Ayre DX-5 at $10,000 is a rebadged $500 OPPO.

frui

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Ayre DX-5 at $10,000 is a rebadged $500 OPPO.

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=76749

Here is yet another rebadged oppo player that is selling for far more then what oppo charges for it. Ayre admits to changing nothing in the digital, HDMI, and video processing department so it is nothing more then a "snake oil" mod. With the new OPPO BDP-83 SE this ayre player is using the old DAC's and not the new ESS DAC's so you are paying $10,000 for less.

yangmetal

Well, first of all you have to remember that we don't have to pay $500 for the unit. We buy in quantity, so Oppo gives us the spectacular discounted price of (make sure you are sitting down, please!) $400.

Then to make it an Ayre, we dismantle it completely and recycle everything except the main PCB (with the video decoder, ABT scaler chip, and HDMI transmitter), the transport mechanism, the VFD display, and the remote control handset.

Next we re-build the main PCB. The big switching power supply only provides 5 VDC, then there are little mini-switching power supplies (called DC-DC converters) on the main PCB that turn the 5 VDC into 1.0 VDC, 1.1 VDC, 1.8 VDC, and 3.3 VDC. All of those are removed. There are also USB power switches that allow hot-plugging of USB devices. These are removed as they have another kind of DC-DC converter called a "charge pump".

All of the supplies are replaced with pure linear supplies with analog regulators. The USB power switches are replaced with devices without the charge pumps. Now we have gotten rid of seven noise sources that create high-frequency square waves with harmonics well out into the MHz region. Getting rid of all of that noise creates a visibly cleaner picture.

Next, we replace the low-quality master video clock with a VCXO. This becomes more important later on, as you will see.

Now we start adding things back in. First is our AyreLink communication system. It allows AyreLink equipped components to act as one big system. For example, turning on the player will turn on all of the downstream components as well as automatically select the correct input on the preamp. We also make an external RS-232 to AyreLink converter box for system controllers like Crestrons. The AyreLink system has opto-isolators between each component to avoid unwanted ground loops, which is why we don't use RS-232 inputs on any of our equipment.

Then we add a custom programmed FPGA on the front panel PCB to do some housekeeping. It intercepts the appropriate commands and translates them to operate the AyreLink system. It disables the internal volume control (which operates in the digital domain and degrades the sound) and instead routes the volume changes to an AyreLink equipped preamp. It also allows us to send custom messages to the front panel VFD display. So when the USB audio input is activated, it will report that on the front panel along with the sample rate of the received signal.

There are a bunch of boards added on the audio side. I say "side" because we literally split the player into two parts. There is a separate power transformer that runs all of the audio circuitry, which is separated from the video side by a bank of opto-isolators. So the audio and video "sides" have separate grounds that are completely galvanically isolated. This is the only way to get the best performance from either your audio system or your video system.

All video displays have switching power supplies that dump noise into your system in the absence of such isolation. There are also ground loops that are inevitably formed as there is no such thing as a balanced video connection. All of those problems go away with our isolation system.

The ten-channel audio board is replaced by a two-channel audio board. Everything on this board is top-quality, with discrete, fully balanced, zero-feedback audio circuitry and discrete, zero-feedback power supply regulators. There are improvements in both the parts quality and circuit design that give it even higher performance than the QB-9 USB DAC that was recently rated "Class A+" in Stereophile's recommended components issue. For two-channel disc playback (CD, SACD, DVD-Audio), the performance exceeds our $6,000 audio-only disc player.

We also add the USB audio input that allows you to connect your personal computer and turn your system into a music server. Your entire digital library (except SACD's, thank you very much Sony -- not!) can be stored on a hard drive and played back with the click of a mouse. So this one component can be the only source component that you need. This input is also connected via a bank of opto-isolators, so there is actually a *third* "side" to the system -- the video, the audio, and the computer. The noise from your computer and its switching power supply will not be connected to either your video or audio systems.

We also add a second audio-only HDMI connector. This is fed by the isolated signals on the audio "side" so that it won't contaminate your surround-sound system if you choose to connect one. It also supports the new "Audio Rate Control" (ARC) feature that is part of the HDMI 1.3a specifcation. This is a breakthrough for the surround-sound enthusiast, as HDMI is normally the worst way in the world to send audio data -- the jitter is even worse than the lowly S/PDIF connection.

