Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty – The Digital Hub

[Blackstone]

I have it! It came in today. It is hooked up every which way. Less than a half hour on it and it blows QB-9 away. Roon works flawlessly. It has that not warmed up or broken in vibe but is still better than QB-9 right out of the box. Dealer says it approaches Rossini's performance but perhaps not quite. Great out of the box, not even warm. I might just break in by listening instead of running it during the day like I normally do because it is good. I can tell it is going to fill out. It is a touch sharp but damn good for an ice cold unit.

[silvertone]

Blackstone, which inputs do you have it hooked up to?

[Blackstone]

Ethernet for Roon. Async USB not tested yet. Dealer said ethernet is preferable since my source PC is a bit of a beast (custom gaming pc). I also have the optical out of my TV Panasonic VT60 into QX-5 and it works flawlessly for cable and netflix.

[bmichels]

Ethernet for Roon. Async USB not tested yet. Dealer said ethernet is preferable since my source PC is a bit of a beast (custom gaming pc). I also have the optical out of my TV Panasonic VT60 into QX-5 and it works flawlessly for cable and netflix.

 

I am happy for you that you enjoy your new toy ;-)

 

since you have it in hand now, I would like to ask a question about the AYRE's Inputs: The QX-5 has 10 digital Input, but... the 10th input shares "one Ethernet port and 2 associated USB port" ??

 

so... how do we select to play music from the attached USB stick OR from the Ethernet's attached NAS (in case booth are physically connected and used) ? I would like to use ROON when I play from my NAS and use the iPAD app for a quick play from the USB Stick…

 

see attached 2 pictures from the manual.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

[Blackstone]

Not sure. I think perhaps that is controlled from an iphone app.

[Blackstone]

I ran glide tones and noise tracks overnight. It is a touch less sharp today. Very good with my balanced Grado's (PS1000) but it probably is not even fully warmed up yet and probably only about 2% broken in. I ran break-in tracks overnight. Starting my day with coffee and some Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, I'm starting to hear it fill out and soften up and it is hard to take the headphones off even at this early stage. Oh well off to the office. I'll let it run today while I'm out.

[Blackstone]

Holy cow I can't move! Still listening to Jazz Messengers. I never got up, lol. QB-9 and the Bryston never sounded like this. This is in another league for sure. Ugh gotta get up!

[ctsooner]

Holy cow I can't move! Still listening to Jazz Messengers. I never got up, lol. QB-9 and the Bryston never sounded like this. This is in another league for sure. Ugh gotta get up!

 

Guys, the Codex is as good overall as the 9 and better in a bunch of ways. I love reading your updates as that's exactly what I heard and posted when I was listening to it at Audio Connections when they had the Northeast preview and it only had about 30hrs on it. By the end of the day it started to warm up and smooth out. I can see you keep posting for the next month in awe. Everytime I speak with Johnny at AC, he's in awe. We all understand digital, but he really didn't until the Codex. He enjoyed the Berk ref and has sold many of them, but it was always a bit too polite and the excitement isn't there with it, but with this thing it gets everything right. Is there room for improvement? Of course there is and we'll eventually see that as better components arrive etc, but right now, this DAC and a couple of others are just outstanding. The thing that will eventually separate this DAC is the fact that it's a true digital drive. You don't even need a hard drive if you only want to stream Tidal.

 

Winner! can't wait to get mine.

[beetlemania]

Less than a half hour on it and it blows QB-9 away.

 

Hmmm, I guess i *don't* want to listen to one of these if it's gonna make my QB-9 sound broken! Must be pretty frickin' amaze-balls . . .

[ctsooner]

No it's nice to have a reference point lol. Beetle u can still get the codex lol. I know a couple of guys who sold the 9 and got the codex. They r very happy.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[beetlemania]

No it's nice to have a reference point lol. Beetle u can still get the codex lol. I know a couple of guys who sold the 9 and got the codex. They r very happy.

 

Many people, including Jim Smith, have said that the Codex is at least as good as the QB-9 DSD. Heck, Charles Hansen thinks the Codex is better. I heard one briefly but in an unfamiliar system and unfamiliar music. It certainly sounded good but I was unable to make my judgement about which sounds better. Maybe I should downsize - just get a Codex and some crazy good headphones.

