DX-5 DSD upgrade
 

Just picked up my DX-5 with the DSD upgrade, out of the box it sounded like a clock radio, now a few hours on I can hear there is more drive in the low frequencies.

I guess I will have to be patient for the soundstage to open up as it did before (or even better I hope)

Olaf

Same experience with QB-9 DSD. Give it 120 hours!!

Hi Blackstone,

It's getting better already, when I come back after being away for a few hours, the difference is noticable

But I will give it at least the 120 hours before final judgement ;-)

If you like it now then no need. You can break in by listening of course if you like it. I stopped at 8 days. Placebo is always a risk with break in, but I am fairly confident my unit improved tremendously from 60 hours to 120 hours. I have never experienced a better example of break in than with this unit. That is empirical, even manufacturer might disagree it is necessary. Some people think break-in is luny, but the change here was one you could feel.

I have my Dx5 out for upgrades now I am hoping it will be a improvement. I use mine mainly for DVDs music and movies. This is because the bulk of my music is records. I was remiss in doing upgrades on line and my Dx5 was having problems tracking a fair number of dvds . Anyone else had this problem with it. The Dx5 seems to be one of in playing cds and dvds of all types it fits in well with my needs a universal disc player seems to be a limited market . I find breaking seems to be needed with all things and 50 to 100 hours is a long time and a lot of playing to get gear to sound right.

Hi garth,

I hope you mentioned the problem to the Ayre dealer that is doing the upgrade, probably it will be the laser.
Anyway on the AVS forum there are also comments that some blu-rays were not playing.

If you use the analog outputs, the difference will be noticeable, especially there is more pressure in the low frequencies (probably because of the upgraded power supply), it took some time for the soundstage to open up, but now I am very happy with it.

Thanks for posting back I think I should have my DX5 back soon.

Garth

It's a bit of a guess as I stopped counting after 200 hrs, but now with around 300hrs the DX-5 DSD sounds great, very open and large soundstage, coherent sound, pin point placement, and with a lack of better wording the music flows with ease.

In streaming mode (USB) it is silent, and the DX-5 switches on automatically when a digital feed is received from the streamer. (and switches off when no signal)

The upgrade was definitly worth it, will be ineteresting to see what Ayre's next step will be regarding DA converters.

Olaf

Olaf,

Having the E-600 integrated amp, haven't you considered to pair it with any model of Accuphase source?

Any specific reason, other than the sound itself, to prefer the Ayre instead?

Hi marcossy,

I started out with a Accuphase E-550 / DP-500 combo, was very happy with that. Then I decided to buy a decent cable loom, took my gear to a shop and listened for a full day to make a decision on the cables. After choosing the cables the shop owner asked me if he could do one change in the set up. I said ok and he changed the DP-500 for the Ayre CX7e mp, this player completely outplayed the Accuphase DP-500 (and 2000,- less). I ended up leaving the Accuphase player in the shop and ordered a new Ayre CX7e mp.

After that I have always had a Ayre or Wadia player in my set up, never looked into Accuphase players again, to be fair a DP-700/720 might do a good job, but price is higher also.

Hello Olaf,

Thanks for the prompt comment.

As you might be aware, my system is the A-70/C-3800 combo plus the DP-510. Now awaiting the delivery of the Magico S1.

I regard the DP-510 a very capable CD player but I suspect my system will be more in the hi-fi than musical side of spectrum. In other words, having all electronics of one manufacturer seems to be "too much of a good thing" to me. Due to that, I never considered to upgrade to the DP-700 or 720 (aside it is too expensive).

Surely it is too soon to speculate before hearing to the "new" system with the inclusion of the S1 but I suspect a more "tube-like" (not necessarily tube) source would work well, providing some warmth to the sound.

If you have to guess, how do you see the sound of my current system? Do you agree that a more "round" source would be welcome in the system?

Hi Marcossy,

I can only comment on the DP-500, which in my ears was not a very good player, the DP-510 might be a lot better, I don't know.

At the time when I listened to the Ayre CX7e MP, the soundstage got larger, width and depth. The Ayre had much more drive, overall better at making music then the DP-500.

