Phono Preamp Reviews

Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty D/A processor Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Network-connected D/A processor with volume control. Digital inputs: 2 AES/EBU (XLR), 3 75-ohm coaxial (BNC), 3 TosLink, 2 USB (Type B), 1 Ethernet. Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair unbalanced (RCA), 3 headphone (¼" and 3.5mm, unbalanced; 2x3.5mm, balanced). AyreLink communication system. Digital formats supported: 16/20/24 bits/44.1–384kHz PCM; DSD64/128 (DoP). Frequency response and THD+N: not specified. Maximum output level: 4.5V RMS (balanced), 2.25V (unbalanced), line outputs; 9V (balanced), 4.5V (unbalanced), headphone outputs. Measured output impedance: 305 ohms (balanced), 153 ohms (unbalanced), line outputs; 6 ohms (balanced), 3 ohms (unbalanced), headphone. Power consumption: 60W in operating mode.
Dimensions: 17.25" (440mm) W by 3.75" (100mm) H by 13" (330mm) D. Weight: 16 lbs (7.25kg).
Finishes: Silver, Black.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 26A0112. Firmware version: E 03.02.03
Price: $8950. Approximate number of dealers: 40.
Manufacturer: Ayre Acoustics, Inc., 2300-B Central Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301. Tel: (303) 442-7300. Fax: (303) 442-7301. Web: www.ayre.com.

COMPANY INFO
Ayre Acoustics, Inc.
2300-B Central Avenue
Boulder, CO 80301
(303) 442-7300
www.ayre.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
mrkaic's picture
Submitted by mrkaic on August 22, 2017 - 6:18pm

How can this product be superb? Figure 9 shows that the THD is around 0.1 percent. This is unacceptably high, almost tube preamp territory. The THD number should be at least 10-100 times smaller.

David Harper's picture
Submitted by David Harper on August 31, 2017 - 5:30am

correct me if I'm wrong guys,but if a recording is,at any stage, digital,then it is not analog. In order to be analog a recording must be 100% analog, from beginning to end. If the master is a digital file,then cutting a vinyl disc from it is a digital recording on vinyl. Defeats the whole purpose, I would think. Not that pure analog would necessarily sound better although in theory it could. Maybe there's something elusive that's captured by an analog recording that's lost as soon as it's converted, at any point, to digital.Something that we don't know how to specify or measure because we don't know what it is.

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on September 10, 2017 - 12:41pm

Geez, I just had a little trip down Memory Lane with those Thiel CS1s.

Which -- prompted me to have a look at Mr. Atkinson's history with Amplifiers.

Hmm, what happened to that Krell Amp you brought back from England?

I discovered Mono Amps to be the Ideal as seems the case with ya'll. I'm now going further down that path by thinking that Active loudspeakers are the natural ideal.

Do I see plenty of Ayre gear in your System Photos ?

I suppose we all prefer what works well and kinda stay with it, is Ayre a worthy Brand to build with and stay put? I'm getting that idea from Stereophile writers.

I hope you review those new Schiit Mono Amps & matching Pre-amp.

It's fascinating to read that the MBL Amp is Class D

Tony safe in Michigan

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on September 11, 2017 - 4:13am
tonykaz wrote:
Hmm, what happened to that Krell Amp you brought back from England?

I still have it and occasionally use it. Recently I took it to John DeVore's place to use for a screening of the movie "Forbidden Planet," which was where Dan D'Agostino got the name "Krell" from.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

David Harper's picture
Submitted by David Harper on March 31, 2018 - 5:24am

Isn't that movie great? Maybe someone (Ridley Scott?) will make a new remake. Think about that!!!!

pma's picture
Submitted by pma on October 31, 2017 - 4:45am

John Atkinson wrote

Quote:

Overall, Ayre's QX-5 Twenty digital hub offers superb measured performance.

and I have to say that it is really difficult for me to agree with his statement. I understand that there is to be a kind of 'political correctness' in reviewers writing, however the measurements of non-linear distortions and filter mirrors and aliases say the opposite.

Johnnyjajohnny's picture
Submitted by Johnnyjajohnny on December 21, 2019 - 2:32pm

I have to agree. This DAC measures shockingly poor, and then at this extraordinary price! "Extortion" is really the right word here.
Someone once said that two segments of hi-fi products are extremely poorly made: The exceptionally cheap products, and the exceptionally expensive products. Ayre seems to be an example of this. But this is probably one of the reasons why digital haters prefer Ayre to so many other products, because they are as imperfect as turntables and cartridges - they muddy up the sound, distorts and twists it so it finally sounds as poor as analogue. And I'm saying this as someone who collected vinyl records for 15 years.
Compare the Ayre DAC to the €250 Topping D50s (yes, only €250), which measures infinitely much better. The highest harmonic in that DAC is at -120, compared to -65 dB in the Ayre. And the filters in the Ayre are terrible as well!
I suspect that the roll-off with 44.1 kHz data has conciously been made that way to "show" listeners that the format is poor and that hi-res sounds better - which it doesn't with a competent DAC (there will be no audible difference).
And there are many, many other cheaper products that measure almost as well as the Topping. The Odac, the SMSL SU-8 or the Cambridge Audio DacMagic are just three examples. Granted, not all of these were available at the time when the Ayre came out, but there were PLENTY of other DACs that were much better made. And it's honestly sad that this product is being celebrated so much - even by John Atkinson, who sees all these artefacts.

dumbo's picture
Submitted by dumbo on March 10, 2018 - 8:01pm

@JA

In the measurements section of this review you mention that

"Apple's AudioMIDI utility revealed that, via USB, the Ayre accepted 24-bit integer data. The optical inputs locked to datastreams with sample rates up to 96kHz, the AES/EBU and S/PDIF inputs to streams of up to 192kHz."

My question is if this seems strange or not given the fact that the DAC Chip is a 32bit device? Is there something in the connectivity chain that would prevent your PC from seeing it as a 32bit device or is there something that Ayre did during the design process that would prevent an End User from "seeing" the fact that the DAC Chip was a 32bit device?

I'm thinking along the line of wanting to use JRiver's 64bit software VOL control. If the Ayre could accept a 32bit feed from some external source that had VOL control capabilities then one could put the Ayre in DAC Mode and bypass the sub-optimal internal VOL control while at the same time maintaining 24bits worth of resolution for a long as possible (ie..maybe -60dbfs) in a DAC Direct to AMP configuration.

On the other hand, if for some reason the QX5 does only accept 24bit Data then I'm left scratching my head as to why they bothered with a 32bit DAC in the first place.

Thanks

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on March 11, 2018 - 5:20am
dumbo wrote:
if for some reason the QX5 does only accept 24bit Data then I'm left scratching my head as to why they bothered with a 32bit DAC in the first place.

I'll put to one side whether or not the QX-5 accepts 24- or 32-bit data via its USB port. (I don't have a way of examining the behavior of its Ethernet connection.) But the reason for having a DAC chip that will decode 32-bit data is that as soon as you operate on the data before they are presented to the chip, you will increase the bit depth. For example, if your volume control works with 24-bit coefficients, it will output 48-bit data with 24-bit audio. It is optimal to reduce the bit depth as little as possible, even when redithering as you do so. So in theory, reducing 48 bits to 32 bits is better than reducing it to 24 bits.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

dumbo's picture
Submitted by dumbo on March 16, 2018 - 6:13pm

Thanks for your reply JA, much appreciated.

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