Martin. Trust me, obtain a classic Sony battleship player, like mine, and have Mark from Audiocom modify it, and the result will easily be as good as your Ayre...
Nope, in this instance I have to disagree with you, Marco. I've done the battleship thing: I had a Sony SCD-1 (and you don't get more battleship than 26kg of SACD player) fully modified by Audiocom. It was superb, but I'm afraid the Ayre beat it for sound quality, especially with CDs. Then I had the MP (Minimum Phase) upgrade installed, and it got better again.
For me and silver discs, vintage doesn't quite cut it and not much beats an SCD-1. Been there, got the T-shirt :)
Yeah I forgot about SACD, because I don't use it.... However, there are some classic Jap SACD players, too!
There was a superb Marantz machine, I remember, amongst others, but forget the model number.
I just think Martin would be mad to pay through the nose for a 'badge' when there are smarter ways of spending his money, especially as it won't be his primary source ;)
Marco.
Ammonite Audio
04-02-2011, 14:58
If I was in the market for a good SACD player, the Esoteric stuff would be on the list. Luckily, I'm not in that market!
Hi Martin,
Nope, in this instance I have to disagree with you, Marco. I've done the battleship thing: I had a Sony SCD-1 (and you don't get more battleship than 26kg of SACD player) fully modified by Audiocom. It was superb, but I'm afraid the Ayre beat it for sound quality, especially with CDs. Then I had the MP (Minimum Phase) upgrade installed, and it got better again.
For me and silver discs, vintage doesn't quite cut it and not much beats an SCD-1. Been there, got the T-shirt :)
Lol - that's fine. But, with respect, as Mark has said before, the Sony X777ES/DAS-R1 combo is in a totally different league, sonically, from the SCD-1, as good as that undoubtedly is. Ok, the Sony I have won't play SACDs, but on Redbook CD, it trounces the SCD-1, sorry. Therefore, even with both fully modified, the X777ES/DAS-R1 would still be leagues ahead (on ordinary CD at least) ;)
Of course that doesn't mean to say the Sony combo would be better than the Ayre, or even as good as it, as I haven't done the comparison....
So let's address that issue - I'm curious. I'll bring my Sony combo down, too, for our sesh in a couple of weeks, and you can give me your opinion, which I would value :cool:
Marco.
Hi Martin,
I spent an entire year auditioning every CD/SACD player I could either get my hands on or visit a dealer and listen to with my own music.
The player you have and the Marantz SA7s1 were on that list...after it was all said and done I chose the McIntosh MCD-500.
While I derived an appreciation for each of the other players, I found none were as good top to bottom...the Mac just doesn't have any glaring weaknesses or strengths, it just plays music exceptionally well.
Ok, since then I have had the chance to hear the newest Lux players...the D-06 and D-08. If I were doing it again one of the Lux CD/SACD players would be coming home with me. (More likely the D-06...the D-08 is quite pricey)
So to summarize...my opinion is that the Mac would provide you a level of performance that would at least equal your Ayre (emphasis on my opinion), the Luxman players would introduce you to a whole other level of performance.
Good luck!
Hope its sorted and you do not hae to go down the route of a new player
So let's address that issue - I'm curious. I'll bring my Sony combo down, too, for our sesh in a couple of weeks, and you can give me your opinion, which I would value :cool:
Ok, I'll let you know before the day whether the Ayre will be back with me.
Yep, Martin, that would be cool, and I'm sure of interest to both of us :)
Incidentally, can you connect an off-board DAC to the Ayre via a single-ended digital coaxial cable?
Marco.
P.S Was it the 19th March we all agreed for a date? Just checking! :cool:
I was just wondering while you were discussing the merits of various CD players if anyone else has heard one of these.
http://www.armoniahifi.com/EN/CD1.html
One of guys who plays with us has one feeding a metric halo UNL8 Dac and to my ears it sounds pretty good.
Hi John,
Not heard it, but no reason why it shouldn't be good. I like the mech :)
Marco.
Incidentally, can you connect an off-board DAC to the Ayre via a single-ended digital coaxial cable?
P.S Was it the 19th March we all agreed for a date? Just checking! :cool:
Yes you can. I have it down as 19th Feb. Did you mean March? Can do that also if you prefer.
Hi Martin,
No, I meant Feb, soz! :doh:
I'm easy (as they say, lol), but not sure if March would suit Hugo?
Marco.
Ammonite Audio
04-02-2011, 22:23
Feb's still OK for me.