The CX7e mp is still high on my list, for the money IMO there is nothing that beats it.

When I look at your set up, A-70/C-3800, Magico S1 is all top equipment, any difference/weak spots in a source will be easy to spot.

Best to try a few different sources, maybe the DP-510 is already ticking all the boxes.

It seems that the DP-510 is really significantly better than the P-500.

Your description of the CX7e MP is quite impressive.
It makes me think of adding the QB-9 dsd to the system.

You're right. I'll try few different sources (with no hurry since the wallet is almost empty now:D) and then decide if it is worthwhile to replace the DP-510 or add a DAC.

Hi Marcossy,

I am using the Ayre DX-5 DSD as my USB DAC, very happy with it, it automatically switches on when it gets signal from my streamer and automatically picks up on the resolution.

Streaming is great, sitting in your chair with access to hundreds of albums makes it a joy.

If you try the QB-9 in your system, leave it on for a couple of days, Ayre gear is notorious for taking some time to sound great.

Dumb question, how does one play .wav files on a thumb drive using the front USB port? I formatted 3 thumb drives to FAT32 and used different bit depths and sampling rates, but nothing. I could see the folders, but not the files within the folders.

Hi Tommy, never tried it, but I remember Charles Hansen mentioning on a forum that the front USB port was of lesser quality.

WAV files through the rear USB input are no problem.

I found out the front and back rectangular USB ports don't support .wav files via thumb drive. It's the player's limitation.

The new QX5 does, lol.

But it doesn't play SACD or bluray :P

The DX-5 is fixed in my system, it won't move even if I buy a QX-5 or Chord Dave.

Guys, if you have SACD and want to play them, then this isn't your DAC. You will be very limited in your choice of DAC's as most don't do SACD. That's just your choice. The more a DAC is asked to do, the more it can take away from it's SQ. As for playing blue ray, I am using my bleary player to break mine in and am listening to it right now. I don't want a disk drive in my DAC. That's called a CD player with digital inputs which puts more things in the box and creates lesser SQ. Also, what happens when the drive unit breaks as most will eventually? That's my personal opinion and some disagree with me. It's all good. Not every component is for everyone.

I know a few folks who are keeping their DX-5 (still a wonderful unit) and getting the QX-5 for it's much better quality of sound. Like imprezap2 says, he will keep his regardless.

Hello Olof, just curious: living in The Netherlands or Australia?

I am Dutch but living/working in Australia at the moment, probably end of next year back to Netherlands

Not sure I need a DX-5 given I have a C-5xeMP and Oppo 205, but I see a used DX-5 listed at what seems like a good price. But it doesn't have the DSD upgrade. What's the cost of that upgrade?

db

I think it was around 1700,- Euro here in the Netherlands by dutch importer (which went out of business a while ago)

But as you already mentioned, not sure it's the way to go if you already have the 205 and the C-5xeMP.

I use mine mostly to stream (USB) from my Aurender N100H, IMO this is were the advantage of the DX-5 is against the 205/C-5xeMP.

If you want streaming capability, the QX-5 is the way to go at this time.

I have a QX-5 and C-5xeMP in one of my setups, and propose to replace an Esoteric SA-60 in another setup with a DX-5 DSD. But can Roon send files to a DX-5? I'm running Roon on a Mac Mini that sends files to the QX-5 via ethernet. I'd also like to run Roon on my iMac and send files to the DX-5 via USB. The iMac is on the ethernet as well. Anyone using Roon to send files to a DX-5?

db

I don't think the DX-5 is ready (or ever will be ready) for Roon, the DX-5 has been discontinued by Ayre more then 1 year ago.

It's obvious I don't understand the relationship between Roon running on a Mac and what goes on in the player. A DX-5 DSD will work with JRiver or Audirvana, but I don't know how they differ from Roon.

db

DX-5 DSD upgrade
 

If I understand your question. You run Roon Core on iMac mini and use Ayre QX5 as a Roon endpoint in one system. The QX5 is Roon Ready meaning the Roon core sees it and can communicate with it using RAAT to send music files directly to the QX5.

