CD / SACD players and transports — Ayon Audio Ayon CD-T II Transport

The CD-T II is a top-loading disc transport made by the Austrian company Ayon Audio, designed to feed an external DAC with a digital signal rather than produce an analogue output itself. It plays CD at the native 16 bit and 44.1 kHz, and with an optional converter module it can raise the data stream from the disc to DSD128 before it leaves the chassis. The case is offered in black with chrome, with a metal handset for remote operation. Ayon describes the CD-T II as a full-featured top loader, and its dimensions match the width of the brand's other full-size components, so it can be stacked with an Ayon DAC or amplifier on a rack shelf of standard depth.

Key specs that matter

Ayon builds the transport around a Philips Pro II drive. Ayon quotes an intrinsic jitter of 1 picosecond RMS, dynamic range above 120 dB, S/N above 120 dB, a frequency response of 20 Hz to 50 kHz within 0.3 dB and THD at 1 kHz below 0.001 percent. Digital outputs are a 75 ohm coaxial S/PDIF on RCA, a 110 ohm AES/EBU on XLR, a BNC connection and I2S, and the optional DSD module adds three BNC sockets carrying DSD left, DSD right and word clock. The chassis is 48 cm wide, 36 cm deep and 12 cm high and weighs 18 kg.

Engineering and use context

An unusual element for a transport is the valve stage in the digital path. Ayon uses a dual digital buffer with 6H14 tubes working in the MHz range, and the outputs can be switched between this tube-buffered path and a conventional one. The Mk II version brought a new clocking system, a revised power supply and a new dual ground arrangement, and all digital outputs have galvanic isolation between them. Against mechanical vibration reaching the laser, the drive sits on a modified suspension, the disc is held by an integral magnetic clamp and covered by a dark acrylic lid, and the unit stands on aluminium feet that absorb resonance. The top-loading design means shelf space above the transport must be left free for opening the lid and changing discs.

Pairing

A DAC with I2S or three-wire DSD inputs gets the most from the CD-T II, since those links carry the upsampled DSD signal when the optional module is installed. Ayon's own Stealth DAC is designed for this connection, while any converter with coaxial or AES/EBU inputs will accept the standard PCM output.

Alternatives

The Ayon CD-35 II is the brand's integrated valve CD player, a top loader with a magnetic clamp, a fully balanced PCM and DSD DAC and a vacuum tube output stage in one case.