Music, I wish you could take both home and listen for a few weeks. The OSDE/SE I used to use throws a bigger stage than the DAVE. It's the largest soundstage I've ever heard in a DAC regardless of cost. There is a HUGE thread about the DAC shootout that my friend started. He has had everything in his system other than the QX since it's so new. I chose the Empirical because of Matt's thread. I've gotten to know most of the bigger posters on that thread and we are in constant contact, so I like to believe I have a decent idea of how the DAC's all sound. Just because I like one, doesn't mean that you or anyone else will. T'hjat's the fun of audio, lol.
When someone hears the Ayre initially, they may feel that another DAC throws a bigger stage or that another one is more resolving, however I found out, as I said above, this is not even close to being the case. The Ayre is giving you so much micro and macro detail, that you don't even notice it until you are days or even weeks into it. The reason for me is that I just melt into the music. If I had the funds, the only other DAC I'd get over it MAY be the Total DAC, but I also have found the 'digital hub' so easy and fun to use that I probably would still lean towards the Ayre, however I'm also a bit cheap, lol.
What seems to set the Ayre apart is the fact that it uses what may be the best clock you can get in a device. Go check out the interview that Michael Lavorgna did with Charlie of Ayre. They discuss the clock they use and how expensive it is etc... That's one reason I believe it sounds so great with anything I've fed it. I use a rebuilt Mac Mini server that was built and used by Steve Nugent of Empirical audio at all his shows. He rebuilt the board, cut out anything that wasn't audio related and it uses an external Paul Hynes LPS. HE hand built the solid silver connecting cable to the Mac too. All my music is well recorded stuff for shows and much is hi rez up to 192. I have had this server up against nearly everything and it just sounds better. I also feed the Frontier cable box to the Ayre and it makes it sound the best I've ever heard and I used to use a reclocker on everything when I had the Empirical so I wasn't feeding it crap. Even the Marantz Blue Ray sounds excellent when I decide to play CD's through it.
Unlike most, it gets the timbre of the music right. When I listen to my Basis TT, Benz cartridge and Rhea phono pre, running balanced through my AX5/20, with AQ Water cable, I relax into the music. I get the same feeling with the Ayre QX5/20. I think it's the clock and I also feel strongly that you get the macro and micro detail because of the low noise floor. They build the Ayre power filtration device directly into the DAC along with the double diamond circuits. Charlie Hansen, to me, is as good as a designer as we have in the business today. Some DAC's have great analog filtering and others have great digital filtering. Charlie has the funds and got the right folks in place to do both great. This is one area that he excels over the smaller companies. Chord is also great at this, but like I said, the biggest place the Ayre beats the Chord and by a fair amount it the quality and depth of the bass. I know I"m not the only one who feels this way. Owners of course will argue with me about this, but I promise you that when you go head to head, it's obvious.
I have no dog in the fight and I've tried to share the differences as I and some others I listen with at time have heard between these two units. There is another thread on here about the QX5 where some folks have chosen the Ayre over the Dave and I know of two of the guys how have had both in their house to listen to and they said the Ayre just grew on them. Many products sound GREAT in the showroom or in your home as they do one or two things really great (or so it seems). I feel that one of the most difficult things that any component does is soundstage size. Some always throw a huge stage and to my ears , this is what Dave does. The problem arises when the stage wasn't recorded as big as what's being heard. That's all components and not just the DAC. Ayre seems to get the scale correct. I didn't have a recording available where I was there when it was produced, but I have spoken to someone who has done this test with numerous DAC's from Total to Ayre to EMM to Bricasti to DCS to Trinity to Berkley and the list goes on. He's pro reviewer and knows many producers. He said that Ayre just gets this part spot on and he owns Ayre amps because of this.
Again, this isn't an ad for Ayre, lol. Some folks want other DAC's for many reasons and you may too, but I know it's not difficult to get a QX5 into your house to listen to. I do know there are a few Chord dealers around so it will depend on where you live.
The other thing I personally won't do it buy a used DAC. Too many problems there potentially. I too want a new warrantee from a larger company who most probably will be around and who will have engineers who can always fix the product, unlike a smaller company where the owner can retire and you are screwed in 5 or more years. I've seen that way too often in this business. Chord isn't going to have that problem as they too are a good size company and not reliant on a staff of one or two.
