[nortonowner]

Hi i', fairly new to home audio and this site both. I have a home system in the making and having quality issues eunning hi def music files via usb into my ayon cd-07 cd player. The cd's sound fine but a higher resolution file of same track sounds lifeless and loses stage position, realism, etc. Since the cd player is the dac im not sure why better music file render poorly and standard actual cd files on a cd play as they should. What could be wrong? Im connecting the melco n1 server via a usb interface.

[nortonowner]

any ideas?

[jpm]

Do you have any other experience with the USB input on the Ayon? Maybe try a thumb drive directly plugged in with redbook FLAC files as well as 24 bit files to start with.

[clive101]

What USB cable are you using..? They do make a difference.

Melco into Dave, different cables do make a difference for my system.

[nortonowner]

I thought i had one of the best USB cables but perhaps not, i will get a new one and try again to compare then try the usb drive if it will work, not sure if it will with that player but its worth a try.

[rotarius]

It's the USB interface.  Gave up on USB audio a couple of years ago.  If you want to enjoy high rez, networked players retrieving data via Ethernet is the way to go.

[Mike-48]

I don't know if it's to late to reply, but . . .

As @jpm asked, does anything sound good going into the USB input of the Ayon? It could be that the USB input is just not that great. They vary widely from DAC to DAC.

I doubt very much that money spent on a fancy USB cable is going to make a significant difference to sound that is fundamentally unsatisfactory. I wouldn't do it, if I were you.

You could try a Mutec MC-3+USB reclocker. It breathed new life into my Classe CP-800, really improving the imaging stability, focus, and life of the music. It would take the Melco USB, reclock it, and then output SPDIF for your Ayon. This unit has rave reviews in both pro audio and audiophile publications. Get it from somewhere that will take it back, so you're not risking anything.

Hope that helps

[HAL]

Here is an idea.

Try ripping a CD with good sound quality to your server as WAV files and see if they sounds the same.  If not, it maybe the server setup you are having problems with.