Anyone here using the Ayre QX-5 Twenty straight into their amp, without a standard preamp in between? In a chat with someone at Ayre HQ, they don’t really call it a preamp, but it does have digital volume control. Is the digital volume control a compromise over the volume control in a regular preamp? The person I spoke to said that some think that the digital volume could be a slight compromise and *maybe" a slight reduction in SQ.
I am interested in it as an upgrade replacement for my Audio Alchemy DDP-1 DAC/preamp/headphone amp (a great value in its price range imo). I use headphones about 25% of the time and wonder how good the phones stage is on the QX-5. Opinions?
The alternative might be the new Boulder 812, just now shipping, which they say is a preamp/DAC/headphone amp. On some phones forums, some question the output power rating of the 812 phones section, saying it seems low for driving difficult phones.
Boulder 812 link
I am slightly obsessed with getting that Ayre sound... a good match with my Vandersteens. If the digital volume control on the QX-5 isn’t a compromise, I would run it straight into my amp without a preamp.
THX