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Changing genre to female Jazz vocals, the Ayon demonstrated this very particular tube transparency and supremacy which solid-state gear hardly ever reaches even without any regard for price. Listening to the Diana Krall album When I look in your eyes [Verve B00000J7S8], the Ayon network player delivered a rare feeling of presence which the Lumin could rival neither on the 16/44.1 file nor the DSD recording. Perhaps the DSD version was no genuine DSD remaster but it did have a bit more detail relative to ambience and strings attacks. Nevertheless the voice of Diana Krall had a clarity with the S-5 which the Lumin didn't reach regardless of resolution density or format.



Against genuine DSD tracks over the Lumin however, I honestly thought the result delivered by my DSD streamer was more convincing than the Ayon S-5's read of the CD layer. The superiority of the high-resolution format now provided the Lumin with an undeniable advantage. I consider this fact due to the format itself and the quality of very specific DSD masters. All Channel Classics recordings and a good part of the Pentatone DSD recordings sounded better on the Lumin than as their Redbook layer over the S-5. A recent upgrade to the Hong Kong network player also enhanced upsampling of PCM data to DSD but such files did not sound as good DSD'd as they did natively on S-5.

Conclusion. What did Ayon's flagship miss to get my highest mark? Not that much. In terms of sound quality nothing. The S-5 was the most pleasant, transparent and exciting musical source I've ever experienced. And it really was an enthusiastic performance. From the start of this year, this was the second computer source which completely outclassed my very good CD transport references on sound quality. One is no longer obliged to make sonic compromises only to take advantage of all the functionality a dedicated computer audio source has to offer. Since the beginning of 2013, I have reviewed two top network players, one more oriented toward transistor listeners (Lumin), the other designed for tube lovers (Ayon S-5). When during this review I had opportunity to listen to another S-5 streamer in a complete Ayon system (except for its French loudspeakers), I thought that despite its exceptional transparency the S-5 there exhibited a slight coloration that was due to its 6H30 fingerprint. I apparently misunderstood what the exact nature of that coloration was since this little brilliance in the upper mids was apparently more linked to the speakers or amplifier. My friend has since acquired brand new Sonus faber Guarneri Evolution and now the sound is perfectly balanced.


Don’t forget that the elevated sticker of the Ayon S-5 is linked to the fact of not merely being a network player but also a very versatile DAC and fine analogue preamp. So what could be improved? First off, the iPad app is one of the worst I've seen to contrast like black does white the outstanding quality of the player itself. It is possible to use other UPnP apps like Song Book Lite or Kinsky. I simply experienced difficulties making those work. I was not able to get precise answers as to why and had to use the Ayon app by default. The only way to get to a minimum comfort level with Ayon's control point was browsing the folder directory of my Synology NAS that had been segmented into various musical genres. In my opinion the quality of the remote control interface is a massively vital issue.


When it becomes difficult to browse my music collection, it impacts and kills my desire to use the system and listen to music. The Lumin app by comparison is really friendly and pleasant but doesn’t work with Ayon streamers (Lumin uses the Linn UPnP protocol exclusively). There are some good news for S-5 owners however. Gerhard Hirt should release a new control point app by the beginning of the third quarter which ought to overcome my sole reservation. I shall try to pen a brief follow-up or invite Gerhard Hirt to present us with screen captures of the new app directly. Other good news is a forthcoming firmware/hardware upgrade to enable DSD streaming. Stream Unlimited is working on it and the new Ayon Stealth and Stratos converters are DSD-enabled already. The S-5 can swap its digital board mounted to the rear panel with 4 screws to fit the new PCM/DSD module.

Summing up, with a proper new app aimed at replacing your current D/A converter and preamp, the Ayon S-5 could be considered a real bargain for tube lovers. In the global panorama of audio network players, Ayon's flagship stands apart from all other solid-state challengers. It definitely sounds as precise as the best CD transports and as robust and liquid as the best turntables. If Gerhard Hirt is serious about adding DSD to his big boy, it really could end up on my very short purchase list despite already owning a tube preamp, Lumin's DSD network player and Esoteric's SACD deck...
Ayon Audio website