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Ayre QB-9 Twenty upgrade


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8 hours ago, Andrew Bui said:

I've been trying to get the QB9 Twenty working with Roon via the Pro-Ject S2 Ultra Sreambox, I just wanted to double-check that DSD64 will display as '64' on the LED display- I keep seeing 352 which (I'm assuming) implies some kind of DoP conversion. It wasn't explicitly listed in the manual so I figured I'd ask here.


Yes, regardless of whether you’re set up for DoP or Native DSD, the display on the QB-9 Twenty should show ‘64’ in the situation you describe. Not ‘352’.
 

Double check your Device Settings in Roon (and also the DSP settings) to make sure everything is in order. The number you are seeing seems to indicate that your DSD files are being converted to PCM 352 for playback. 
 

I have no experience or familiarity with the Pro-ject Streambox, so can’t speculate whether the problem could lie in that part of the chain. 

Roon Nucleus REV B -> DH Labs Mirage USB Cable -> Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC -> SPL Elector Preamp -> Bryston 2.5 Cubed amp -> Magnepan 1.7i speakers + REL T9x

 

jonathan

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15 minutes ago, Andrew Bui said:

Thanks for the info, I was able to get it working by changing the S2's output to DSD over PCM - don't know what the maximum supported rate is but roon allows me to select up to DSD128


Excellent! If I’m not mistaken, DSD128 is the max in Roon when using DoP. Will go higher if your streamer/DAC supports Native DSD. I’m getting DSD256 in Native mode with my QB-9 Twenty and sonicTransporter i5 (running latest software update). 

Roon Nucleus REV B -> DH Labs Mirage USB Cable -> Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC -> SPL Elector Preamp -> Bryston 2.5 Cubed amp -> Magnepan 1.7i speakers + REL T9x

 

jonathan

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Ah, makes sense now. My QB-9 tops out at 384kHz PCM. Thus the 128DSD limit via DoP..

Roon Nucleus REV B -> DH Labs Mirage USB Cable -> Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC -> SPL Elector Preamp -> Bryston 2.5 Cubed amp -> Magnepan 1.7i speakers + REL T9x

 

jonathan

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1 hour ago, desbiss said:

I’m looking forward to Native DSD 265 with my QB-9 Twenty. Was there an appreciable difference with Native compared to using DoP?

 

The short answer, no. Not to these 67 yr old ears anyway, and with the very small DSD catalog that I own. YMMV however. But suffice to say, both methods do sound outstanding to me 🙂

Roon Nucleus REV B -> DH Labs Mirage USB Cable -> Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC -> SPL Elector Preamp -> Bryston 2.5 Cubed amp -> Magnepan 1.7i speakers + REL T9x

 

jonathan

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  • 3 months later...
37 minutes ago, PrTv said:

Is it possible (although very unlikely) that the distributor did a botchy work resulting in subpar performance?


I am surprised to hear that a ‘distributor’ did the conversion for you. I’m under the impression that the upgrade was only performed at the Ayre company itself in Colorado. If you did send it directly to Ayre, I’d be more than surprised to hear that they’d done sub-par work. Thats not their M.O.

 

How is your digital filter setting? If it’s in the ‘Measure’ mode, you may want to switch to ‘Listen’ mode to see if that gets you get closer to the sound signature you seek. (Or, if you’re already set to ‘Listen’ then try ‘Measure’ just for the heck of it).

Roon Nucleus REV B -> DH Labs Mirage USB Cable -> Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC -> SPL Elector Preamp -> Bryston 2.5 Cubed amp -> Magnepan 1.7i speakers + REL T9x

 

jonathan

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  • 2 years later...

I'm a satisfied QB-9 Twenty owner going on 3 years now, but looking for thoughts/suggestions/advice re an issue that's just developed. I set up a brand new Roon Nucleus Rev B for the first time the other day, migrating from a sonicTransporter i5 that I’d been using for the last few years. Installation and setup went well and all is running smoothly, except for the Nucleus's apparent inability to recognize the DAC's DSD capabilities.

 

Roon is not presenting the Native DSD option for me in setup, only 'DoP' or 'Convert to PCM'. When paired with the sonicTransporter, Roon recognized the QB-9/20's DSD capability and offered a selection for ‘native DSD’ in the setup. That's gone away now that I’ve migrated to the Nucleus. No other changes to the system or setup were made.

 

Any QB-9/20 users here who also connect to a Nucleus? I so, what's been your experience? I've put up a similar post and query on the appropriate Roon Community support forum and have had a couple of non-official responses, but so far no solutions. Perhaps someone here may be able to provide insight. Also...paging @Jake Forsyth  :-)

 

Roon Nucleus REV B -> DH Labs Mirage USB Cable -> Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC -> SPL Elector Preamp -> Bryston 2.5 Cubed amp -> Magnepan 1.7i speakers + REL T9x

 

jonathan

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Anyone here have any experience putting a USB Isolator of the JCAT/Intona variety in front of their QB-9 Twenty? I've been happily running a USB cable from my Roon core machine (formerly a sonicTranporter, now a Roon Nucleus) directly to the QB-9/20, but see a used JCAT for sale from a private party for a reasonable price and feel like experimenting. I've heard that there are a few DACs that don't play nice (or even play at all) with these devices, some Hegel DACs for example. Any insight or informed speculation re JCAT/QB-9 compatibility would be appreciated.

 

jonathan

Roon Nucleus REV B -> DH Labs Mirage USB Cable -> Ayre QB-9 Twenty DAC -> SPL Elector Preamp -> Bryston 2.5 Cubed amp -> Magnepan 1.7i speakers + REL T9x

 

jonathan

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