I do like buying products from US based companies when I can, because I live here and it's easier to get repairs done if needed. Yes, I've needed warrantee repairs on products from time to time. The other thing that I love about Ayre and why I own their AX5/20 and QX5/20 is because they upgrade their products and only charge minimal fees for upgrades depending on what they do. Their lifespan per product is at least 7 years (Vandersteen is similar in this regard) and to me, that's important.
Well, that's way too much info and it's personal stuff for MY EAR's, lol. I also LOVE using Ayre link as I can use my universal remote control and it totally controls both Ayre components along with my blue ray, TV, Apple TV, Cable box etc.... YEs, I live with my wife and the kids visit and I need to have my system user friendly, plus I can also log in from wifi anywhere in the world to control the system (yes I've done this when my daughter was dog sitting for a week).
You have chosen two of the best products in their price ranges. Both punch above their costs and offer totally different functionality and sound. You won't go wrong either way. |
I really am amazed at some of the comments about the Ayre. I owned the Empirical OSDE/SE and nearly upgraded to the OSDX. I have had the Dave, Berk Ref mk 2 as well as many other DAC's. I"ve listened to the Trinity Ref DAC, the DCS DAC systems multiple times. I have not heard the Bricasti or EMM, but I have a few friends who own them. I also have a few friends who have them. Both love their DAC's as they should. I only heard the TotalDac once and felt it nailed everything. To my ears I love the liquidity of it. From top to bottom is was just awesome. I also love the new Brinkman DAC. It's really special and I think folks will love it.
The Ayre, to my ears, is only a hair behind the TotalDac. I couldn't justify getting the TotalDac with what Ayre offers as half the cost.
Ayre vs Dave. The Dave and Chord in general is known for awesome mids and highs. To my ears it lacks in the bass. It's musical and goes low, but not as low as the Ayre. The Ayre is very natural in the mids and highs. It has the best pace of the two also I feel (again for MY ears). At first I didn't think it was as detailed as other top flight DAC's I've heard or had in the system, but it's more detailed. It just does it without any distortion or edge. I don't think it gives up anything to Dave IRT the mids and upper range either. I love the Chord products, but they don't do bass as well as many other comparable products. I've spoken to two well regarded designers about this. One says that he wishes he could get the mids and high right the way the Dave does, but he agreed with me about 100hz down.
The one thing that you have to also be careful with in digital is that it sound differently in each home. They are just so reliant on the quality of power you feed it and also which source and input you are using. The one thing about Ayre that is sweet is that it is a digital hub. They have maximized all the inputs. I've tried all of them and feel that they got it right. It did take well over 500 hours for mine to break in, but once it did, it vaulted itself into the top tier DAC's for my money.
The DCS DAC's to me can be a bit dry. They are as open and detailed as you will get and the bass is really deep. Honestly the bass on them when used with the Wilson XLF's was the best I've ever heard on those speakers. I personally don't like the Wilson's. I'm a Vandersteen guy as most know who follow any of my posts. That gives you an idea of what I like in my sound.
The Berkley ref 2 to me wasn't in my final 4 DAC's. I just didn't love it. I think it's a nice sounding DAC and does nothing wrong, but I think that the DAVE has much better sound and the TotalDac blows it out of the water IRT involvement and top to bottom accuracy. It also has a pace about it that betters the Ayre only by a smidge and not on all tracks.
The Dave does throw a huge soundstage which I love. If the DAVE had deeper bass, I'd say go with it, but the only way anyone will ever know is by getting them all in their systems.
For anyone to say the QX5/20 isn't an upper end DAC makes me wonder what they are listening to. I'm not saying it's better than anything mentioned in this thread and I'm trying to stay on track of what the OP asked.
If you don't want to audition the Ayre, because you read someone who says it's not a top tier DAC, then you are doing yourself a disservice. JMHO
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Thanks for sharing. Have heard good things about Mike, but never knew where he was. I"m heading down to Lido, where my sister lives in a month or two. I"ll need to call him to meet him. Had no idea he had such nice products there.
Did you ever hear the QX5 with the AQ Diamond or Cardas's top of the line? I've had many a cable with them over the last many months and noticed huge differences in sound. Personally, I've never heard it sound bright in the high end at all. That surprised me. As I posted, it's one of those products that I needed to listen to for a long time before I fully got it. I have only heard it sound ragged once and that was on a newer, non broken in one.
