Best of the Best Award 2017: Ayon Audio CD-35 LumenWhite – High Fidelity

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HighFidelity Special 2017

Best of the Best Award 2017: Ayon Audio CD-35 LumenWhite – High Fidelity

Ayon Audio CD-35 Best of the Best Award

The SPECIAL AWARD category is some kind of “Best of the Best”, but, apart from sound, we also take into account the given idea, people engaged in the project and the influence of the product on the audio world. This year, we have awarded two companies: Ayon Audio and Verictum in this way. The former has been awarded for a device which shows digital CD and SACD recordings from a completely new perspective. The Polish company deserves this award, as it has prepared a coherent offer of a power supply and filtration system based on solid scientific grounds, which also proves excellent in every system.

Super Audio CD player

Ayon Audio
CD-35 HIGH FIDELITY EDITION

TEST: No. 164 | December 2017
Award: GOLD Fingerprint

HighFidelity Gold

The point of reference for this player were analogue master tapes. Although every second manufacturer declares that they strive to find out the musical truth in this way, I happen to know that this is not true – master tapes are rare and expensive, and one needs to have a well-calibrated tape recorder for the purpose – or it is actually best to have two. The owner of Ayon Audio, Gerhard Hirt, took the risk and invested a lot of money in this project. The fact that only 50 “High Fidelity” edition players will be manufactured means that he will never get a return on investment from sales. However, this is the way breakthroughs are achieved – and the CD-35 HF Edition is one in the field of digital players.

No. 01/50 remains at the “High Fidelity” REFERENCE SYSTEM as a reference player.

 

SPEAKERS

Lumen White
KYARA

TEST: No. 160 | August 2017
Awards: GOLD Fingerprint | BIG RED Button

Lumen White speakers come from a small manufacture whose defining characteristic are unusual housings. Known in top high-end circles and highly regarded in Japan, they offer outstanding sound. By using drivers with a ceramic membrane, they are a model of high resolution and precision. The Kyara is the latest and at the same time the smallest model which fits smaller rooms. The speakers are able to make music from even poor recordings interesting and to literally enchant listeners with better ones. We do not listen to them as “speakers” but a wide-open window in front of us, with another world on the other side – one of recorded music with its pros and cons, but mostly with its beauty. Warning: these speakers require the best possible audio path and do not tolerate imperfections! They are the first audio product in “High Fidelity” history to have been awarded the BIG RED Button reserved for the best music recordings – it is because the speakers are both an audio product and a musical instrument.