Chord Dave or Ayre QX5 Twenty DAC???

CStooner. Mike is da bomb. He has great stuff.

If you are near Sarasota, look him up and his superb demo room. Call first.

It was not my report. it was a Customer who flew in croos country to make up his own mind.

He brought his own cables and tried some of Mike’s. Tastes will vary, and so does system synergy. The test was done with blindfolds, so the gentleman and his wife picked what suited them best.

There is no "tube thing" to deal with with Lampizator as they last a very, very long time. Only tube loss I ever had was a pair of dead vintage tubes rated at 10% (sold for display, not for audio) and they lasted for nearly a year until one failed! This is not a tube amp that puts a huge load on tubes.

The point is taste and synergy matter and there is a lot of quality Dacs out there to choose from.

Here is some feedback from a recent Golden Atlantic buyer:

1. Any feedback to share?
   Haven’t heard the GA yet, though a pal of a pal will soon get one.

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1. arthurs

Sure! Tonally balanced but nice tight low end, lit from within very liquid sound in my system. Best DAC I’ve ever owned by a long shot.

The Aurender/Dave combo will sound and work great - guaranteed!  

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.

ctsooner, thanks for all your input. The Sasha's have plenty of bass. I listen to many types of music, love amazing vocals, lots of jazz, some electronic, love chill music like Thievery Corporation, some 80's music--mostly on vinyl...I have heard the Ayre QX5 Twenty with the Ayre integrated AX5 (?) with smaller speakers than mine at an audio store. I also heard the Dave, but with electronics much more expensive than mine. I am not able to hear either in my system. I really liked both, the Ayre was smooth and natural w stellar vocals. Loved it. The Dave for me was more dynamic, eerie and dramatic. Loved it also. Will buy one of these two DACS  in one week. If I get the Dave, I will also get the Aurender A10, which also has MQA and storage that I need. If I think my funds will be too tight, I will get the Ayre. 

Hi everyone, thank you for the kind words.  I would just like to caution everyone to not put too much stock into one individuals personal choice.  Just last week I loaned out 4 DAC's to a local client in Tampa and he chose the Ayre QX-5 Twenty in his system.  The Roon endpoint and the overall relaxed "just right" sonics were what appealed to him.  About a month ago, another chose the Chord DAVE.   And as others have said, the Berkeley REF2 is also excellent (albeit more than double the price of the Ayre and others).   There are so many great digital products on the market and it all comes down to personal preference, music tastes, system synergy, etc.  I learned a lot time ago not to guess what I think people might like.  Ultimately, keep an open mind, listen and decide for yourself.   If any of you are in the Sarasota/Tampa area, I would welcome you for a visit to my store to meet and listen.