Right now it’s one of the most heated debates within the consumer electronics industry: the merits of high-performance Blu-ray players.

Boulder, Colo.-based Ayre Acoustics is the latest company to enter the high-performance BD (Blu-ray) disc category with the release of its DX-5 Universal Digital Engine.

Building upon the foundation of an Oppo Blu-ray disc player, Ayre gutted the unit’s internal components and replaced them with upgraded features like linear analog power supplies for the audio and video sections of the component.

From there the company galvanically isolated the video circuitry with high-speed opto-isolators; it replaced the player’s audio circuit by implementing its EquiLock circuit, which it says stabilizes the operating point of each active gain device to ensure maximum performance for the zero-feedback, fully balanced design; it upgraded the player’s analog-to-digital converters (DACs); it implemented its digital MP digital technologies, separate master clocks; and it added a dedicated HDMI audio output that features a low-jitter crystal oscillator.

The component is capable of playing back DVD-video, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD and Blu-ray discs and with the inclusion of the company’s asynchronous USB input technology, you can connect home networks to the component for the playback of digital audio files that reside on their your computers.

Robert Archer - Senior Editor, CE Pro

Bob is a dedicated audiophile who has been writing about A/V for Electronic House sister publication CE Pro since 2000.