But with ARC, the surround-sound processor uses a local crystal oscillator to provide a low-jitter clock to the DAC chips. Then there is a buffer that stores the incoming audio data. When the buffer is too full it sends a signal back upstream to the Blu-Ray player telling it to slow down the disc slightly. When the buffer is too empty, it asks the disc to speed up slightly. Now the audio clock is in charge, the way that it should be. (When the unit is running in two-channel mode, the local low-jitter, fixed-frequency crystal oscillator provides the master audio clock.)

With a modern digital display (plasma, LCD, LCOS, DLP, et cetera) jitter on the video signal does not matter. Since there is no conversion to analog, the digital signal values are simply stored in a frame buffer until needed.

Then the whole thing is put into a custom chassis made entirely from anodized aluminum and stainless steel. We want our products to look just as good 50 years from now as they do today. There are other people making Oppo "clones". One of them only replaces the chassis. Another replaces the power supply also. Nobody is rebuilding the complete player and adding the extra features and advanced technology that Ayre is.

As far as the value, it is up to you to determine that. I can't tell you how much an improved picture is worth. I can't tell you how much better sound is worth. I can't tell you how much the features we add are worth. You will have to decide that for yourself.

What I can tell you is that, just like all of our other products, they offer engineering and performance beyond what anyone else is offering, at a fair price that reflects our cost of manufacturing, and that we back up our products with both a strong network of the finest dealers on the planet and an incredible service policy.

Unlike other manufacturers that try to sell you a "new and improved" product every year or two, when we figure out a way to genuinely improve the performance of our existing products, we offer upgrades to current owners at very reasonable prices. Go to the Audio Asylum and check out some comments regarding our recent "MP" upgrades to the C-5xe and CX-7e disc players, for example.

If you want a great Blu-Ray player for an incredible price, buy the Oppo. If you want the best picture and sound quality in the world for your home theater and price is not a concern, check out the Ayre. And no, it will not be available in November, sorry. Early next year will be a better guess.

yangmetal

a) It would actually cost more to buy a kit of the required parts from Oppo. We are a small manufacturer, making specialized equipment that only appeals to the most dedicated enthusiasts. If we sold 1000 units a year it would be a miracle. But 1000 units is about a ten-minute run on the high speed automated assembly lines used by Oppo. It would take them far more time to change the setup to make a special version of the player for us than it would be worth.

b) The licenses required for DVD alone are about $150,000 up front and $50,000 a year, plus royalties on equipment that has nothing to do with the DVD patents. There is no point to pay the DVD Forum royalties on high quality power supplies, clock oscillators, audio circuitry, chassis, et cetera. All that would do is raise the prices for you, the consumer.

I didn't even bother to check into Blu-Ray, but it is undoubtedly even more expensive. By purchasing a complete, licensed player with all royalties paid, we can "modify" it to our heart's content without paying a dime. Plus we are not contractually obligated to observe the BDA's restrictions.

feifazhuce

我关心qb9啥时候PK DAC1。

wujiapeng

这就是作为发烧友的代价。

lkpkp

帮你转到家电和AV199

mvw

一直对Ayre这牌子印象很好……

日后买东西，还是坚定支持原创，哪怕东西性价比再不高，毕竟还没到看破红尘对什么都肯妥协的年纪。

stephen0831

中关村在线也有对步步高OPPO BDP-83 的评价
http://tv.zol.com.cn/156/1563936.html

pig2man

原帖由 yangmetal 于 2009-12-17 20:28 发表

恩，说得很清楚了。虽然是厂商的辩护之辞，毕竟也是实话。换句话说，你不服的话自己在家里摩机，预算之内摩到那个水平算你牛。

[ 本帖最后由 pig2man 于 2009-12-18 12:45 编辑 ]

快乐小猪

中关村在线也有对步步高OPPO BDP-83 的评价
http://tv.zol.com.cn/156/1563936.html

stephen0831

AYRE电源部分的确不错，上一张C-5xe图


[ 本帖最后由 stephen0831 于 2009-12-18 17:03 编辑 ]

chengzhhh

你们在说什么

小翁与audio

ayre 内部看起来开始不简单了，哈哈
有点像arc了

kanila

早不是什么新鲜新闻。之前GOLDMUND事件已经很好的说明一些问题，其实对于现在众多欧美中低端CDP，想进入SACD市场，这种直接从街头DVD机搬的做法早已不新鲜，他们主要和原DVD的差别在于电源、信号输出端的MOD、CD片顶盖的MOD和我们看不见的芯片重写MOD。。。。。现在的HIFI 到底是那么点什么事，到底在现代科技下好HIFI又是什么个事，在信源这里，早就没有什么神秘的了，所以我退烧，或者专搞电