Let's keep it at that, then, chaps :)
Just one other thing about the Ayre, Martin... Gotcha with the digi-lead, cool, - what about from there being able to connect the DAC single-endedly to your preamp with a pair of G2000HDs?
Marco.
Yes, my preamp can take single-ended. Does the Sony not have balanced outputs, then?
Feb 19th it is, but touch and go as to whether the Ayre will be back in time. I'll keep you informed.
Rare Bird
05-02-2011, 12:31
Yes, my preamp can take single-ended. Does the Sony not have balanced outputs, then?
Sony X-777ES does have balanced line outs
Yup, but the DAS-R1 doesn't, dude....
Martin, no worries. Hopefully the Ayre will be back, but I'll bring the Sony combo anyway as it would be interesting to hear what it sounds like in your system, and give you a taste of what TDA1541s at their best are capable of ;)
Marco.
Just heard from High End Workshop last night that the laser is suspect and they're going to replace the entire drive. Good stuff.
Nice bloke, Mark. He represents Mark Levinson, too.
StanleyB
09-02-2011, 07:54
Just heard from High End Workshop last night that the laser is suspect and they're going to replace the entire drive.
Why replace the entire drive if the laser unit is suspect:scratch:? The laser unit can be removed and replaced inside the drive.
Why replace the entire drive if the laser unit is suspect:scratch:? The laser unit can be removed and replaced inside the drive.
I believe Ayre have agreed to send a whole new replacement Pioneer drive. Apparently these SACD/DVD drives have been discontinued and Ayre have stockpiled them, so spare parts may not be freely available.
I hope I haven't worn it out. The thing is, this is a C-5xe MP which is in the Stereophile A+ category and sounds gorgeous. What would I upgrade it to? The dCS gear is ludicrously expensive and I'm not convinced it sounds any better.
Agree with you 100% on that one Martin
Are you an Ayre dealer? I've only spoken to you about JM Lab/Focal in the past.
Nice result, Martin. With any luck, your CDP will come back sounding better than ever! :)
Marco.
The replacement drive has arrived this morning. I am awaiting the return of my player with some anticipation :)
Cool. I predict that the Techy will be taking a back seat for a while, for a change, although I doubt that state of affairs will last too long..... ;)
Marco.
I agree, especially as I'm looking forward to picking up some vinyl at the Bristol show today :)
Nice one - you should be able to get 'Back by Popular Demand' by Keb Mo, which I played you last week, from Diverse :)
Marco.
I couldn't find that, Marco, but thanks for reminding me about it. I'll order it online. I manage to pick up the following vinyl:
Sarah McLachlan - Afterglow (I LOVE this album)
Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien
Little Feat - Sailin' Shoes
Focus - Moving Waves
And now for my full review of the Bristol Sound and Vision show:
There was nothing of note to listen to at all, at least for me.
hifi_dave
26-02-2011, 17:32
Thank you for that in depth review of the show - saved me a trip...:rolleyes:
And now for my full review of the Bristol Sound and Vision show:
There was nothing of note to listen to at all, at least for me.
Ha - and now you know why I never bother going. When you're used to the quality of gear we have, shows like Bristol are a load of pointless bollocks! ;)
Scalford is where it's at for real enthusiasts - pity you won't be able to make it. It's a real eye-opener :)
Marco.
Neil McCauley
05-03-2011, 10:04
I hope I haven't worn it out. The thing is, this is a C-5xe MP which is in the Stereophile A+ category and sounds gorgeous. What would I upgrade it to? The dCS gear is ludicrously expensive and I'm not convinced it sounds any better.
I moved from Ayre to NorthStar and without regret.
Picking it up next Thursday, new (Pioneer) drive fitted and all done under the five year warranty. Can't really complain about that.
Reid Malenfant
05-03-2011, 11:17
Excellent news, that should put a smile on your face :)
It's back! Do my ears deceive me or does it sound a little better (possibly just a little more comfortable in the tracking department) with its new Pioneer drive? I'm certainly pleased to have it back as I can once again access the other half of my collection :)
P.S. all done under warranty.
Reid Malenfant
10-03-2011, 21:11
Expectation bias :eyebrows:
Probably because you haven't heard it for a good while Martin ;) I'm pleased to know you are a happy chappie :cool:
Nice one, Martin - enjoy! :cool:
When you're used to having more than one source, it's a pain in the butt being temporarily 'one down'.
Marco.
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