[ctsooner]

I think it's much better. I try to temper things at times as I don't want to upset folks who own something else. I don't always do this but to me the codex crushes nearly all the mainstream DACS I've heard under at least 5 k. It's natural and extended. Stong presentation all around. To me it's just a great unit. The qx has to be that much better. They sell the codex for much less than they should for a few reasons and the consumers win out

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[beetlemania]

the codex crushes nearly all the mainstream DACS I've heard under at least 5 k.

 

Over at Audioasylum, Jim Smith wrote that he considers the Codex to be better than anything he's heard <$10K - but cautioned that he hasn't heard everything.

RE: You have a QB-9, right? - Jim Smith - Computer Audio Asylum

[Blackstone]

I make no claims about how much better QX-5 is than Codex. I can only speak regarding the QB-9 DSD, which is discontinued. My dealer told me the Codex is more than just a little bit better than the QB-9 DSD and that when Codex launched they were told that they probably would not be selling many QB-9s after that. It supposedly is quite a bit better than QB-9 DSD but perhaps not so much better that it makes sense to go from QB-9 DSD to Codex, unless you need the digital volume control and the optical input and the headphone amplifier.

 

I did not give the Codex a serious audition because it did not have all of the features and content I was looking for to replace QB-9.

 

Also there are a few things to remember when I rave about QX-5. My source PC is a beast, so there may be an immediate benefit from switching from async USB on QB-9 to ethernet right out of the gate. So QX-5 may have an inherent advantage just because of the additional isolation. Second, I now have extremely convenient access to the QX-5s volume control by remote control. Which means for every recording I can dial in exactly the volume I want effortlessly. With the QB-9 DSD I would need to get up and tweak the headphone amp dial or use JRiver's software volume control. So just being able to make that adjustment as needed is going to change how I perceive the quality of the playback. If a recording has too much sizzle it could just be one or two tweaks of the volume that tames it. So the whole user experience is better.

 

Frankly toward the end of my QB-9 DSD's run I was not liking what I was hearing. I did not like what I was hearing when I balanced my Grado's and started using the balanced out of my Bryston BHA-1. It was just too bright and grainy. But the BHA-1 was being fed single ended from QB-9, not balanced. With QX-5, because the QX-5 is the headphone amp as well as the DAC, I cut out a set of single ended interconnect (Transparent Reference) and now my headphone setup is fully balanced. So there is that advantage as well.

 

So there are a lot of factors coming together which make QX-5 a treat to use beyond just the raw dac performance. Codex is an $1,800 dac that out guns much more expensive dacs, apparently. QX-5 is a $9k dac that is nipping at the heels of $25k dacs! The Codex is going to make the most sense for most people. If it had a remote volume control I would have seriously considered it.

 

I had no expectation that QX-5 would compete with $20k dacs when I purchased - I needed more inputs and more buttons and a good bump in performance, but that apparently that is the general consensus.

[ctsooner]

I make no claims about how much better QX-5 is than Codex. I can only speak regarding the QB-9 DSD, which is discontinued. My dealer told me the Codex is more than just a little bit better than the QB-9 DSD and that when Codex launched they were told that they probably would not be selling many QB-9s after that. It supposedly is quite a bit better than QB-9 DSD but perhaps not so much better that it makes sense to go from QB-9 DSD to Codex, unless you need the digital volume control and the optical input and the headphone amplifier.

 

I did not give the Codex a serious audition because it did not have all of the features and content I was looking for to replace QB-9.

 

Also there are a few things to remember when I rave about QX-5. My source PC is a beast, so there may be an immediate benefit from switching from async USB on QB-9 to ethernet right out of the gate. So QX-5 may have an inherent advantage just because of the additional isolation. Second, I now have extremely convenient access to the QX-5s volume control by remote control. Which means for every recording I can dial in exactly the volume I want effortlessly. With the QB-9 DSD I would need to get up and tweak the headphone amp dial or use JRiver's software volume control. So just being able to make that adjustment as needed is going to change how I perceive the quality of the playback. If a recording has too much sizzle it could just be one or two tweaks of the volume that tames it. So the whole user experience is better.