You would also like to run an iMac in another room as a Roon bridge which is doable. A Roon Bridge functions much like a Roon Ready endpoint in that the Roon Core sees it as and audio output option and can send files to it. You want to output the Roon bridge Audio output from the iMac to the DX5 via usb cable which should also be doable if setup correctly with the right drivers. The DX5 can be fed digital signals via USB. That connection has nothing to do with Roon as it is just receiving digital output signals

I believe the DX5 is limited to 24/192k pcm over usb but will also accept DSD over USB

I will need to study the details about a Roon bridge, but that's exactly what I want to do. I had originally installed Roon core on the iMac upstairs and sent files via ethernet to the QX-5 downstairs. I think Roon core in the iMac upstairs might have been deactivated when Roon core was activated in the Mini downstairs. Now I also want to send files via USB from the upstairs iMac to an upstairs DX-5 DSD.

db

DX-5 DSD upgrade
 

Yes you can only run one core at a time unless you buy another license. Here is a link to get started

https://kb.roonlabs.com/RoonBridge

The DX-5 DSD is scheduled to be shipped from Beverly Hills to Montecito (Santa Barbara) tomorrow. I plan to run only one core at a time. I appreciate the advice you've provided; it served as a basis for confirming my offer on the unit.

db

After Montecito dug out from the mud I finally picked up the DX-5 DSD that had been scheduled to be delivered the day of the flood. I installed it yesterday, but was frustrated because balanced analog and digital BD played fine, but no sound from SACDS. It finally occurred to me that the Bryston SP3 doesn't accept DSD and the previous owner may have used DSD. That was the problem. With the DX-5 DSD sending 24/192 LPCM, the sound with SACDs is spectacular. The DX-5 DSD must send very clean HDMI and the SP3 DAC process must be very good. It was a revelation.

I am pretty sure the DX-5 does not send high res over the digital AES connection (only downsampled signals), do you mean you use the analog outputs ?

ah ok, you are using the HDMI connection

Have you tried the analog outputs of the Ayre, the internal DAC is not bad at all

I use balanced analog and HDMI connections between the DX-5 DSD and Bryston SP3. I initially took balanced analog to a Parasound JC 2 BP, but using the SP3 for both analog and digital seems entirely adequate and makes for a simpler implementation.

I connected a USB cable between the DX-5 DSD and my iMac with the plan to use Roon Bridge, but have yet to implement it. Roon Core runs on a Mac Mini that connects via ethernet to a QX-5 Twenty in another room.

The previous owner of the Ayre DX-5 DSD told me he used an AudioQuest Diamond HDMI cable for the audio connection, and recommended I do so as well. My intellect said bits are bits, my emotion said try it. I found a used 1.5 m Diamond cable for about half the going discounted new price, and I installed it today. Does it make difference? I wouldn’t swear to it. BDs and SACDs sounded great with the Blue Jeans cable, perhaps just a bit more fleshed out and transparent with the Diamond cable. The sound with the Ayre is so superior to that with the Esoteric SA-60 that it swamps my judgement. Charley Hansen was right: It does sound better than my beloved C-5xeMP.

So if I understand correctly, you are only using the DX-5 as a transport ?

I have tried many options, but I like the DX-5 best with Cardas Clear XLR cables (analog to the Amplifier), internal DAC and Minimum Phase filter are very good in my opinion. (I have used the DX-5 mostly as an USB DAC for my Aurender streamer)

I might be selling my DX-5 soon, tomorrow I am picking up my new amp (with internal DAC), therefore the DX-5 will not be used much anymore.

I use the DX-5 DSD as an analog player with Cardas Clear Light XLR cables and as a digital player with Audioquest Diamond HDMI cable. The sound with either configuration is superb, even excelling my revered C-5xeMP, with detailed imaging that can extend beyond beyond the speakers and seemingly behind the projection screen.

db

Ok, you are already using Cardas cables, they work great with Ayre gear.
If you want some extra low frequency energy, try the Clear or Clear beyond XLR cables.