Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty – The Digital Hub

[Ultrarunner]

I found a picture of the QX-5.

 

Not surprisingly, it appears to be the same chassis as the KX-5. Pretty interesting that they're gonna have "every conceivable digital input". I haven't wished for another input on my QB-9 a single time.

 

I wish for an HDMI input so I could connect an Apple TV.

[Ultrarunner]

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!

 

How would you describe the improvement over the QB-9? (That's essentially what I've got in my Ayre DX-5). I've barely finished paying for the "twenty" upgrades to the MX-R's and KX-R, so I have no business thinking about spending more for a while, but...

[Ultrarunner]

The DX-5 has a very different output circuit and power supplies to the QB-9. It would be a mistake to think they sound the same.

 

Of course they wouldn't sound the same. That wasn't my question. I'm just trying to get feedback from someone who has what I have as to the magnitude of improvement.

[Ultrarunner]

The old DAC isn't in the same category as this DAC. That I could tell late Sat night as it continued to burn in. As good as that DAC was, it's not the same thing. Neither is the universal player etc.. We used the DX5 to spin discs to the qx5 and for a transport I was impressed but it is in no way as good as streaming Tidal or even playing off a basic Macbook that has NO upgrades.

 

As for magnitude of upgrade, I actually had that conversation with Alex and he just said that this is a whole new ballgame. Again, none of us know how good this DAC will be, but we do know that it's already outstanding and that's without full break in.

 

You have the R stack, so this would be a great DAC for sure. You know your budget better than any of us do, lol. If you want a DAC that equals your current system, I'd give this DAC a listen for sure, but you'll need to start setting some dollars aside as you'll probably want it, lol.

 

It's tempting. I don't use the DX-5 transport for music anymore, having ripped all our CDs and SACDs. We do use it for Blu Ray movies, but I suppose I could sell the DX-5 to raise some cash and buy an Oppo or similar for Blu Ray use.

[Ultrarunner]

One thing I cannot currently do with my system is stream video. Does the QX-5 have an HDMI audio input suitable for connecting an Apple TV? I don't think I'd want to connect it permanently, since it would introduce noise, but once in a while it would be nice to be able to watch something from iTunes or Netflix.

[Ultrarunner]

ctsooner, Apple TV has no optical out. So if the new Ayre piece has no HDMI input, that would be a limitation for me.

[Ultrarunner]

I'd be curious how the QX-5 would compare as a replacement to my DX-5 / KX-R combination. In other words, if the DAC would be more of an improvement over the QB-9 than the QX-5 preamp would be inferior to the KX-R. Or, if having the DAC and preamp in one chassis would have some advantage. If so, it would make purchasing this easy on the budget.

[Ultrarunner]

Yes. It's no longer needed.

 

Hang on to it and compare the sound quality with and without the microRendu. That's what I intend to do if I can get approval to make the QX our Christmas gift ;-).

 

I use the mR in Squeezelite mode. It integrates my music folder structure well with Spotify, which I have a free subscription to, and use for music discovery. I'm not sure how the QX-5 control app would handle this.

[Ultrarunner]

You should try Logitech Media Server/Squeezelite!

 

That's what I use, but it wouldn't work with the Ayre QX-5. I think I might suggest to Charlie that they consider using Sonicorbiter software so the QX would be able to operate in Squeezelite and other modes. UPNP isn't as flexible.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Tone you may be right in that I keep the Mac mini as it sounds great. I have never hooked it up to the net as Steve uninstalled everything other than a ripping bit perfect program and what is needed for the best quality audio sound. Would I just turn on the wifi and download Roon?

 

 

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How about this for your sever?:

 

https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/collections/audio-server/products/sonictransporter-ap-8tb-roon-server

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Fair enough CT. I certainly didn't compare my server with anything other than what I had previously (Auraliti). I went the Small Green Computer route at Gordon Rankin's suggestion. It was relatively affordable, considering I had it made with 2TB SSD. I'm using an HD Plex linear supply to power it.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Well CT, you wore me down [emoji6]. I just placed an order for a QX-5 today. I'm going to put my DX-5 DSD on Audiogon to help with the cost.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Yes I wore you down, lol. Will you blame me for getting it when you are sitting there loving what you hear too, LOL. Seriously I think you will be as happy as the rest of us are. Did you speak with Johnny?

