Ayre QB-9 vs. W4S DAC2 thru USB?

As long as your PC software is setup correctly to pass the PCM unmolested to the USB port, it really doesn't matter what PC you are using. Most, if not all, popular software players can be setup correctly. All you are doing is ripping CDs to .WAV or some a lossless compressed format (eg. FLAC) to disk and when playing all that happens is sending the resulting PCM to the USB port and onto the DAC. Popular free software players are JRiver Media player an Foobar 2000. I'd stay away from iTunes because it's a "pig" and overkill for just sending PCM to a DAC. However, I guess there's no real harm in using it if you don't mind being forced into using Apple's formats.

I have a QB-9 and love it. Didn't know anything about the W4S DAC2 till now. I see that it has an asynchronous USB input also, plus many others. Cheapest asynch USB DAC that I've seen (haven't been looking). With Ayre products you get great sound with an upgrade policy and customer service that are second to none.

One red flag for me for the DAC2 is "proprietary drivers" for the various O/S's. Looks like they didn't license the Wavelength async USB software for inside the DAC. So it's definitely an unknown quantity. And it's kind of a swiss army knife DAC (many inputs, volume control, pre-amp) compared to a dedicated USB DAC like the Ayre.

Yeap, the DAC2 lower price + all those included features make me wonder. Many good comments about its sonics, although not much about the USB input. The DAC2 would allow me to use this DAC for my CD player used as transport plus use a computer...which would be nice.

I know Ayre's reputation, and the QB-9 seems to be a great unit. Somebody on this forum mentioned it sounded thin to him. What's your experience, meaning what have you been able to compare it to? I'm thinking it would nicely complement my tube pre and amp.

When you eliminate the dealer markup you can sell an audio product for a lot less. Don't let the W4S reasonable price deter you; it is worth 2-3X its price, and would cost that much if sold through a dealer network and the cosmetics were gussied up. I think it is a stellar product, and I have been listening to CD's since my first Magnavox CDB 350 (650?) back in 1986.

No dis to Ayre, which has a first rate reputation and deservedly so.

Neal

Lewinski,
My only comparison is to my Esoteric DX50. I can't hear a difference in my setup and I'm quite pleased with it. Rest of my stuff is in my system page that should be linked with post.

larry