Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty – The Digital Hub

[loudog]

Any word on hardware updates?

[loudog]

so when will the updates be available??

[loudog]

thanks for the post. i have one ordered too! heard that the software is near complete...

[loudog]

So how is the new code coming? Updates soon?

[loudog]

new QX5/20 en route!

[loudog]

yes!

 

[loudog]

seems like there hasnt been any major updates to DACs in general for the last few years. Chord hasnt updated the DAVE which was the other DAC i was considering. not sure any of the flavor of the months have some new advanced design or chips or whatever. the PS audio DACs have new software but not new hardware. the denafrips aren't really new ideas. schiit hasnt done anything different with the Yggdrasil.

[loudog]

i'm still breaking in the new DAC. my initial impression is that its a bit forward at higher volumes, at least compared to the Chord HugoTT. i don't have a reference for how it sounds compared to the previous USB implementation. soundstage and vocals on the QX5/20 are to my ears superior to the Chord. i'm hoping that the touch of ruthlessness it has mellows out with a little burn in.

 

as far as i know they still use DoP. i'm not of the mind that DoP is inferior to native DSD. DoP is really just a packaging issue and its how many other highly regarded DACs function.

 

i've only compared the USB v. ethernet input and to my ears they dont sound very different, though i have not done a ruthless AB comparison. i use a nucleus+ and much prefer Roon to mConnect so i haven't really been using the ethernet input. 

 

 

[loudog]

Anyone using a Roon Nucleus+ with the QX5/20? I’m looking to soften the sound a bit and thought I’d try covert from pcm to dsd via nucleus+ DSP settings. bad result with significant hiss that sounds just like old school tape hiss. If I change back to pcm the hiss resolves. I tried a few other settings that didn’t seem to do much. Any advice on getting rid of hiss with dsd conversion?

[loudog]

Yeah it’s counter intuitive. But I’m wanting to tame the highs a bit and just wanting to try anything that doesn’t involve spending more money. The audible hiss with dsd conversion is pretty pronounced and definitely due to settings within Roon. 
 

Is there a specific dig to dig converter you can recommend?

[loudog]

i had a chord hugott before this and wasnt fatiguing at all. ive had the qx5/20 in there about 6 weeks and it has at least 500h of burn in. with some stuff its truly magical, and with most stuff at lower volumes it sounds good but when i start to get over 60db i'm finding it fatiguing. i have switched it from measure to music and i've swapped out some cables. i think with the cardas clear cabling (power cord, balanced cable and ethernet) its a little mellower but still not enough. 

 

i'll check out the SOtM. open to other suggestions. if anyone has advice for using any roon dsp or eq please chime in.

 

[loudog]

I don’t want to come off as disparaging the qx5/20. I do find it fatiguing with certain recordings and at higher volumes. I also fully get what’s great about it, it’s fast, articulate and has exceptional soundstage. But it’s also fairly often that I find it a bit ruthless. I’ve read every QX5/20 review out there and my experience is not shared by most. I really want it to work for me, but I’m ambivalent about spending more. Here’s my set up:

Roon Nucleus + being fed via Ethernet from a netgear orbi router node

i have both Ethernet and usb to the QX5/20, with usb I use Cardas Clear; Ethernet is BlueJeans cat6

QX5/20 is connected to AX5/20 via Cardas Clear balanced cable

AX5/20 is feeding Harbeth Super HL5+ Anniversary with Cardas Clear speaker cable

Using a Cardas Nautilus power strip

ive tried myrtle blocks as well as isoacoustic oreas underneath and felt the oreas made a positive difference.

 

ive spent about an hour messing around with a high shelf filter in Roon DSP but although it’s somewhat helpful in some ways it definitely hurts the overall sound. 
 

I’m still trying speaker placement and I didn’t feel like reducing toe-in made any substantive improvement.

 

I think the qx20/5 is clearly a well executed product and at times I’m in awe of how good it sounds but there’s a lot of music where I feel like it’s a bit too “in my face.” I do think at low listening levels it’s superlative.

 

I haven’t given up on it but it tires me at times, enough so that I need to find some tweak to help or i need to move on. I feel like it now has adequate burn in. 
 

open to any thoughts/suggestions.

[loudog]

19 hours ago, Axiom05 said:

At the risk of being burned at the stake, have you considered that your issue may be Roon? I tried using Roon for over a year and could not get away from the fact that I found it very fatiguing (with two different speaker systems). One day it dawned on me that I wasn't enjoying my music anymore. Just switching my Sonore ultraRendu back to MPD/DNLA mode (streaming from my NAS) gave a much smoother, more enjoyable sound quality. Just a suggestion...

Yes I considered that and last weekend unplugged the nucleus and switched to Ethernet from router but using mconnect app. Didn’t notice any improvement.

[loudog]

19 hours ago, Axiom05 said:

How does the mconnect app. work, what is actually playing/decoding the music file? Must say that I am not familiar with the details of using mconnect.

The QX5/20 has option of coming with an installed network bridge. The mConnect app is what operates the bridge. It connects to Tidal + Qobuz and allows the QX5/20 to be a one box solution for streaming and DAC.

 

other apps can work in place of the mconnect app. But none, including mconnect, are that great. Roon has far better user interface. I haven’t tried all the options out there though.

[loudog]

5 hours ago, GrubTheHedgehog said:

I also have the QX-5 Twenty and AX-5 Twenty. I would strongly recommend Transparent cabling and power cords to wipe out the brightness you are hearing, at Reference level but preferably XL level.

 

The only way to get maximum detail and for it to be smooth simultaneously is to put cables on the system that are as good as the components themselves.

 

It is less about “taming” the tonal balance of the Ayre than keeping noise out of the signal. I am sure the Cardas Clear is plenty good but I have learned through experience that the Ayre will be as laid back or as forward as your associated equipment, and that means cables too.

 

My system:

 

QX-5 Twenty

AX-5 Twenty

Transparent Balanced Reference XL (G5)

Transparent Reference Speaker Cable (MM2)

Transparent Power Isolator Reference

3 x Transparent Reference Powercords

Transparent Premium USB

Transparent Ethernet (Preferred input)

9x PS Audio Noise Harvesters

 

Vicoustics Super Bass Extreme Traps

B&W 802D3 speakers

Roon/Qobuzz

 

I have had the QX-5 since it launched. It can be bright (any source can) but it also can be spectacularly refined and laid back when the whole system is up to par. It took years to build the system around it but the QX sounds better and better with every upgrade/tweak. I would stick with QX and build around it. It seems to have limitless potential IMHO. 

thanks for the advice! but, damn those transparent cables are pricey. i'm a little financially hamstrung at the moment and still trying to decide which direction to take. considering a power supply upgrade for the Nucleus+ and getting new speakers or getting rid of everything but the QX5/20 and mostly starting over. i just cant stomach spending mega bucks on cables at the moment. i wonder if my money would be better spent on room treatments or just a speaker change. my sense is that system synergy is poor and my room is a bit on the small size. also, i live in an audiophile deadspace and cant readily audition gear (literally not a single audio shop here) - so i'm a bit frustrated to have as much as i have invested and not in love with the sound. if i switch amps i'm considering Parasound JC5+. speaker-wise i'm considering the new Perlisten S5m or some JBL Synthesis monitors, but again, nothing local that i can demo.