Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty Streaming DAC

@emtrey, Thanks. Any comments on the sound quality of your Ayre QX-5 Twenty DAC? How does it compare to other DAC’s you auditioned? Thanks.

I found the QX-5/20 to be a game changer in my system even before the update,

I did buy it used rather than waiting for a QX-8 (my original choice) as I was hoping to stay around 5-6K. Once is saw the used Qx-5/20, I just bought it.

My dealer carried DCS and Boulder so I heard some very high end DACs over the years but at that time my main source was an ML390S and I was not thinking about streaming.  The Boulder was amazing but everything in that demo chain was at the top of their line..

I have to admit I am partial to the Ayre "house" sound" so my opinion in slightly tipped.  In fact, soon after I settled in with the DAC, I update my preamp to a KX-5/20 from an ML 380S.

Wish I could help you more. Jerry

On the upgrade,

Highs dramatically better, system has more bass with same speakers, and the soundstage is very , very well defined.

Did take a while to dial in speaker positioning considering the definition of the soundstage.  Finally decided I wanted it a bit wider than my initial setup and found bigger soundstage with little or no detail loss . This was  completed mostly  working with the toe in on my speakers.

Anyone here using the Ayre QX-5 Twenty straight into their amp, without a standard preamp in between? In a chat with someone at Ayre HQ, they don’t really call it a preamp, but it does have digital volume control. Is the digital volume control a compromise over the volume control in a regular preamp? The person I spoke to said that some think that the digital volume could be a slight compromise and *maybe" a slight reduction in SQ.

I am interested in it as an upgrade replacement for my Audio Alchemy DDP-1 DAC/preamp/headphone amp (a great value in its price range imo). I use headphones about 25% of the time and wonder how good the phones stage is on the QX-5. Opinions?

The alternative might be the new Boulder 812, just now shipping, which they say is a preamp/DAC/headphone amp. On some phones forums, some question the output power rating of the 812 phones section, saying it seems low for driving difficult phones.

Boulder 812 link

I am slightly obsessed with getting that Ayre sound... a good match with my Vandersteens. If the digital volume control on the QX-5 isn’t a compromise, I would run it straight into my amp without a preamp.

THX

Yes, in general, a digital vol control will degrade SQ. It does some “bit stripping” from what I understand.