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Ayre now has a new QX-5 all in one

box with DAC/Streamer (Tidal etc), Roon ready. It has nearly any input and a great headphone amp too.  It can also be used as a preamp, although I personally have yet to hear any digital pre sound as good as a great preamp, but that's me.  It's all balanced and has the Ayre power supply filters that all the Ayre products have.  I can't wait to hear it. I personally am running a great sounding Empirical Audio OSDE/SE with all the upgrades from Steve and I also have a Mac Mini server that Empirical totally rebuilt with a separate Hynes linear power supply.  It's full of only hi rez, well recorded music of all genres.  I love it, but the new servers do sound a bit better, so I've been looking.  I didn't want to set up a NAS, but since I run a Linn DS system in the bedroom I'm open to it.  I love the Melco NAS and may just get that for my NAS and the Ayre for everything else.  I want a simple, one box solution and I do use IEM's and cans on Sunday and Sat mornings so having a great amp solution in my main rig is enticing too.

I rn an Ayre AX-5 Twenty with Vandersteen Treo's (going to sell so I can upgrade to the Quatro's) and Basis/Aesthetix's for vinyl.  Pretty exciting times in digital.  I'm sure that Ayre will be a great value for all that it offers and it should sound incredible.  Time will tell.
ctsooner
rshad0000
151 posts
 
Has anyone else been able to listen to the QX-5?  I have a VX-5/KX-5 twenty setup and am looking for a good DAC to compliment it.  Very interested in your impressions.   Thanks
ctsooner OP
2,104 posts
 
It's killer.  I have friends who have now put Berkley ref mk 2 up for sale as they bought the QX5 Twenty on the spot.  It is incredible.
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
@ctsooner

My experience with Ayre DAC's is that they CAN sound awesome but only with great sources.

Your friends who traded in the BADA, what is the source?

Best,

Erik
ctsooner OP
2,104 posts
 
Erik, anyone in this league needs to have a good source.  That goes for any DAC.  If your source isn't good, then there is no way anything else can sound good in the system.  

I've heard this DAC with an old Macbook running Flac and no special software and it was the best I've ever heard it and that was before it was broken in.  
One has an Aurender W20 which is a very good source.  Another is using a Melco as a NAS, which is a very good source. I don't know if it's uncompressed Flac or WAV though.  We are talking about high end systems

erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
@ctsooner

I think we have different expectations.

Personally,  if I am paying for an excellent DAC it needs to be more or less immune to source quality. I've found some DAC's do this much better than others. 

Schiit and Mytek for instance to me seem more immune than the Ayre QB-9 and possibly the Codex and Oppo. I find Mac Mini's to have presented the worst sound I've ever heard, taking down otherwise excellent DAC's, like the QB-9, down.  Your mileage may vary and it's been a while since I had a chance to do exhaustive comparisons, but this is what my experience leads me to believe. In particular, listen for evidence of a harsh, or etched quality to the treble.

I consider DAC's which are "revealing" of power cables, digital cables or upstream sources (within reason) far less desirable than a DAC that performs consistently well.

Of course, not all feel that way, and please enjoy yourself your way. My point to this reply was just to explain where I'm coming from, and that I must remain in disagreement with the philosophy that an excellent DAC is revealing of the source components. I feel it's the opposite.

Best,


Erik
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