Ayon Audio S-10 Network Player Review: HIFI Statement
Ayon Audio S-10
At last year’s High End, Gerhard Hirt, owner and CEO of Ayon, introduced me to his new development in the area of network players in detail and afterwards it was clear that we wanted to have this device tested as soon as possible. A few weeks ago it was time and we got the device exclusively for the test.
In our recent conversation, Gerhard Hirt told me completely relaxed that the S10 had actually already been done for about a year and you have deliberately used the time until the official appearance for fine-tuning. After all, the S-10 should be a “true Ayon” in every way.
From a purely external point of view, the S-10 can be recognized at first glance as a device from Ayon: solid, well-made, black aluminum housing with the characteristic rounded corners. The front panel is dominated by the large QVGA 5-inch color TFT display for displaying the various menus of the network player, which is still easy to read from a distance. Another small display to the right shows, among other things, volume, input, mute and balance. The S-10 is completely controlled via the included remote control. By eliminating any controls on the front panel, the S-10 looks very elegant, tidy and unfussy.
Technically, the S-10 connects to the well-known S-3, which has been on the market since 2011 – a long time for a hi-fi component in general and for a digital device in particular. I still have the sonic abilities of the S-3 in my best memory and sonically excellent components do not belong suddenly to the old iron. For this reason, the S-3 remains in the program of Ayon. On the other hand, a lot has happened in the digital sector in recent years: I would like to mention internet streaming services or the subject of DSD.
At the heart of the digital audio section are two high-quality Texas Instruments DSD1792A D / A chips in a channel-separated symmetrical arrangement. To connect external digital components to the DAC, the S-10 has three digital inputs: coaxial S / PDIF (RCA), Toslink and USB-PC “B” type. The USB interface is based on an XMOS DSP chip and can transmit PCM up to 24 bit / 192 kHz and DSD up to 128x.
In the analogue output stage, Ayon has resorted to a well-proven concept in the S-3: a puristic single-ended class A circuit with the well-known double triode 6H30 and only a few components without negative feedback. The balanced outputs are operated separately and in true symmetrical circuit. On the output side, either a cinch output or a balanced output with XLR sockets are available on the analogue level. A parallel operation of both outputs is not provided.
The “Signature” version contains eight high-quality Mundorf capacitors of the Silver / Gold type in the analogue part as coupling capacitors. The quality of the components used as coupling capacitors plays a decisive role in the sound overall result. The real highlight of this version, however, is the converter module, which converts all incoming PCM signals up to 24 bits / 192 KHz into DSD signals, whereby between DSD128 and DSD256 can be selected. For native DSD signals, the module is bypassed. The module essentially consists of a powerful digital signal processor (DSP), which converts the PCM signals into DSD with a corresponding algorithm.Understandably enough, Gerhard Hirt keeps a low profile over the exact content of the module, since this is a real competitive advantage. The module was developed in close collaboration with the specialists of Stream Unlimited and other external digital specialists. For Ayon alone, such a module would not have been feasible. Now the conversion from PCM to DSD is not completely new. Pioneers in this field were and are companies such as dCS, Meitner, Playback Designs or PS Audio, which use individually programmed algorithms for the conversion. Recently, there are also ready Sample Rate Converter chips. In addition, there are pure PC-based software solutions, such as HQ Player, Audirvana or, most recently, Roon.
But as always, the devil is in the details. The conversion of digital formats is a highly complex mathematical task and must happen in real time. Any good software engineer can write such algorithms, but in my experience, at least the solutions sound really good. That’s why I usually prefer to do without upsampling and conversion and listen to the music in its original format.When asked about this, Gerhard Hirt told me that he was very well aware of this problem and that the S-10 uses a special conversion method that avoids the known disadvantages and that one is particularly proud of. Gerhard Hirt has given us the S-10 in the highest stage, so with “preamp” and “Signature” option. After Dirk Sommer had kindly and not completely unselfishly taken over for me the unpacking and loading of the device, I could start immediately.
I started my listening test this time with the analog preamp. My M2Tech Young DAC was connected to one of the analogue inputs and on the output side, the S-10 was directly connected to my Omtec power amplifiers. The S-10 proved to be a very good preamp. Regardless of the selected music material and the set volume, the playback was always extremely transparent, clear and spatial. Who does not own a preamp, I can highly recommend the “preamp” version only. For a separate preamp in comparable or even higher quality you have to make a much higher investment anyway.
On the digital side, I have the S10 then connected via the Ethernet port in my home network, which is designed specifically for music playback and usually requires no router and DHCP server. The required manual configuration of the network connection was quickly done with the help of the large display and the well-made manual.
With great pleasure, I then heard again after a long time through the DSD Sampler Showcase 2 and 3 of OPUS 3. Especially with DSD recordings, I have often lacked a bit of dynamism in the past, so that everything sounded a bit dull and boring for my feelings. But now Eva Tylor “grooves” in “Everybody Loves My Baby” with an intensity that makes it really fun and the grip to the volume control does not fail. And suddenly my interest in DSD is back.
