Article: Review | Ayre Acoustics QB-9 Twenty

[CG]

17 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I certainly here you but in the real world we only can only make selections from the products available. I’ll stand by my preference for balanced and higher voltage because nothing else exists :~)

 

Real world?  That depends, doesn't it?

 

For me, when it doesn't exist, I build it myself.  That sure seems real enough to me.  

 

Obviously, that reality is different for everybody.  Some people have seemingly open ended budgets to buy gear.  (Note that I said open ended, not unlimited, although that might be true as well.)  Some people can't build their own or aren't interested.  (I decided a lonnggg time ago not to even think about building loudspeakers.)  Some people have limited living space that they share so headphone listening is their chosen solution.  And, so on.

[CG]

17 hours ago, CG said:

You can make an argument that just twisting the words together in an interconnect (or using quad twist) is just as good as balanced circuitry at audio frequencies.

 

Just noticed this - words should actually be wires.  Duh!  My fault for not proofreading adequately - I won't blame the spell chick. 🐥

 

I should also add that some balanced circuit topologies have the potential to provide better distortion performance in some ways because of the symmetrical source impedance for both inputs.  This depends on the circuit design.  Another subject too long for here, but worth investigating if you're fascinated with that sort of thing.  (Something else to think about - what happens to an amplifier circuit when the input impedance isn't defined?  As in, when a variable resistor - aka volume control - is used?)

 

Back to Broooooooce.

[Doak]

https://www.ayre.com/categories/digital/

No version of the QB-9 DAC is currently listed of Ayre's digital product page.

Did I miss something?

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, Doak said:

https://www.ayre.com/categories/digital/

No version of the QB-9 DAC is currently listed of Ayre's digital product page.

Did I miss something?

The QB-9 isn't currently available as a new product. 

[CG]

4 minutes ago, Doak said:

Did I miss something?

 

Yes.

 

https://www.ayre.com/products/archive/qb-9/

 

It's a legacy product, no longer made.  This "Twenty" update is, well, an update for people who already own the product.

 

You can either say that this was a complete waste of company resources and the review was useless, or you can say hooray to Ayre for updating a product that was maybe their largest seller and that the review is to compare the previous version to the latest for all those existing owners. That's up to the reader.  It's also the fairest comparison I've seen yet to describe how the technology has progressed over the past few years.  (I'd also note that, to Chris anyway, the Twenty is competitive with other much more expensive DACs.  Not better, but competitive.  He'd have to be the one to expand on that.)

 

Personally, I paid the money.  The QB-9 DSD worked really well for us and it had just the right feature set for our application.  It was and is a basic product for one job only - convert digital audio files sent through a USB interface to analog signals.  No volume controls, no networking options, no headphone amp, no graphic display, and so on.  The new one supports more digital audio formats and in my opinion sounds better.  Kinda like dipping our old DAC in an audio fountain of youth.

 

In some ways, this is bad for Ayre.  Now, I'm not saving my pennies (more like twenty dollar bills) to purchase a QX-8 or QX-5.  On the other hand, their approach to this makes me an even more loyal customer who is more likely to buy other Ayre gear in the future.  Presumably, they priced the update in a sane business way, so they're doing well on this, too.  Good for them.

[The Computer Audiophile]

It should also be noted that people can buy an older one on the used market and send that into Ayre for the upgrade. They get the upgrade and a new two year warranty for $1,500.

[shum3s]

Do we know how long will this upgraded be available? I ask because I have the DSD version, but not currently able to do the current upgrade.  

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, shum3s said:

Do we know how long will this upgraded be available? I ask because I have the DSD version, but not currently able to do the current upgrade.  

Paging @Ryan Berry

[beetlemania]

Quote

On the music side of things, I was never a fan of Bruce, but my wife was getting very enthusiastic when I streamed the Barn tracks from Qobuz

 

Some of my college friends were into Springsteen but I was, like, meh. Then about 20 years ago I picked up the Woody Guthrie tribute “til we outnumber them”. Springsteen performs a couple of the tracks. I thought “wow, this guy is far more talented than I ever gave him credit.” I might buy the file for the barn album rather than just rent it from Qobuz.

 

Quote

I hope you had the chance to also experience the long period over which the Twenty evolved from "great" to "better than great" 

 

Also curious if Mr. Connaker experienced this. Fresh off the cold UPS truck in December my unit sounded vaguely rough out of the box even if it was immediately apparent that it bettered the DSD version in most every way. I thought it was mostly settled after 100-200 hours but it seemed like I heard subtle improvements even after 500 hours.

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 minutes ago, beetlemania said:

 

Some of my college friends were into Springsteen but I was, like, meh. Then about 20 years ago I picked up the Woody Guthrie tribute “til we outnumber them”. Springsteen performs a couple of the tracks. I thought “wow, this guy is far more talented than I ever gave him credit.” I might buy the file for the barn album rather than just rent it from Qobuz.

 

 

Also curious if Mr. Connaker experienced this. Fresh off the cold UPS truck in December my unit sounded vaguely rough out of the box even if it was immediately apparent that it bettered the DSD version in most every way. I thought it was mostly settled after 100-200 hours but it seemed like I heard subtle improvements even after 500 hours.

