Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty – The Digital Hub

[Blackstone]

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hearing the new Ayre QX-5 Twenty "digital hub" at Audio Consultants in Evanston, Illinois. Alex Brinkman, Ayre's North American Sales Manager was on hand to demonstrate the unit and explain its unique feature set. What a feature set it is!

 

First let's talk about the associated equipment. The digital front end was a unit called the "Melco" and athough I am not sure precisely which model was used, it was a very well made purpose built device for the storage and delivery of digital music files. The source material was a mix of 192KHz and redbook CD material, along with some Tidal based material. I provided much of my own 192KHz material. The material was played from the Meclo and fed into the QX-5 Twenty via Ethernet connection. Due to a glitch we could not get the Melco to feed the QX-5 Twenty by asynchronous USB connection, which I understand would have been the best way to connect, so we stuck with the network based connection. The results were still fabulous. From the QX-5 Twenty the signal was sent via some extremely high end Transparent interconnect to an Ayre AX-5 Twenty integrated amplifier, and then via Transparent Opus speaker cable into, at my request, a pair of B&W 803 D3 speakers. There were better speaker options available, but I requested the 803 D3 because I was interested in hearing that particular model. Power conditioning was also provided by Transparent Audio.

 

In addition, I brought my own Grado PS1000 headphones which, during the course of the demo, I had the store convert to balanced operation and mated to a Transparent Audio adapter converting the stereo XLR on the headphone to the type of dual mini pin balanced output found on the Pono, Codex, and now the QX-5 Twenty.

 

First, I practically lept into the "Ayre" to discover a feature that I hoped would make it into the product that had in fact been implemented. Alex was a little surprised I found this so important but I was ecstatic. Not only does the QX-5 Twenty allow you switch from the headphone output to the rear outputs with a push of a button on the unit itself, you can also do this by remote control via the remote that comes with the unit. That means you can leave you headphones plugged in, set them aside, grab the remote, press a button on the remote and fire up your speakers from your favorite listening chair. The transition from headphone amplifier to DAC/preamplifier is absolutely seamless.

 

I have heard a lot of equipment in this room over the years and I have a good feel for the room and its acoustic properties. Once my files were accessible I grabbed the ipad controller and fired up a few tried and true 192KHz files and settled into the sweet spot. I can say what I heard was probably about as good if not better than any configuration I have heard. The horns on the 192KHz versions of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" were incredibly, three dimensional, detailed and nuanced and even at VERY high volume levels there was not so much as a hint of noise, grain or anything fatiguing. This system was simultaneously detailed and smooth, which is something in my experience is not easily obtainable. The word that comes to mind is "musical" and engaging. It was just undeniably good. I thought it bested some more clinical sounding offerings from more expensive companies.

 

 

The soundstage was MASSIVELY WIDE, with instruments occupying their own space in an almost startling way, coming from locations no where near the speaker drivers. At one point John Coltrane's sax emerged from such a clearly defined space and with such convincing authority that I was a little star struck. They did not seem to emanate from the speakers, but rather from other parts of the room itself, out of thin air. Bass was tight, powerful and well defined.

 

There was no aspect of the performance as a DAC that I thought was lacking in any way. I was pretty impressed. It was the best I have heard an 800 D3 series speaker sound so far and there is absolutely no doubt in mind that the QX-5 Twenty is ready for a first rate system. I am told the async usb connection from the Melco would have been even better, but this was pretty terrific as is.

 

Switching over to headphones, I was pleased to find that the performance of the headphone amplifier was every bit as good as with the AX-5 Twenty. Again, not a hint of grain or unpleasantness to be found. It was an order of magnitude less fatiguing than my Bryston BHA-1, which can be a bit hard on the ears. Shockingly, switching to the Grado, I found the experience just as engaging as with the speaker setup. It was like the performance I had just heard had just been shrunk down for my own little session. There did not seem to be any compromise. The remote digital volume control was a joy and using it to optimize the volume in no way degraded the sound.

 

Having the ability to precisely dial in the correct volume using the unit itself did not create a perceptive degradation in sound. All of the characteristics described above with respect to the speakers were every bit as present with the headphone amplifier, which easily drove my the PS1000s with volume to spare. Again, the level of detail was uncanny considering how smooth the performance was. The transition to headphones is seamless with the unit remembering the appropriate volume level depending on whether you are using cans or speakers. Performance with the QX-5 Twenty seemed to me to be a step up from my QB9-DSD and Bryston BHA-1 combo, which can sound grainy and hard on the ears at times.

 

I can't possibly describe all of what I experienced and heard but if you are in the market for a DAC in this range, this unit has performance in spades. There is also a lot more functionality that I haven't even gotten to. I am absolutely thrilled with the level of functionality this unit brings to the table and the performance I heard was as good as anything I have ever heard. :thumbsup: I will have mine by August I hope! Kudos to Ayre and Audio Consultants for a great demo!!

[Blackstone]

I am only interested in MQA if they release my favorite obscure 70's guitar god jazz fusion in the format. Until that time, MQA is just theoretical mumbo jumbo as I get almost everything in high resolution already, including the soundtrack to the movie Super Fly! Truth.

[Blackstone]

We carry DACs and Players from Auralic, Luxman, Bricasti, EMM Labs, Meitner, Berkeley Audio Design, Weiss, Bryston, Concert Fidelity and Lumin. Since QX-5 retails for $8950, I think it's probably more appropriate to compare it to DACs in the sub $10K range. That's not to say that its performance won't exceed other DACs in the 15k+ range, but I have not done a shoot out against DACs in that range. It offers more resolution than just about anything I've heard in its price range and because it is more than just a DAC, it certainly offers more flexibility as a digital hub.