I've personally never given a ton of listening to the tubed DAC's as I don't want to deal with tubes anymore. I liked the new Romulus a lot with stock tubes. Haven't heard the B7, but I'm sure it's awesome based on what you had it up against.
Why did you change cables on the B7 and not the other DAC's that you listened to? Just curious as that plays a huge role in digital I feel. Bigger than interconnects as long as you are using top gear.
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Totaldac was brought up earlier and he said why pay that much when you can get the QX5/20 for so much less. It's great to bring up used DAC's, however they are not always available and he stated that he wanted new. Don't blame him a bit either. He also stated that Roon is very important to him, so he needs a DAC that will be a Roon endpoint, which the Ayre is. Are the other DAC's folks are suggesting also Roon endpoints? I"m sure some are, just am not up on all the DAC's that are.
Just because we all like a component, he's asking for some specifics for his situation. Lot's of great choices for sure. Not sure if he wants to deal with the tube thing or not. I also noticed that most of the friends I have or posters I've seen post on Lampizator or other tube DAC's talk about changing out the stock tubes or other ones. Unless you are a tube roller, you probably don't want to bother going there, lol. I"ve done my share over the years with CJ, Audio Research, Aesthetix, Jadis, Quicksilver, DIY preamp, Audible Illusions, Cary, Marantz, Counterpoint and a few others. It was always a pain in the butt for me, lol. I never fully got the enjoyment out of it that others seem to. The only tube gear left is the Aestheix Rhea that I've decided to sell even though it just came back with a new, updated power section and tubes.
I decided I like the Ayre so much, that I'm finally giving up the analog and will sell it all. Like I posted earlier, I also LOVE the new Brinkman DAC too. I will eventually get one in the house to A/B vs the Ayre. |
Edgy quality for the Ayre? How many hours did it have on it? The only time I've heard that word IRT the Ayre is when it didn't have about 500 hours on it. It does take that long to break in, but when it does, it's as musical as most any DAC regardless of cost.
Not saying you didn't hear what you did as we all hear differently and like different devices, but you really caught me off guard when you used the word edgy.
As I've said above, most DAC's are highly dependent on the quality of what they are fed (just like everything else, right). I once was in an audition of a few DAC's and the music they were using was pop/rock and highly compressed. Almost like AM radio, lol. The tube gear we listened to made the music sound it's best as it rolled off a bit on the upper octaves, however when you put on well recorded music, it was the other DAC's that sounded best. We also played with the cables and found that the overall best cables were the TotalDac cable and the AQ Diamond (we only used USB this day). I have loved both of those cables in my system. AQ being the most neutral of the two and the Totaldac is just a tad more open, but not quite as neutral in the mids where is gives a bit of a creamier texture. It was cool going back and forth between the two.
I realize that we don't all have perfect recordings, lol. Things always depend on what you listen to and how you listen.
The other major thing IRT digital and new DAC's is how will you set them up? How will you feed them? I have found that personally, I like the ethernet connection best. I am slowly putting together an optical wire converter to network and feed my Ayre via it's ethernet connection. I've heard it this way a few times and to my ears it had beaten every DAC I've had in the system that was USB only. Many of us have or are doing this and feel the same way. There are a few threads detailing these connections on Audiogon and other sites as well.
I've never heard any DAC sound great when run without a true preamp. Even at the lower price points, you really need a good preamp to get the most out of your components. That's one of the few things IRT audio that most agree on.
The other thing is that most of the DAC's being discussed in this thread are outstanding and leaps and bounds better than anything we could get just a few years ago. I assume that the DAC's will keep getting better and better as the newer chips become available.
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Thanks Mike. Wow, that's not inexpensive gear. A step above what I can do, but you done good. Have heard great things about the server as well as that DAC. |
So many don't fully understand how important servers and their connections really are. That's why it's so hard to do DAC shootouts etc..., plus personally I feel you need to have the DAC's in your system all warmed up for at least a week to tell what you really like. Cables, as I have said above are so important too.
Mike, I'll stop by when I head to see my family in Sarasota that first week in April. I only know of one other store there and it's not as high end as yours. I have visited a store in Tampa once. Just not many B&M stores on the west coast of FL. That Trinity DAC has been one of my favorites for years now. I just can't afford one, lol. |
Music, what type of music do you listen to most of the time? Have you listened to the Dave and QX5 yet? If not, you probably want to try and get both into your system. I spoke with a few guys in the last couple of days about this thread. A few own the QX5 and one oned the Dave, but switched to the QX5 for the better bass as well as the flexibility as a digital hub and for Roon end point which I don't think Dave is.