I hooked up the two QB-9s to music as soon as I received them and let the music play for weeks before I even listened. 

[Josh Mound]

On 4/3/2020 at 1:03 PM, mr_bill said:

5 of 5 now!  Makes sense. 

 

The review is great and the comparison to the other reference expensive units is fantastic .....and it’s CASH list but....,

 

....it is only 3 out of 5 stars?

 

i must not understand something

 

 

I’ve noticed that some people simply hate “subjective” DAC reviews and will downvote them no matter what (and usually without reading). Too bad, they missed a masterpiece of a review here!

[Josh Mound]

On 4/4/2020 at 12:58 PM, The Computer Audiophile said:

It should also be noted that people can buy an older one on the used market and send that into Ayre for the upgrade. They get the upgrade and a new two year warranty for $1,500.

I’d be curious to know if someone in the US could buy a 220v version and send it in for the upgrade as 120v? Seems like there are lots more QB-9s on the European used market. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 hour ago, JoshM said:

I’d be curious to know if someone in the US could buy a 220v version and send it in for the upgrade as 120v? Seems like there are lots more QB-9s on the European used market. 

Let’s ask @Ryan Berry

[Ryan Berry]

On 4/4/2020 at 4:02 PM, shum3s said:

Do we know how long will this upgraded be available? I ask because I have the DSD version, but not currently able to do the current upgrade.  

 

The Twenty upgrade is a relatively new release for us, so I expect it will be available for quite a long time.  Nothing involved in the circuit has a limited availability, so I don't foresee a real end date on the upgrade at this time.  I hope that helps.

[Ryan Berry]

10 hours ago, JoshM said:

I’d be curious to know if someone in the US could buy a 220v version and send it in for the upgrade as 120v? Seems like there are lots more QB-9s on the European used market. 

 

It could be possible, Josh, but we'd have to get some transformers in to do the conversion.  The company we work with is shut down until April 20, but give us a call after that and I should have some numbers by then on what it would take to change over.  

[Tone Deaf]

Chris,

 

Thanks for the intriguing review.  And especially for your very interesting approach comparing the DACs to the Western Stars album versions!  I had listened, and really tried to like the studio version of Western Stars, but somehow couldn't ever fully engage with it, and didn't really notice the live version when it was released.  But to understand your review, I had to go listen to the Western Stars live version - wow, instant connection with the music!  "Western Stars - Songs From The Film" has been part of my regular listening for the past week.

 

And better yet, I'm listening to it through my QB-9 Twenty....

[MhtLion]

On 4/3/2020 at 5:06 PM, Ryan Berry said:

Hey Chris,

Thank you for the wonderful review and I'm very happy you enjoyed the product.  The QB-9 upgrade really embodies everything we've learned at Ayre over 26 years and is my personal favorite upgrade to date.  We look forward to the next project soon and will be in touch.

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Berry

Ayre Acoustics, Inc.

Kudos to Ayre for supporting a discontinued product. That being said, it will be great if Ayre decide to relaunch QB-9 with Twenty upgrade. Love to buy it brand new!

[Ryan Berry]

23 minutes ago, MhtLion said:

Kudos to Ayre for supporting a discontinued product. That being said, it will be great if Ayre decide to relaunch QB-9 with Twenty upgrade. Love to buy it brand new!

No promises, but stay tuned...

[MhtLion]

On 4/14/2020 at 3:47 PM, Ryan Berry said:

No promises, but stay tuned...

You have all my ears!!

[R@F]

Hi guys, I did it!
From an old QB9 192 to a "Twenty".... OMG, WTF, don't know others acronyms in English!
Not yet broken in, I already have a new device. Let's talk about it... More low frequencies, MUCH more details, even on musical files I already knew very well. the scene is wider and deeper. The voices on vocal jazz... just give a chill. What's the best of all? I mean, probably details, that are no more details, but part of the music.   Don't know if it will get better after a few (or hundreds) hours, but it could stop there!  I listen to this system: a NAS on which you find Flac or DSD files, a little PC on which you only find Daphile soft, amplifier Ayre Ax7e, and then, Edena Apertura as speakers. Balanced wired.
I just have to choose a good music, and make it play. Maybe a glass of wine, french wine... I'm French!
Wow, thank you so much for this upgrade, in French, "ca change tout"... for a correct price. A brand new device for the price of this upgrade, can't it be called a bargain?
Yep'
Cheers, R@F.

[beetlemania]

On 8/15/2020 at 11:01 PM, R@F said:

Not yet broken in . . .   Don't know if it will get better after a few (or hundreds) hours, but it could stop there!  

Several of us reported improvements even past 500 hours.

Enjoy!

[Claude]

Havn‘t been active on this site since the days i bought an QB-9 24/96 and used an Mac mini. System has evolved, but QB9 stayed. Never fehlt the urge to update my dac, until the various lockdowns in Germany happened and I had enough time to think about where Iwant to move with my system. Thought i stop by at computer audiophile which changed its name years ago 😂😂😂and stumbled upon this review. Chris and Ryan just made my day. Already contacted Ayre. 
Thanks for the info and the great review. Love the analogy with different recordings.