Ayre QX-5 Twenty First Listen

[Blackstone]

Kind of Blue was released that year and that album has incredible sound. Actually a lot of great sounding jazz was already recorded by that time. It is hard to believe this video and that album are from the same year and planet.

When I tested QX-5 and wrote this thread, I also played Dave Brubeck Time Out, also from 1959, and it was crazy good. I don't know what the consumer gear was like but you can't fault the source material!

[aardvarkbark]

Originally Posted by Blackstone

Kind of Blue was released that year and that album has incredible sound. Actually a lot of great sounding jazz was already recorded by that time. It is hard to believe this video and that album are from the same year and planet.

When I tested QX-5 and wrote this thread, I also played Dave Brubeck Time Out, also from 1959, and it was crazy good. I don't know what the consumer gear was like but you can't fault the source material!

It is astonishing to me that so much stuff recorded then can sound so good now. I'm sure what we hear is far better than what the best equipment could produce at the time, and the source is still identical.

But why are all of your initial posts to this thread reduced to '.'?

[Blackstone]

I thought my review was too subjective--it was a much better system than I owned at the time-- but in retrospect that system was every bit as good as I described and I should have left it alone.

I also had ordered the QX-5 already so I thought maybe I was biased, but no it really was pretty uncanny.

Also when I got it home I realized the room was a big factor, cables, speaker position. Ultimately I pretty much got that sound at home but I had to rework the whole system and room. I learned a lot last year.

[BillK]

Originally Posted by aardvarkbark

I'm sure what we hear is far better than what the best equipment could produce at the time, and the source is still identical.

I actually was able to talk to a recording engineer from that era and:

1) No, they obviously couldn't hear all that was being captured on the masters by playing them back
2) But they were hoping what they were hearing live was being captured, as
3) Even today what we hear is nothing compared to what it actually sounded like in the studio.

Imagine being an in-studio guest as Sinatra laid down his tracks with an orchestra accompanying him, live, all being recorded at the same time.

[aardvarkbark]

Originally Posted by BillK

....3) Even today what we hear is nothing compared to what it actually sounded like in the studio.

Imagine being an in-studio guest as Sinatra laid down his tracks with an orchestra accompanying him, live, all being recorded at the same time.

I suppose that's the grail we're all seeking.

Remember that 'is it live or is it Memorex' ad campaign? I re-recorded everything that I had originally recorded on TDK cassettes, only to realize....it still ain't live, brother.

[aardvarkbark]

Originally Posted by Blackstone

I thought my review was too subjective--it was a much better system than I owned at the time-- but in retrospect that system was every bit as good as I described and I should have left it alone.

I also had ordered the QX-5 already so I thought maybe I was biased, but no it really was pretty uncanny.

Also when I got it home I realized the room was a big factor, cables, speaker position. Ultimately I pretty much got that sound at home but I had to rework the whole system and room. I learned a lot last year.

Even if one's perspective evolved for whatever reason, original posts are best left intact IMO. There clearly is no definitive 'right' or 'wrong' here.

[ctsooner]

totally agree with aardvark bark on this one. No question. Evolution.

[Bar81]

Originally Posted by ctsooner

They are selling very well it seems. The fact that I don't see any on the used market already, means that folks are enjoying it very much. I can honestly say that I have been to a few dealers who sell a few DAC's in the higher price points and they chose the Ayre all day long. That tells me a lot. One dealer I met with recently told me that the Ayre ref amp/pre with the QX5/20 is the best sounding signal he can feed his speakers. He has 6 DAC's that far surpass the price point of the Ayre and he has amps that double and triple the price of the Ayre ref stack and has Ayre for his own personal choice along with Vandersteen 7 mk2's over the other offerings he has.

I found that interesting as we were talking about what other high end amps he should look to carry as he needs one more line. Everytime either of us mentioned a company, we both said we still liked Ayre better. Didn't matter if it was tube gear or SS. I personally have no skin in the game other than ownership as it's the only way I can afford to play in this high stakes arena.

That's a little much. There are significantly better DACs than the QX5 - not trying to slight it but just to provide a more realistic context of its relative performance. Having said that, it seems to be getting to be more a matter of taste in that price range as there are a lot of good options based on forum reports. I don't think you can go wrong with the QX5 but it's not a giant killer by any means. Nonetheless, always very pleased to see a great company like Ayre realizing increased commercial success.

Out of curiosity, what were the more expensive DACs that the dealers you refer to felt were outperformed by the QX5?

Amplification is another story. At the pricepoints and for tens of thousands beyond, the -R Twenty pieces are unrivalled.

[BillK]

I mentioned in my mini-review that for I found the QX-5 Twenty to sound better than the Moon 780D and the Audio Research Reference CD9, both pricier pieces, but didn't quite have the width of soundstage and low end grunt of my Wadia S7i.

If I had my choice I'd love to compare it to even a few pieces of the dCS stack or the Spectral SDR-4000SV.

One piece that will be interesting is the forthcoming Oppo BDP-205 UHD Blu-ray player as it will use the exact same ESS SABRE ES9038PRO DAC chip as the QX-5 Twenty.

[audio bill]

The Oppo Sonica DAC has been out for a couple of months and it also uses the same ES9038PRO DAC chip that the Ayre QX-5 does and sells for an attractive price of $799. From user reports that I've read on various forums the sound quality is ok, but certainly not in the league with such products as the Ayre QX-5 Twenty. There's a lot more to an exceptional sounding DAC than the selected DAC chip. Other implementation details including power supply design, clock accuracy with low phase noise, analog stage quality, and other factors all come into play in determining the ultimate sound quality.