Ayre USB DAC

[mrarroyo]

Interesting point you bring out geremy. I hope manufacturers are not so petty, gut greed has no bounds.

 

[1UP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geremy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was going to post a separate thread about this, but why doesn't this DAC or the wavelength DACs include toslink and s/pdif input? It seems silly and means you now have to buy two DACs. Which means you can only spend half as much on each one. I think honestly that they do so that they are not compared to traditional DACs that don't have a USB input, so they can only be compared with other USB models which have historically not been up to par with traditional DACs.

The rationale is that the designers adamantly don't want anything to do with what they consider to be a technically and sonically fatally-flawed interface; the whole point of this async usb stuff is not having to deal with S/PDIF

 

[decur]

Quote:

Originally Posted by decur /img/forum/go_quote.gif i just recieved the qb-9,however there is a problem with the unit as it does not play! i spoke to ayre and they are overnighting me another unit monday and i will have on tuesday! it appears that a wire or connection may have come loose during shipment the ayre folks are extremely nice to deal with and look forward to reporting back on tuesday! i really loved my p5xe phono stage i used to own and cant wait to hear the qb9! ayre mentioned that my unit was the 1st unit sold and released to the market!

well i finally got my ayre qb-9 up and running with my singlepower amp,and all is well! the problem i had was a grounding problem with my sds xlr
between the power supply section and the amp section! i love this dacs synergy with my singlepower amp .it has the same flavor as the p5xe phono stage! thanks to all the great folks at ayre

ill report back when i have some burn in time on it.

 

[Hopstretch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1UP /img/forum/go_quote.gif The rationale is that the designers adamantly don't want anything to do with what they consider to be a technically and sonically fatally-flawed interface; the whole point of this async usb stuff is not having to deal with S/PDIF

Correct. Ayre won't put S/PDIF inputs on their universal players for the same reason. They say it's just too hard to make them sound good. The QB-9 is specifically designed to be a computer-audio product, using the most ubiquitous data interface available. And it does that very well.

Pretty inside, too.

 

[riderforever]

Can this DAC be used as preamplifier, with a direct connection to a power amp or it lacks the volume control?

 

[Hopstretch]

It does not have pre-amp capability. I would like that too, but again the aim of the design was to keep the signal path as direct as possible and the price low (at least relative to the cost of Ayre's other components).

 

[auee]

One of the great things about Ayre is that if they add other outputs or change the DAC in the future, it will offer an upgrade path.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopstretch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Correct. Ayre won't put S/PDIF inputs on their universal players for the same reason. They say it's just too hard to make them sound good. The QB-9 is specifically designed to be a computer-audio product, using the most ubiquitous data interface available. And it does that very well. Pretty inside, too.

I don't see the PSU. Is it USB powered or it comes with wall-wart adapter?

 

[Hopstretch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by auee /img/forum/go_quote.gif One of the great things about Ayre is that if they add other outputs or change the DAC in the future, it will offer an upgrade path.

The most obvious future upgrade would be support for 24/192 and above, but this is currently both hardware and software limited.

The Ayre uses the TI TAS1020B (and custom code from Wavelength Audio) to support up to 24/96. This is the limit for that chip and the data rate is also beginning to approach the bounds of USB Audio Class 1. Upgrading will require both a new receiver (which I understand they are already looking for) and the wider adoption of USB Audio Class 2, which is currently not supported under Linux or (more importantly from a commercial point of view) Windows.

Incidentally, it's worth restating that the reason Wavelength and Ayre are putting so much effort into USB is not just that they think computer audio is the wave of the future, but because they think it's actually a superior interface to S/PDIF when properly implemented in asynchronous mode -- particularly in the area of jitter rejection. Consider the following jitter measurements by Gordon Rankin (who is hardly a disinterested party, since he runs Wavelength, but who is also one of the more generally knowledgeable folks in this whole burgeoning field.)

TAS1020 USB Adaptive Mode -- 2838ps
TI PCM2706/7 I2S output -- 3433ps
S/PDIF from Prism dScope III analyzer (really low output jitter!) -- 629ps
S/PDIF from Mac Book Toslink -- 1607ps
S/PDIF from Apple Airport Express Toslink -- 2418ps
TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode -- 78.2ps

 

[Hopstretch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't see the PSU. Is it USB powered or it comes with wall-wart adapter?

The transformer is up front. Mercury Magnetics, made in USA. Better known for guitar amps, but good iron.

 

[DoYouRight]

Can someone compare this to a Buffalo32s? I am considering this GREATLY or finish my Buffalo32s and use a Bel Canto USBLINK. Anyone hear both?

 

[Bojamijams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoYouRight /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can someone compare this to a Buffalo32s? I am considering this GREATLY or finish my Buffalo32s and use a Bel Canto USBLINK. Anyone hear both?

I'd love to know too.

 

[ert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geremy /img/forum/go_quote.gif It seems silly and means you now have to buy two DACs.

It's even sillier when you consider all the excellent DACs at or below the Ayre's price that handle every input imaginable at high resolution.

 

[Lil' Knight]

To those who own this one, what's the sound signature? I've read some comments but most of them were like "great", "fine"... kind of too general.

 

[Hopstretch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ert /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's even sillier when you consider all the excellent DACs at or below the Ayre's price that handle every input imaginable at high resolution.

It is what it is. Buy one of those, then.

Lil' Knight, I'll repost what I wrote elsewhere a while back about my first impressions, which haven't altered much in a couple months of ownership.

Quote:

After several hours of going back and forth, I doubt my opinion is going to change from here on out. First, a very important proviso: I have no experience with other comparable high-end sources! So this is not intended to be a qualitative review of the Ayre DAC, but rather a straight comparison with the Apogee Duet, which I know that others here have also come to rate fairly highly in its class. I ran both through the GS-1, which apart from being an admirably neutral conduit also allows for simple switching of two inputs, and roughly volume matched each individual track with an SPL meter. Material was a selection of 24/96 needledrops and Red Book, all in ALAC format. Bit rate adjustments were made in Audio Midi Setup and were consistent for both sources. ICs and the Duet breakout cable were identical, fine Nugget Audio products. Anyway, the first and clearest impression going to the Ayre for me was the soundstage just blowing outward. I have never thought of the Duet as closed-in, but by comparison it surely is. Not even close. Second would be detail retrieval. There was immediately a lot more "there" there, with both high-resolution material and standard CDs. This threw me initially, as the Duet seemed to have punchier bass, but after listening to the same upright bass lines and kick drums over and over, I came to conclusion that what I was hearing was the Duet's more one-note response making a false impression over the QB-9s better delineated and more realistic impact and decay. The Ayre seems to me to do much better with transients in general and at higher frequencies it isn't even close. Other than that, as I said, general operation is trouble free. Truly plug and play, at least with my Mac. And of course everyone loves the new new thing so take this with the requisite big pinch of salt, but I absolutely want to own one of these. It makes the Duet sound congested and slow, and if there's a front rank of Duet fanboys I believe I've been in it! Big gear sale and ritual spousal ripping of new ******* to follow shortly. Watch this space.

One further caveat. Good recordings sound great, bad recordings sound horrible. This is particularly the case with the HD800s. The combo of the Ayre's detail and the Senns' very -- shall we say -- defined top end is not a forgiving one!