 

 

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I would have bought from Johnny, but unknown to me there is a new dealer in our province, a few hours away from where I live. Alex asked me to make the purchase through them.

 

Ayre's been getting quite a few orders. Mine won't be arriving until mid-January.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

I sold my Ayre DX-5 DSD yesterday. The next few weeks will be a real exercise in patience while I wait for Ayre to build my QX-5. I'm thinking of picking up an Audioquest Dragonfly as a temporary DAC. Hopefully, fed by the microRendu, I'll get sound I can live with for a while. Later I can use it with my iPhone.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

I can't imagine Ayre could build something like the KX-R Twenty preamp into the QX-5. It would be way too expensive and too large. And the noise of the digital section would pollute the preamp section. I would love to simplify life by eliminating my KX-R but I can't see that happening. I remember John Atkinson mused along the lines of Barrows, but in practice he found the addition of a good preamp like Ayre's did improve the sound over no preamp.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

I heard from Ayre that they will do the QX-5, DAC for the 5 series first and then they will do one for the -R series, QX-R?

(Audio)

 

Well, a QX-R would certainly match my MX-R's and KX-R nicely. But it will probably be a long wait and I'm ready for an upgrade now. If a QX-R does come out I can trade up (if I can afford it).

[Ultrarunner]

Does anyone know if Ayre has weighed in and promised MQA for the QX-5 Twenty now that MQA seems to be a reality?

 

If you use Roon it may not matter. Roon will add MQA software decoding soon.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Ok, I've officially joined the QX-5 club. My unit has arrived and I have it on repeat to start burning it in. It sounds ok out of the box, but it needs to mellow out a little and the soundstage open up. I'm sure it will with time. I'm planning to use the ethernet input for music. Blackstone, I recall that you were told that the USB input was the preferred one. Is that still the case?

[Ultrarunner]

Just curious, when did you place your order? I ordered mine a couple of weeks ago. Pretty notable improvement over my existing QB-9 DSD.

 

 

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I ordered Nov. 22nd.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Have any of you installed the new firmware? I installed revision D today and can't get music (using Ethernet). I don't see a revision C download so rolling back may not be an option.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Have any of you installed the new firmware? I installed revision D today and can't get music (using Ethernet). I don't see a revision C download so rolling back may not be an option.

 

 

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Cancel that. It's working now, after rebooting everything.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Has anyone decided on which input they like best on the QX5-20?

 

Thanks!

 

I've been using Ethernet for the first week. Now I'm breaking in the USB input so I can compare. It might not be a comparison applicable to many though. I'm using a microRendu to convert Ethernet to USB, since it improves USB so much. I've recently moved my server to another room, so I pretty much have to.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Roon Ready is an endpoint / player. You still need Roon Core / Roon Server running on your server or PC.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

Is anyone else having MAJOR problems with firmware D? So far, DSD64 files no longer work. Display shows DSD64 but no sound. All inputs lose sound randomly and QX-5 must be reset in setup menu to default settings (not just hard rebooted) to get any sound. It is just a total travesty of an update. This is the most unreliable update so far. I hope they are reading this and I hope they are paying attention because whoever is doing their software is falling down on the job, end of story!!!

 

I went from C to D because C killed video mode, and D basically killed the whole unit. B was still requiring random hard reboots. Someone in Boulder needs to get this sorted, PERIOD.

 

C worked fine for me in Video Mode. As I mentioned above, I had to reboot the unit after updating to D but have none of the problems you are having. DSD plays just fine, using Roon on the Ethernet input or through USB. I don't use UPNP though, so I haven't tested this.

 

I wouldn't expect them to monitor this site. You should contact Michael.

 

 

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[Ultrarunner]

After some comparisons, I changed my plans to sell my microRendu and use the QX-5 Ethernet input. Running Ethernet to the microRendu (powered by JS-2), and a short USB cable to the USB input, results in significantly better sound. I wanted to simplify but it's not going to happen at the expense of audio performance. The upside is that I get more options than just Roon or UPNP.

 

 

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