No, I will not now deal with the basic question PCM versus DSD, but limit myself to describe my listening impressions. Generally speaking, the DSD conversion gives a lot more shine to PCM recordings and maybe that extra bit extra. Also with regard to the depth of the spatial representation results with the DSD conversion an interesting effect. Compared to the PCM playback, it does not seem so deep to me, but the sound moves slightly forward and thus appears more present. At the same time, however, the spatial impression improves for me. A contradiction? Not necessarily, because the individual instruments are staggered much more natural and each instrument “breathes” and vibrates as it were in the room.
This can be heard very well in the first movement from the “Symphony No. 34” by WA Mozart in the interpretation of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Josef Krips (Mozart: Symphony 35 & 41-Chesky). A recording in the best DECCA tradition with a nice soft sound paired with great space and at the same time enormously closed and compact. With the DSD conversion, the recording appears more present and everything looks a bit more airy. I attribute this to the distinctive ability of the S-10 to reproduce subtle nuances within a room. Thus, the spatial placement of the instruments in the interplay between the fast successive forte and piano passages, which characterize the first movement of this symphony, much clearer worked out. But not only recordings of large orchestras, but also recordings with chamber music ensembles benefit immensely from the DSD conversion. Take the string sonata by GA Rossini for two violins, cello and double bass (Salvatore Accardo – Rossini: 5 Sonata a Quattro – LIM UHD): with the DSD conversion the strings sound incredibly velvety and supple; You can hear the “breathing” of the musicians and feel, how fantastically the musicians interact with each other.
So far I have always chosen the conversion on DSD128. With the remote control, you can easily switch to DSD256 while listening. To my surprise, there is no further improvement here. On the contrary: the sound impression is now subjectively somewhere between the original PCM version and DSD128. But somehow the above spell of conversion on DSD128 is gone. One explanation could be that when converting to DSD256, much more data has to be moved, resulting in a significantly greater burden on the system. You remember: AAuch in the DSD module is a processor. More is not always better!
Up to this point we have been exclusively concerned with the conversion of CD quality to DSD.But what does it look like if the source material is PCM in HiRes? I consciously choose to record the Haydn Symphonies with the Philharmonica Hungarica under Antal Dorati (Haydn Symphonies No. 94 and 100 – Antal Dorati’s The Philharmonia Hungarica – HDTT 24/192), as I like this recording in both 24-bit / 176kHz in 24-bit / 352 KHz quality. Dorati makes Haydn music with chamber music. He prefers striking fast tempos and lets the orchestra play the symphonies with full force. This gives the symphonies an extremely lively character that is difficult to escape.The high-fidelity transfer of 24-bit / 352-KHz high-definition tape transfers from a two-track tape has been superbly successful. Tonality, dynamics and spaciousness are the finest. I could not imagine that the conversion of the 24-bit / 176-KHz version in DSD should bring a tonal gain. But here too, to my surprise, the same positive effects – airiness and spaciousness – come in, as with simple CD material. And the conversion to DSD256 in turn leads to a result that makes me prefer the original version in PCM 24 bit / 352 KHz.
I can not give you a conclusive technical explanation for the advantages of the DSD conversion.Perhaps one of the reasons is that the DSD signal after the converter, unlike PCM, requires only a relatively simple low-pass filter consisting of resistors and capacitors and does not require complex circuits with additional chips. It is known that this low-pass filter has a great influence on the sound. But no matter, we have our ears to rely on.
Finally, it remains to be stated that in the long-term test I had always activated the DSD conversion and found it particularly pleasant. Without a doubt, the sound quality achieved with the conversion to DSD is amazing. This applies regardless of the resolution of the starting material. But of course, CD-quality music in particular benefits from the DSD conversion. And who of us already has only recordings in hires in his music collection?
STATEMENT
The Ayon S-10 is a great device with outstanding tonal qualities and exceptionally versatile with a perfectly matched network player, converter and preamp. You can not find that every day. But the DSD conversion option is the icing on the cake and makes the S-10 sonically extra special.
HEARD WITH | |
|---|---|
| computer | Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz, 6 GB RAM, Windows 10 with Audiophile Optimizer 2.0, Intel Atom 1.6 GHz, 2 GB RAM, Windows Home Server |
| software | MinimServer, JPlay 6.2, JRiver 19 |
| reclocker | 2 x Mutec MC 3+ USB cascaded |
| D / A converter | M2Tech Young |
| preliminary stage | Omtec Anturion |
| final stage | Omtec CA 25 |
| speaker | Outsider Jota with Velodyne Subwoofer Management System SMS-1 |
| Electric wire | Van den Hul, JCAT Reference USB, JCAT Reference LAN, Analysis Plus Digital Oval Yellow, AudioQuest Eagle Eye Digital Cable |