QB-9 setup for optimal performance?

Why not just stay with Windows and enjoy the plug-n-play?

Because they know if you go with the Apple route they can make more money off of you.

 

Stick to Windows, it will be cheaper in the long run.  I'm also planning to get the QB-9 sometime in the future and this is going in a Windows computer.  A OS IMO shouldn't make a difference at all, it is all about getting the sound to be bit-perfect to your DAC. 

Edited by HyperDuel - 6/14/10 at 9:29am

I have been eyeing the QB9 for while now.  Has anyone found a way to use SB Touch with QB9?  I don't have a small/quiet computer I can use QB9 with in my audio room.

 

Apple can be just as plug-and-play. And not everyone likes Windows (and what it does to audio data, depending on how one uses Windows). I switch between them, but to bash either OS is just ignorance. Let the OP figure out how to properly use an Apple (or recommend someone in the area who is proficient at setting it up properly for good hifi). After all, few would deny that the same assiatance is useful for turntables or the like.

 

 

You are going to love the QB-9.

 

Now, to your questions.  Note that I am a long-time Mac user, and I'm sure my bias is about to show.

 

You don't have to switch from a Windows machine to a Mac, but I recommend it.  First, iTunes is still the best interface for managing a large library of music - but iTunes for Windows sounds like doo-doo.  FWIW, Steve Silberman from Ayre recommends JRiver as a music player for Windows.

 

You don't have to have Amarra, but I have it and strongly recommend it - and more to the point, the guys from Ayre use it (Steve Silberman from Ayre was demo-ing the QB-9 and a new universal disc player at a dealer event I attended last weekend, and he was using it).  On-the-fly sample rate conversion is almost worth the price of admission all by itself, but Amarra also gives an improvement in sound quality that is anything but subtle.
 

You don't have to transcode your FLAC files to AIFF, unless you are planning to use iTunes.  There is a wonderful piece of freeware called Max that I and many others use to transcode FLAC to AIFF (all the hi-res files at HDTracks, Linn Records, and The Classical Store are FLAC, so I have to transcode everything I buy from them).

 

One last point: as counter-intuitive as this may seem, the quality of your USB cable makes a huge difference in sound.  Ayre ships the QB-9 with a USB cable that they like, which I haven't tried because I'm happy with my WireWorld Starlight USB.  I would say that the Kimber USB cables that Headroom sells are the absolute minimum.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Edited by burnspbesq - 6/15/10 at 10:56pm

You're going to need a SPDIF-to-USB gizmo.  The SB Touch has coax and optical outs, and the QB-9 has only a USB in.

I use the full version of Amarra, and I've never played with the Mini version, so I can't answer your question from personal knowledge. Download it and run it in demo mode for a while, to see if it lives up to your expectations.

Full version is $995. You may decide you can get by with Mini or Junior.

http://www.amarraaudio.com/

  

I'm on the PC side of the world, but anyway. Whatever gets in between your file (preferably 24bit master file) and the DAC maybe judged by two main criteria:

 

1. minimum processing (interference) - and I'm not even saying improvement, just minimum everything: minimum mechanics (go SSD, not HDD), minimum SW/HW conversion, etc. 

2. UI convenience of file (album) management

 

Some folks start from point #2 and opt for Itunes like interface. If you want that AND you follow point #1 - you need to go amarra and mac. If you're OK with foobar (I am) or JRiver, stay with asio and PC.  

 

But follow point #1 anyway - you'll enjoy Ayre QB-9 and thus music to the max. It is truly a fine piece of equipment.  

Edited by hotubei - 6/21/10 at 3:58am