 

Frankly toward the end of my QB-9 DSD's run I was not liking what I was hearing. I did not like what I was hearing when I balanced my Grado's and started using the balanced out of my Bryston BHA-1. It was just too bright and grainy. But the BHA-1 was being fed single ended from QB-9, not balanced. With QX-5, because the QX-5 is the headphone amp as well as the DAC, I cut out a set of single ended interconnect (Transparent Reference) and now my headphone setup is fully balanced. So there is that advantage as well.

 

So there are a lot of factors coming together which make QX-5 a treat to use beyond just the raw dac performance. Codex is an $1,800 dac that out guns much more expensive dacs, apparently. QX-5 is a $9k dac that is nipping at the heels of $25k dacs! The Codex is going to make the most sense for most people. If it had a remote volume control I would have seriously considered it.

 

I had no expectation that QX-5 would compete with $20k dacs when I purchased - I needed more inputs and more buttons and a good bump in performance, but that apparently that is the general consensus.

 

the only reason I say the Codex doesn't beat all the DAC's I've heard under 10k is ONLY because it doesn't beat the Empirical Audio that I owned. Just doesn't for my system and my ears, however it beats out any DAC I've heard under 10k other than the QX5 which out of the box and 40plus hours or so smokes it in all ways. Just does. I know some feel it is bested by the Rossini with external clock. It may or may not be. It will depend on your system and your ears. I'm not a huge DCS fan and have said so. I do like the Trinity DAC in some systems, but not in others.

 

The thing about DAC's and digital in general is that there are so many more things to deal with. Which input? Personally, I've never heard any input sound as good as an isolated ethernet one when done properly. Using an optical converter and LPS's all around seem to make a HUGE difference and can make a decent DAC sound good. The reason I liked what Ayre was doing is what Blackstone said....it's all in one and you can cut out other boxes and cables. They basically took the Codex headphone amp and rebuilt it with a TON more money to play with .....That's why the headphone, balanced output is going to be about as good a can amp as you will find. I'm sure I'll run this thing non stop for weeks and also run the headphone amp non stop with cans attached for month or more too.

 

If someone can afford the QX5 Twenty, then yes they should be it. No question if they want the Ayre sound. That said the Codex is not out of place in systems that cost over 30k. I've heard it on Vandersteen 7's, Ayre ref stack all with AQ silver cabling. It sounded MUSICAL. It was throwing a realistic soundstage etc... , but like any major component upgrade, it's not the QX5 and shouldn't be. They needed to distance themselves from the Codex and they will eventually distance their Ref DAC from the QX5, but that's in the future and not close to the market I don't think. I also have a feeling that when they do that, it will be in the ref range price wise and may quite possibly be the best sounding DAC in the world. JMHO

[silvertone]

 

so... how do we select to play music from the attached USB stick OR from the Ethernet's attached NAS (in case booth are physically connected and used) ? I would like to use ROON when I play from my NAS and use the iPAD app for a quick play from the USB Stick…

 

see attached 2 pictures from the manual.

 

Thanks in advance

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]28808[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]28809[/ATTACH]

 

 

If you use the McontrolHD App (which Ayre recommends) the USB stick will be discovered as an 'Ayre Server'. From the app you can select it and choose whatever

you wish to play. Make sure the USB stick is formatted correctly per the documentation.

 

ST

[Blackstone]

So last night's listening session did not disappoint. After just 24 hours the headphone amp sounds primed to go and now it has softened to the point where my more edgy rock recordings sound good. Not as liquid smooth as the demo but for a unit with only 24 hours on it I'm damn impressed. Every aspect of playback is better. This unit has a FULL sound. The Bryston headphone amp was thin and brittle by comparison. The sound here has weight and body. Lots of punch and slam. It really deconstructs complex passages incredibly well.

 

The wide soundstage we talked about is definitely there, as dictated by the source material. On jazz recordings horns seem to come from much further hard left or right of my headphones whereas with the QB/Bryston the instruments were not as pinpoint. There is also a sense of not just left and right sound stage, but also depth and elevation. It was something I did not expect from any headphone, let alone a Grado.