 

Did you test it straight into a power amp using the digital volume control?

 

How was the sound quality of the Roon endpoint?

[Blackstone]

I just remembered something else really neat. During the demo we were able to use the Roon remote on the ipad to control the QX-5's onboard 32 bit volume control!

[Blackstone]

We did not use Roon with the Melco. Roon core was running on a PC. We used the Melco later. You can't use Roon with a Melco because it uses an ARM processor.

[Blackstone]

I was told USB is still the best. I would not overthink your front end until you have the QX-5 and break it in. If you go Ethernet I hear Cat 7 cable is the way to go. Eventually Melco will need to address Roon support because the industry seems to be headed in that direction. I would just wait on the Melco and see what the QX can do first.

 

I will tinker with hq player. I have never heard it.

[Blackstone]

There is also a solid state drive version of the Melco that is not yet available in the US because of intellectual property issues with Samsung or something.

 

Frankly I am waiting for solid state drives to increase in capacity and come down in price before setting up a dedicated NAS. The absolute best SQ according to dealer is async usb from the Melco, which they claimed was "two levels" up from what I heard. Don't doubt it but I did not like the Melco's control app.

[Blackstone]

Just to clarify, I only heard the Melco via ethernet, not usb. There was a hiccup and we could not get it to work.

 

As to the Melco's quality, dealer assured me it surpassed everything they tried, including their attempts to create a bespoke custom server PC and competing devices, even with SoTm usb filters and all that stuff.

[Blackstone]

If it is our of the box I agree you can't evaluate yet. That is based on my experience with QB-9. 250 hours minimum I'd say.

[Blackstone]

It rocks BIG TIME. The one I heard had more time on it. Units tend to sound thinner and more anemic when not broken in. QB-9 DSD was almost unlistenable before break in. Ayre makes a great break in CD, by the way. Very excited. Breaking in is part of the ritual. This will go faster than normal because I will run the TV sound into it as well. I expect headphone and rear outputs will need individual break in, however.

 

Warm up is a factor too. In the morning at Evanston QX-5 was just okay, but by the late afternoon when I went back it was killer and liquid smooth. I did not even want to leave that room!

[Blackstone]

Right, there is an audio mode I think for each input which does some buffering to slave the incoming signal to the QX-5's clock for less jitter, but that solution breaks sync with video so it can be disabled for video sources. I am going to run the toslink out or my TV to get all the video source audio into the dac including Roku, Comcast, video game console. Probably not a great solution but with so many devices having only HDMI output there is not much choice. A small HTPC with netflix and a blu ray drive would enable input to QX-5 via async usb for movies.

[Blackstone]

Roku 4 with optical out is the way to for 4k streaming. To hell with apple tv!

[Blackstone]

The Roku is just a miracle it is so easy to use and intuitive. And FAST. I swear by my Roku 3.

[Blackstone]

Ayre added QX-5 to their website and indicated that it is now shipping. Not that I believe it but it is a good sign! My birthday is Saturday...there is still time!

[Blackstone]

I've talked to Alex about all your complimentary posts and he has agreed to not put you lower on the list just because you are a customer of mine

 

If you would have shared some of the corned beef I got for you with Alex I would probably have the unit already!

[Blackstone]

The logistics of getting our corned beef are daunting living in the city. I very nearly ate your supply myself. When I move to the burbs in September I will have better access to the deli.

 

My family owns a deli and we make our own corned beef. I bribed Scottsol with corned beef to get the demo configured the way I wanted. Of course Scottsol might have done this for me without corned beef, but it was the only way to be sure. Nevermind that I am actually in the market for speakers and amps as well (QX-5 will be my best component) --the corned beef was the decisive factor!

[Blackstone]

It means you can simply put it on the same network as your roon core and it will be identified by Roon core as a Roon endpoint. Whereas a non roon ready dac would need to be connected somehow to an endpoint, be it a pc or special nas or whatever. It also means the volume control slider on your roon controller (phone, tablet) will actually control the onboard volume control on QX-5. I saw this myself. So you do not need to use Roon's dsp volume control at all. It is great.

[Blackstone]

The funny thing is I (1) don't even have a dedicated room to listen in because I am not moving until September, (2) do not have very good components and (3) probably spend only a few hours a week listening at the most.But when I am waiting for a new gadget I find spamming the forums about it very therapeutic and diverting. I got really good and hyped up about the QB-9 DSD upgrade and that took like a year.

 

But I am not a shill or Ayre fanboy by any means. It is highly unusual in my experience to assemble a system that is comprised of every component from the same manufacturer. This unit serves a specific purpose so I am preordering. I probably would not buy an Ayre amp, however, without at least investigating offerings from Boulder, Bryston and Classe. And normally in this price range for dacs I would be comparing with the dCS Debussy but the Debussy is not a headphone amplifier, is not a roon endpoint, does not stream, is more expensive, and has no ethernet interface and from what I have heard from others is not as competent direct into a power amplifier. So Ayre sort of won this round by default. Normally I don't purchase like this, however.

[Blackstone]

Yes I would like to see how it stacks against Rossini for academic purposes but Rossini is not in the same price range.

[Blackstone]

What do you think of Ariel?

[Blackstone]

That's exactly what I heard! It was really wide!

[Blackstone]

We're drooling on it more than discussing it at this point.

[Blackstone]

ct, any idea how many dealers have yet to receive their demo units?

[Blackstone]

[emoji47]

[Blackstone]

Hmmm, looks like it might be quite a while!