I don't think I could ever purchase a product worth more than a couple of thousand without getting it into my own system to audition first, lol. Good luck. Tons of great products to play with, that's for sure. Happy for you no matter what you ultimately end up with. |
Very well put for sure. To me these shoot outs are nice to read about and if you know the ear of the person posting, you can whittle things down a bit possibly.
I'll probably take you up on a visit that first week of April. Have to watch daughter in Daytona for the national collegiate cheer championships the 4th-that Friday or Saturday. I will leave Sarasota airport that Monday afternoon I believe. I"ll let you know the schedule when I get closer. Glad to see a Vandy dealer on the west coast. lol. |
Troy is just mistaken as he doesn't sell Ayre and probably isn't up to speed on it like he is the Aqua that he sells. The Ayre is very easy to update. Ayre as a company has one of, if not the best track record of offering fairly cost updates for their products. They have at least a 7 year life cycle and for audio, that's rare as most anyone would agree. They were working with ESS and got the first chips to play with and then to come to market with. As with their twenty upgrades to their amps, they will offer whatever updates they do to the QX5/20. They have one of the larger staff's of engineers and are always working on bettering their products. They have already offered many software upgrades to the QX5/20 that have made the unit more fun to play with and there will be plenty more in the future.
Wisnon is dead on in what he calls marketing. I like a bunch of the DAC's that are spoken about in this thread and some that are not. There is not best no matter the cost. There are a couple of 20k plus (one MUCH more), that I wouldn't buy if they were 5k as they are way too dry for my tastes. I've heard both in at least three systems that are worthy of their cost and I never 'got them'. You don't have to spend more than 14k or so to get top digital sound these days.
Yes, I got the Ayre and not because I had to or because a friend told it or any of that. I personally got it for their rep as a company and I knew what the Codex was to the under 5k DAC's and I loved the idea of a full function, digital remote front end. I had to have a Roon end point even if I wasn't running Roon yet as I believe that's going to be the future. I wanted a DAC that optimized every input and didn't just talk about all their money being put into only the USB input. I needed something that could remotely control all my digital inputs as I have a few and that list may grown. I wanted to be able to have a top USB, true balanced and ethernet connect as I may or may not network (wasn't sure at the time) and I wanted flexibility. That's not important to many of my friends, but if it's offered in a box that sounds as good or better than other DAC's, then I wanted in.
Sound is what kept me in. I can honestly say that I'm in touch off the boards with at least 15 users of the QX5/20 and my system is probably the least expensive of the bunch. Everyone is wildly excited about it. That's rare in audio I believe. This isn't a commercial for the Ayre either as I'm not a dealer and get nothing from sharing thoughts.
I know a few Totaldac users and they will also rave about their DAC's. I also have a feeling that the Brinkman will be the same as I heard it and loved it. The only problem is that for me, it's at least 6k more than the QX5/20 and I can't see spending that much more on these DAC's. Even Michael Lavorgna said that his Totaldac isn't that much better sounding than the QX5/20. I know Michael and we talked about what and how we listen so I know where we differ and where we are the same. I personally respect the heck out of him. I've known many a reviewer over the years and some are fair and outstanding even if you don't like the same things they do. There are few folks who listen to as much digital as he does. |
Troy, thanks for clarification. Regardless, Ayre will offer upgrades via software and also hardware as needed. Different implementation and both great products with different sound. All is good. |
Winson, totally agree. Many DAC makers are starting to offer these soft and hardware upgrades. If they didn't, I don't think their sales would be quite as strong. I would not purchase one from a company that wasn't going to do updates and then wouldn't offer them. Makes no business sense as the companies can earn a bit extra cash, but keep their users very happy and content and not wanting to sell off to get the DAC of the day. |
Plus brand loyalty is important to keep your revenue streams going. So many high end purchasers have no problem with a 7-10 years life span for their product. This way we can do a fairly inexpensive refresh around year 5 or so and keep the gear for at least 10 years, sell used and roll that into the NEWEST tech. All I know is that every upgrade Ayre has offered (I went from AX7 to the evolution upgrade and then from the AX5 to the twenty upgrade) has been a game changer for them. Just huge upgrades. I feel the 20 upgrade took the company to the upper crust of high end audio. Just great values. I'm sure many of you feel the same about the products you own. As you basically stated, if and made, they can usually upgrade, but only if they can physically fit it into the box (yes, I had a DAC that wasn't going to fit the box, but eventually he said it would). The only problem I have with the smaller companies at times is that they often are month's to a year or more behind in getting product out, especially if they have life circumstances that get in their way. That's one reason I moved on from my original DAC to the Ayre. I was a great great sounding DAC and I was going to do the upgrade to the new state of the art one he came out with, but it was going to take way too long to get done and he's a one man show with someone helping and if things happen, who's going to work on it etc... again, that's just ME and MY concerns with the smaller companies. We all know what we are getting into when making our purchasing decisions. It's all good as it's pros and cons on each side.