 

The headphone amplifier is absolutely first rate I have never heard a better one. I typically max out volume at 70-74 out of 100. Plenty of gain but I suspect balanced operation is a must with harder to drive cans.

 

I can't evaluate the mains at all until I get my listening room. I suspect my amp and speakers are just outclassed by this unit and will bottleneck it, but it should give me a general sense of its preamp capability.

 

There are some bugs with switching inputs that hopefully can be addressed with firmware. It does not like toggling between ethernet and usb.

 

Also if you feed it optical from TV, source must be stereo. A 5.1 signal creates a nasty hiss. If cable box is set right, and netflix defaults to stereo, no problem.

 

Oh and I ran a few video games last night on PC with the async usb--that same soundstage and imaging gave me a better sense of where my team mates and enemies were in "Team Fortress 2" such that I could find them and dispatch them easier. And the sonic benefits carried over to the sound effects and soundtrack for a more immersive experience.

 

That's all. Looking forward to a long weekend of wine, coffee and jazz with QX. My wife has a night shift at the hospital tonight so after work I can settle in for some audio goodness!

[bmichels]

So last night's listening session did not disappoint. After just 24 hours the headphone amp sounds primed to go and now it has softened to the point where my more edgy rock recordings sound good. Not as liquid smooth as the demo but for a unit with only 24 hours on it I'm damn impressed. Every aspect of playback is better. This unit has a FULL sound. The Bryston headphone amp was thin and brittle by comparison. The sound here has weight and body. Lots of punch and slam. It really deconstructs complex passages incredibly well.

 

The wide soundstage we talked about is definitely there, as dictated by the source material. On jazz recordings horns seem to come from much further hard left or right of my headphones whereas with the QB/Bryston the instruments were not as pinpoint. There is also a sense of not just left and right sound stage, but also depth and elevation. It was something I did not expect from any headphone, let alone a Grado.

 

The headphone amplifier is absolutely first rate I have never heard a better one. I typically max out volume at 70-74 out of 100. Plenty of gain but I suspect balanced operation is a must with harder to drive cans.

 

I can't evaluate the mains at all until I get my listening room. I suspect my amp and speakers are just outclassed by this unit and will bottleneck it, but it should give me a general sense of its preamp capability.

 

There are some bugs with switching inputs that hopefully can be addressed with firmware. It does not like toggling between ethernet and usb.

 

Also if you feed it optical from TV, source must be stereo. A 5.1 signal creates a nasty hiss. If cable box is set right, and netflix defaults to stereo, no problem.

 

Oh and I ran a few video games last night on PC with the async usb--that same soundstage and imaging gave me a better sense of where my team mates and enemies were in "Team Fortress 2" such that I could find them and dispatch them easier. And the sonic benefits carried over to the sound effects and soundtrack for a more immersive experience.

 

That's all. Looking forward to a long weekend of wine, coffee and jazz with QX. My wife has a night shift at the hospital tonight so after work I can settle in for some audio goodness!

 

May I asK what you mean by "It does not like toggling between ethernet and usb.". What happend exactly when you toggle ? ( my music will be on the NAS but also on a USB stick for new music to test )

[ctsooner]

Blackstone. Thanks for sharing. Now you understand why I trust what John Rutan shares with me about what he's hearing. It will just get better and better. His unit keeps getting better still in subtle ways.

 

The headphone amp is a huge part that excites me also. Make a list of any problems and send to me. I'll share right away with the Ayre folks so the engineers can address or fix via firmware. Can't wait to get mine. They really have hit a grand slam with this unit. It's meant to go after any DAC on the market and I think it's in most all parks. Very cool. Time to jump on board. Lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[Blackstone]

May I asK what you mean by "It does not like toggling between ethernet and usb.". What happend exactly when you toggle ? ( my music will be on the NAS but also on a USB stick for new music to test )

 

My dealer is addressing it with Ayre. Probably needs a firmware update or something. There is an issue where it disappears off the network and sometimes it disappears as a USB device and requires a hard reboot of the QX-5 Twenty to get it back when you toggle from one source to the other. I am not sure to what extent you can switch from a live USB stream to a live ethernet stream. In one case I had to reinstall Streamlength to get USB back. It is easy to reproduce which is good because it will be easy for them to fix. I honestly would rather have the unit now and let them work out the kinks through firmware or whatever. I am going to let Audio Consultants talk to them about it and Audio Consultants is going to tinker with their unit on Saturday to see if they can sort it out. Par for the course if you are an early adopter of anything electronic, or if you are into cars, German.

