2. digital
  3. 124453-113

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
ctsooner OP
2,104 posts
 
Came yesterday. Having surgery on wed so haven't had a chance to open it yet. Hopefully later tonight. 
ctsooner OP
2,104 posts
 
Ok, I set it all up yesterday.  I'm very excited so far.  It only has about 28 hours of so and it's relaxing nicely.  I"m not really listening critically as you can't at this point, but the sound is large and extended on both ends of the spectrum.  The highs will mellow in time and the bass will tighten up even more.  The soundstage is already very large in all directions, including height.  I'm very excited to let it run in. I have to stream my Tidal with the wifi until I get dedicated optical lines dropped into the room.  I'm going to have the electrician also separate and isolate all the power lines on the wall where I have the system.  I've decided to sell my Synergistic Research Powercell 10 mk2 now also.  I will be getting the Audioquest Niagara 7000 eventually based on listening.  
knghifi
1,667 posts
 
@ctsooner 
What's your server / streamer?   If I go with QX-5, consider running minimServer in a QNAP or Synology NAS.
ctsooner OP
2,104 posts
 
I'm running the built in streamer for Tidal. I have a completely rebuilt Mac Mini that Steve Nugent at Empirical used in shows to show off his own DAC's.  It's a Paul Hynes power supply with a rebuilt mother board, clock etc...  It's a killer server that sounds better than the 8k servers I've auditioned.  It's loaded with great recordings of all genres of music.  I'll be selling this unit though in order to get the most expensive of the Melco servers that I'll use as a NAS.  It's by far the best sounding and quietest NAS ever made for audio. They even hand selected the hard drives for the quietest sound.  Everything is completely isolated and built to get rid of any noise.  It's not cheap and it won't do Roon, but it's a special unit.  The only reason I'm selling the Mac is because I'm not technically advanced and I know that I will find a better home for it.  It's completely maximized for the best sound and it does just that.  He even maximized one of the usb outputs for audio that he marked for me, lol.  It uses Amara and XLD for ripping.  
knghifi
1,667 posts
 
Another option is the new DCS Network Bridge.

I spoke with Berkeley and they're also working on a network bridge.  It's not integrated in their DACs but a standalone unit due to Ethernet noise.   

Exciting times with so many options.
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