Стримеры — Ayon Audio Ayon S-10 II

The S-10 II is a network player from Ayon Audio that puts a streamer, a DAC and an analogue preamplifier into one chassis with a valve output stage. Ayon dates the market launch to 2016, and compared with the first S-10 the output stage, power supply, DAC and component choices were revised. It is based on the modular S-10 platform, so it can be ordered in different configurations, and all earlier S-10 units can be upgraded to the MkII version.

Key specs that matter

Conversion runs up to 764 kHz at 32 bit and DSD256 in a fully symmetrical dual mono DAC, and an optional converter turns all PCM signals into DSD128 or DSD256. The maker lists S/N above 115 dB, dynamic range above 120 dB, channel separation above 105 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and harmonic distortion below 0.002% at 1 kHz. Frequency response is 20 Hz to 20 kHz within 0.3 dB. The variable output reaches 0 to 8 V rms on both RCA and XLR sockets, and each output has a source impedance near 700 ohm. Digital inputs are coaxial S/PDIF, Toslink and USB B for computers at 24 bit and 192 kHz or DSD128, plus two USB A ports for external disks, and one coaxial output passes digital audio to an outboard converter. Networking uses dual-band Wi-Fi and gigabit Ethernet. Two pairs of RCA line inputs are optional. The unit measures 48 x 36 x 12 cm and weighs 12 kg.

Engineering and use context

Behind the DAC sits a pure class A triode circuit using the 6H30 tube, with separate output stages for left and right, 0 dB negative feedback, no DC servo and no solid-state devices in the analogue path. An R-core transformer supplies both the digital and analogue sections, and eight separate voltage regulators feed isolated supplies for each stage. Parts include MKP capacitors, gold-pin tube sockets and a gold-plated industrial-grade circuit board. Soft start and a warm-up function protect the valves. Streaming covers Tidal, Qobuz, HiResAudio, Airable services and UPnP/DLNA, with Roon and JRiver support, and the unit is operated through a 5-inch QVGA TFT display, a remote or the Ayon controller app for iOS and Android. Supported files include DSD in DFF and DSF, WAV, FLAC and AIFF. Options include a quadruple analogue volume control for preamplifier use, an internal server with HDD or SSD storage and an embedded JRiver server.

Pairing

Ayon designed the low output impedance to drive long interconnects into any valve or transistor power amplifier, so with the volume option fitted the S-10 II can feed a power amplifier directly. Without it, the output goes to an integrated amplifier or preamplifier.

Alternatives

The Ayon IRIS is the newer streamer built on the same platform, adding DSD512 conversion and AES/EBU and I2S over HDMI inputs.