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See Ayre QB-9 Twenty Upgrade Announcement

“Ayre QB-9 Twenty Upgrade” copied from an Ayre email announcement.

“The QB-9 was one of the most successful Ayre products ever. There are thousands of them out in the world, and to many owners, the QB-9 is still their favorite piece of audio gear. As part of our commitment to providing a lifetime of enjoyment from Ayre products, we are releasing an update for the QB-9 with the newest technology from the 8 series. The "Twenty" update for the QB-9 brings it back to the cutting edge of technology, giving QB-9 owners the excitement of discovering their music library all over again!

New QB-9 Twenty Features:  We have made a number of innovations since the release of the QB-9. Here is what has been improved with the Twenty update:

  • Diamond output circuit improves musicality and bass response.
  • A new JFET differential stage lowers the noise floor.
  • AyreLock power supply regulation for better rendering of fine musical detail.
  • New AC noise filtering for improved resolution.
  • Custom Ayre Asynchronous USB technology further reducing electrical noise in the system.
  • New ESS DAC chip for improved signal to noise ratio and spacial detail.
  • Six layer board design for optimal circuit isolation.
  • Proprietary reclocking to eliminate USB domain jitter.
  • PCM play back up to 384 kHz
  • Native DSD capability up to DSD256 (4x)
  • HDCD decoding

Retail Available QB-9 Twenty Upgrade. $1,500 August”.

This new Ayre QB-9 Twenty Upgrade looks very interesting. I wonder how it sounds.


hgeifman
hgeifman OP
2,291 posts
 

@vepitesk, I am very disappointed to hear that your local Ayre retailer was unwilling to help solve the Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC hum issue.  This is poor customer service. 

As I stated before, have you tried a cheater plug to plug the Ayre QB-9 DAC into the wall.  This might lower the hum level (maybe). 

AND, one more time.  If the hum continues, I would CALL Ayre, again, and ask if they have a less expensive repair option to eliminate the hum. You should say in your listening environment, the hum interferes with your listening.  I agree, in your case, spending another $1,500 is expensive but the newer updated model is expected to substantially improve its sound quality.

You are requesting Ayre to repair your Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC to eliminate the hum.   They should be able make the repair unless the needed parts are not available or if the upgrade is the only way to eliminate the hum.   Or, maybe the available internal transformer   always hums and the upgrade is needed to eliminate the hum.

Please keep us posted.


gdnrbob
4,462 posts
 
I agree with @hgeifman ,
Ayre has great customer service, and I am surprised your dealer is no help either.
Call Ayre directly and mention that thread on buzzing. If anything, I would send the unit in to be tested.
Bob
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,092 posts
 
Presumably He bought a used DAC out of warranty and not from his local dealer who should do what ? At a minimum ship it yourself to Ayre on your $can and see if it’s broken or normal transformer hum , 
and why hijack a perfectly good thread on the twenty upgrade...

now if I were the dealer and you brought it in, plugged it into my pole pig and it hummed more than normal ( and yes I have an Ayre DAC and an A2D ) , then the next time I called Ayre, I would advocate for a transformer replacement...


gdnrbob
4,462 posts
 
@tomic,
I didn't realize he bought second hand. Good point!
Bob
beetlemania
841 posts
 
Anyone heard this yet?
Reports starting to come in now (link).

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