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Chord Dave or Ayre QX5 Twenty DAC???

Down to two choices in DAC's, the Chord Dave or the Ayre QX-5 Twenty. Comes down to best sound or versatility and cost. Speakers are Wilson Audio Sasha's and amp is T+A 2500R. Love the versatility of the Ayre but the sound of the Chord Dave is phenomenal, not sure if the Ayre could compare. Not sure if the Chord would still sound as good without spending mass amounts on a power regenerator and power cable. 
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wisnon
700 posts
 
They all use FPGAs...all of them. Some shout it out more as a marketing tool...same for optical isolation which most use.
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
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.  
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,786 posts
 
No the difference between the Ayre's FPGA and the Chords are too totally different design concepts, they share one common thing an FPGA can hold a set of programming instructions, like RAM.

Ayre is a Chip based Dac, and uses a specific Dac chip, and runs its own programing for filtering.

Chord uses an FPGA which runs everything, they do not use an AKM or ESS or Burr Brown dac chip, not a single oneso in terms of upgradability every parameter is instantly unpgradable.


ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
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.
wisnon
700 posts
 

Yes Troy, Chord uses a PULSE ARRAY Dac withthe WTA filter at increasing tap lengths.

The point I think Cstooner was making is that there are many ways to update and the reputation of the manufacturers matter most. I and many others have sent back our Lampis for reasonably priced updates that include both HARDWARE updates and firmware updates. In some cases even digital architecture changes, like going from Delta sigma to R2R ladder, etc.


Finally, sometimes you do need hardware upgrades. In my case the superclock additions to the Amanero USB was a most rewarding upgrade and addressed the weakest point of Amanero (great software, but lagging hardware in terms of clocs used). I also had the chipless DSD specs moved up from a 256 max to 512 capabiliy (getting my PC ready for DSD8X/DXD upsampling). There are no Dac chips in my Dac, despite have 2 DSD (chipless) and 1 PCM (ladder array) engines.


I have never owned an Ayre, but have spoken with Charlie at length. Stellar reputation. I own a Chord and their Customer service is great. Owned several lampis and have had wonderful Customer service with Lukasz and enjoyed upgrading to get his periodic advances. Everytime my Lampi comes back there is an improvement and he is always making advances.


You cant go wrong with any of these top guys, except for personal taste and system synergy. Really!


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