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I've always wanted to hear their high end stuff, but never seen it even at the Sony stores. |
Why would anyone use another HP amp with it? It's the best HP amp I've ever used. I've heard it balanced once as I don't personally have balanced cables yet for my IEM's, but I love it though the single ended jack. They took painstaking time and effort to make the amp and they had nearly carte blanch when designing it. It's truly a word class HP amp that eventually should get it's due. The Codex has a really nice HP amp, but this one is leaps and bounds above that. I like it much better than any of the Woo amps, that I feel are very good amps. |
I'm sure you will love the Dave. Been using the headphones with the QX5 as I wait for my speaker to ship this week. Best headphone amp I"ve heard by far and I've heard the TOL Woo amps, I just sold off my STax Lambda's (have a portable amp for them if anyone has interest, lol). Unfolding the first layer of MQA should make a nice difference as I stream a ton of Tidal.
Funny as I have a friend who just got the QX5 over the Dave. He spent two weeks with both in his house and felt the QX was just overall better, especially in the bass which is the difference I have heard. We all hear differently so Im' sure you liked the sound of the Dave over the Ayre. Enjoy :) |
I'd never use a digital pre. The Ayre's digital pre is about as good as I've heard and it's still not even close to using the pre on my AX5/20. I've had the Dave in my own system a couple of times and I've listened with borrowed LCD3's and the top Hifiman can's (don't love them like so many do). I like the headphone amp on the Ayre much better. It's just a more coherent sound than the Dave IRT to the bass. I've spoken to a couple of DAC designers now and they feel the same way. I love the Totaldac and if it was money no object and I had a set of Vandersteen 7's with reference amps/pre, then I'd get the Totaldac that is twice the price of the Ayre and much more expensive than the Dave. Again, I think it's a great product and whoever owns one will love it for a long time, but to ME, the Ayre gives me similar great mids and highs along with deeper and just as musical bass. I could have afforded the Dave and that's why it was in the house. It has a certain charm about it that most other just done. Honestly, I like the Ayre, TotalDac, Dave, Trinity ref and a few others better than I like the Rossini. The Rossini to me, like all the DCS DAC's are a tad dry. Accurate as heck and excellent DAC's (better be for that money), but they are not as musical to MY EARS as a Dave or QX5/20 or TotalDac. I know that I"m not the only one who feels this way either.
JMHO |
Welcome to the thread. Yes, we've discussed the network input. To me, it sounds it's best when fed via the optical converter with a good LPS on the DAC side of things. |
Glad you are enjoying the Dave. Now that I've upgraded my speakers to the Vandersteen Quatro CT (painted not the wood), I've noticed even more detail and dynamics from the QX5/20. It's still not quite as dynamic as my old Empirical Audio OSDE/SE, but it's much more musical. The bass on it is sick. When I got it, I still had the Treo's and the bass was so much better than I had heard through the Treo's. With the built in subs in the Quatro's, the Ayre is killer. There was one passage of an orchestra (sorry, I have a lot of 24/192 music of all genre's so I just listen, but I don't know who I was listening to) that had tympani. I never heard it through the Treo's as it's really low. It was there in spades (this is the second song I listened to that I heard tympani drums were I either never heard it or it was faint). You could hear each drum and the tone and you could here each head stroke and the sound differences. We were amazed at this. I will be using that passage with other equipment when I try things out.