 

Dealer also told me to remind everyone that the dCS Puccini had its own bugs and popping sounds when it hit the market and they nailed it with a software update. So I am not overly concerned. It could be a few lines of code and per the manual, the process for updating firmware is very streamlined. You can argue at this price it should be perfect but go try arguing that to a Mercedes Benz dealer and see where that gets you!

[Kelly]

Maybe I should downsize - just get a Codex and some crazy good headphones.

 

Because I will never get into the high levels of audiophilia this is the route I took. The headphone capability of the Codex is underappreciated. It's bonkers good, so good that I sold my $2k dedicated headphone amp because I thought it sounded better direct from the Codex.

 

Listening with headphones doesn't quite have the same feel and naturalness of speakers, but to me it has other virtues.

[ctsooner]

Because I will never get into the high levels of audiophilia this is the route I took. The headphone capability of the Codex is underappreciated. It's bonkers good, so good that I sold my $2k dedicated headphone amp because I thought it sounded better direct from the Codex.

 

Listening with headphones doesn't quite have the same feel and naturalness of speakers, but to me it has other virtues.

 

I've gotten into personal audio a bit. The Codex, as I've stated was purposely built to be a very expensive DAC/headphone amp/digital pre for the masses. This thing is priced well below market value and very few will disagree. The headphone amp, to my ears, was much better than the Macintosh dedicated amp I heard it against. it's a great way to go and then you can built a system around it. Get a pair of Vandersteen 2's (new so you have the most up to date drivers etc..and a Belles amp or even a used NAD amp and you have a very high end system. The nice thing about the Codex is that you can keep upgrading and you will keep hearing a nice difference. It doesn't embarrass itself in a system with the Vandersteen 7's and the Ayre ref stack.. I've heard it with this system a few times and was highly impressed. It's rare that an under 2k piece that offers a pre and headphone amp will keep sounding better and better with such an expensive and outstanding system.

 

What cans? The Audeze LCD line is nice sounding. Full bass and tuneful. A bit heavy. The new Focal Elear are comfortable, but I haven't hear a burned in pair. It was resolving and extended. The bass wasn't as good as the Audeze. The NEW Ether's from Mr Speaker sound good too, but the Elear to me were better and less money. I personally am using the Noble Savant's. Not expensive and the most balanced, but the bass doesn't dig as deep as I feel I want. Their K10's do though. It's just harder to get to hear headphones. There are some nice values under 500 depending on what you like to listen to. Prices of headphones have really skyrocketed recently too. I would put a Codex, NAD amp and Vandersteen 1b's with basic AQ cables together for entry level. That system would rock.

[Blackstone]

lol my cousin came over for a few beers and we fired up Grand Theft Auto V on PC and to the chagrin of neighbors fired up the mains on QX-5 to feed the B&W N804s. At one point it sounded so real I could not tell the police siren in the game from one in the real city here. Normally I am not overly impressed with game sound from the main speakers but this was enveloping. Async USB. Had to reboot QX-5 to get it to work, which was a little embarrassing though.

[ctsooner]

lol my cousin came over for a few beers and we fired up Grand Theft Auto V on PC and to the chagrin of neighbors fired up the mains on QX-5 to feed the B&W N804s. At one point it sounded so real I could not tell the police siren in the game from one in the real city here. Normally I am not overly impressed with game sound from the main speakers but this was enveloping. Async USB. Had to reboot QX-5 to get it to work, which was a little embarrassing though.

Not a gamer, but can appreciate it! So glad you are loving it.

[Blackstone]

Loving it except the loss of usb recognition in Windows after using ethernet. I should be able to just switch from ethernet to usb without getting up to power cycle QX-5. Not even rebooting my PC works, so its not my system.

 

It is sort of hard to believe they missed it since it is such a basic function. Meh.