What's Outside
Three rocker switches on the right side of the D-1's faceplate control the player's mechanical functions. Below the display are a pair of buttons and their respective LEDs: On/Standby and Display On/Off. Below those are six small LEDs identified by incomprehensible squiggles: three for sampling frequency (44.1, 48, and 96kHz), three for word length (16, 20, and 24 bits).

Assuming the VR2 video board is installed, the D-1 can be set up internally via circuit-board jumpers to output either RGB or component video (Y-Cr-Cb). Five BNC connectors on the rear panel accommodate this option (two of them, H and V sync, are required for RGB only, and additional internal jumpers define the sync mode). There are additional outputs for S-video and composite (via a BNC connector). An XLR digital audio connection is also furnished; the full-blown audio version adds both balanced and single-ended analog outputs.

The remote is the generic el-cheapo Pioneer model with an Ayre logo stuck on it. It doesn't even have a jog wheel like the one that came with my Pioneer DV-05 DVD player, but features many small, similarly sized buttons. For eight grand, what do you expect? Have a small flashlight handy.

Can it be that much better?
I didn't have to be a video expert to see that all of Hansen's hard work had paid off, but because I am, I had the Avia Guide to Home Theater and Video Essentials test DVDs on hand. With them, I saw convincing evidence that the D-1 was certainly among the best DVD players out there. I had never seen this kind of horizontal resolution from a DVD player. On resolution test patterns, it clearly rendered 500 lines without fuzziness or blurring. I had two other players on hand, the Pioneer DV-05 and the Camelot Technologies Round Table—the latter progressive-scan, the former interlaced. Neither could duplicate this feat.

The D-1's stunningly low level of video noise—or should I say, its high level of video quiet?—was something I've not seen from any other DVD player. Through its S-video (interlaced) or component (progressive-scan) outputs the D-1 put on the screen the best, most stable, most noise-free test frames I've seen. In fact, all of the test frames I viewed yielded exemplary results.

I should point out that, although I have not had dozens of DVD players in-house, I've seen my share, and when I found myself mesmerized by color bars, I knew something was up. I'd say the Ayre D-1's S-video performance was as good as, if not better than, the component-video performance of my Pioneer DV-05—and that player is no slouch.

But most of you don't watch test patterns. The real test is whether you can discern differences between the D-1 and less expensive players when you watch movies. In this case, it was easy to spot differences. As in audio, where low noise floors tend to reveal low-level sonic details that seem to fill in the blanks and make music sound more real, the D-1 resolved low-level video detail to a degree that created convincingly filmlike video images the likes of which I'd never seen. There was less of a barrier between me and the film, and the result was a greater sense of 3-dimensional realism than I had experienced from any other DVD player.

I compared scenes from a variety of DVDs, including the 2-disc DTS version of Dances With Wolves, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and a brand-new special edition of The Bridge on the River Kwai. I used the Pioneer DV-05, another progressive-scan player under review, and the Ayre, through both their component and S-video outputs. The Ayre's superior performance was obvious in terms of picture stability, detail resolution, freedom from noise and glitches, 3-dimensionality, color purity and saturation, and just plain watchability.

The D-1 had some intangible qualities. Watching it, I had a feeling that it was delivering something other players can't. I'm not trying to be mystical here; I'm sure there's an explanation, and that it's probably a combination of the D-1's low noise and high resolution due to, among other things, its 14-bit DACs and meticulous grounding circuitry.

One other thing: When Charlie Hansen told me about the transformer on the digital audio output and the sonic importance of keeping ground loops out of the system, he wasn't just blowing smoke. Though I really hadn't expected to hear differences between the players I have in-house—and, more to the point, wasn't even listening for them—I was startled to hear them nonetheless. When I watched and listened to the music over Austin Powers' opening credits, the sonic improvement was undeniable: less grain, greater liquidity and 3-dimensionality, and even tighter, better-developed bass. I played that section a number of times through each of the three players. The differences were anything but subtle.

My only regret is that I was unable to audition the D-1 with a larger screen and a CRT front-projector. But TJN and JJG plan to do so, and will publish the results in a future "Take Two."

Conclusion
The D-1 is expensive, comes with a stinky remote, and, as of this review, there's still no instruction manual! But no DVD player I know of is built like it, physically or electronically. Add the D/A converters and analog output circuitry and you'll have one of the finest-sounding CD/CD-R players you can buy. Though it will not at present play back DVD-Audio, a future upgrade for that format is under development, and will be made available if there is sufficient demand.

The bottom line: The well-to-do DVD fanatic looking for the finest video and audio performance need look no further than the Ayre Acoustics D-1. See it on your favorite wide screen and you'll know. That may sound like advertising hype. It's the truth.