I have heard the Brinkmann once and was very impressed. I think that will also be in the discussion for folks. It's funny as we all like totally different things. I think the Dave sounds great as I've said and I'd own one if I didn't have what I have. I wanted everything the Ayre put into it, but I love the look. It's a perfect match for my AX5/20, lol. I don't think the Dave is ugly by any means, but for me, I like the Ayre look better. I know many who like the look of the Chord products better. Glad that you listened and got what you liked best. That's what it's all about. :) |
I can honestly say the N10 is the best server I've heard to date and that includes some of the mega computer based servers. I have a buddy who is doing a shoot out of servers and has had everything from Boulder down in his room and said the N10 is easily the one to get.
I have heard the Dave a few more times with the N10 and it just doesn't have the bass that the Ayre does. It's got a beautiful mid range and the top end is nice too and never fatiguing. I do like the Brinkmann better though as well as a few others. Again, at this price point there are very good DAC's with different flavors. I own an am about to sell the Chord Mojo. I'm also into personal audio. I looked at getting the Hugo 2 and instead went with the Astell n Krell 380copper and amp.
Probably just not my cup of tea, but obviously yours which is cool. |
Update on servers...The Memory Player is the player that's now in the lead on the Best DAC for CD thread. Matt, who is the OP and has kept the thread going for a few years now just bought it. I will probably also get it. Just alot of amazing servers and DAC's out there in all price ranges. |
Well, it looks like I'll be selling the QX5. I still love it and may keep it just for the great headphone amp as I listen a bit to some very high end IEM's and also a top ZMF can. The Memory Player should be here in a week or so and I had the DAC installed internally. It was time to simplify things as well as upgrade the sound quality. Very excited. I'm shocked that more people aren't going with TMP. Their advances in lowering jitter and their defragmenting hard drive are leaps and bounds better than what's out there. it's in a different league than any other server on the market. |
jymc. What's your point? I don't think I fully understand your point. This is high end audio and of course we buy adn love then sell and miss, but are glad we changed gear. This is teh component side of audio.
None of us are saying we are keeping the digital gear for years. As for obsolete, my new server/DAC is fully upgradable adn will continue to be. Most of the upgrades are software driven and the hardware has been upgraded, but folks who have owned original ones for well over 14 years to more have had the upgrades done at very fair costs based on what I can tell. Things change and hopefully do get better over time. I've sent gear back to Ayre for upgrades a few times and loves what they did and the prices were far less than I thought they would be. I've had friends over teh years send gear back to Vandersteen and felt they to the same value out of it. There are plenty of companies who do this, so they may become obsolete, but not for well over a 10 year lifespan.
Making the comment you do is also a value judgement or am I reading your post wrong. I honestly can't tell, sorry. Thanks. |
And for many of us, it's just better tonally. Dave is nice as you said, but from top to bottom, the QX5/20 is a better DAC and not just for cost savings. I do like and have owned Chord products, so I'm in no way putting them down at all. All companies have strengths and weaknesses. they all have to make compromises when designing.
We all just need to figure out what he can compromise on, lol. Thanks for sharing. |
Not yet as I wanted a different DAC and Stealth caps as well as a few other things. As for TMP, I've heard it in a few systems now and it's crazy good as a server alone. Just very relaxed with incredible timing. It's by far the best digital I've heard to date.
The DAC is not a quad DAC and it will have special power supplies etc... All components will be within very tight tolerance's for sound staging etc... I'll be using HRS Nimbus footers and the Audioquest Hurricane and possibly upgrading to Dragon as the Dragon upgrade on a source is the biggest bang for the buck. We are shooting for the second week in Sept as I'm not in a hurry. |
On Oct 10th, I'll be taking delivery of an all in one The Memory Player by Sam Laufer's company. www.thememoryplayer.net He has updated his DAC offering in the player and souped it up big time. It's the best server I've ever heard by far and they upgrade it remotely on a constant basis as they learn more and more. Lowest Jitter of any that I've ever seen. |
Wow, an old thread. Not sure what post was removed, but would love to have seen it, lol.
Update. I sold my QX5/20 and am using The Memory Player serve/streamer/Roon/DAC and analog volume control. It's funny as the player has been constantly upgraded with new software monthly and all new hardware since 2018. It's still the best sounding server I've ever heard. My buddy who writes for TAS also says it's his favorite one. He is getting the new Taiko Extreme in for a shootout so to speak, but he's had the other top servers in and still owns TMP as it sounds the best still with the upgrades. I had them add a DAC and analog control so I can run them balanced into my Vandersteen MH-HPA.
fun to go back and read about digital products that are a few years old now. Both Dave and QX5 are still outstanding. |
