I have an Ayre QX-5/twenty and I think it sounds great.
Ayre also has an upgrade program now for the QB-9 if that is of interest for you to check in to.
Ayre also has an upgrade program now for the QB-9 if that is of interest for you to check in to.
Rossini vs Ayre Upgrade
Bartok vs Ayre vs Rossini https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/dcs-bartok-dac-with-headphone-amplifier-review-r849/ |
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I deleted my posting because I was thinking specifically of Ayre DAC/Headphone amps. I've literally never heard a headphone amplifier better than Ayre has, but the OP isn't interested in that. I will suggest however a good front end right now may be the miniDSP, which has streaming AND DSP correction built in. There's' a digital only version that is intended to be a front-end to a downstream DAC. |
I haven't heard the Rossini David, but the diamond output stage on the Ayre is pretty unique. Lush, dark background that seems to have limitless dynamic range. If I had all the money and space an Ayre stack would make me very happy. Instead, with limited budget and space, I'm very happy settling for a Luxman integrated with a Mytek Brooklyn DAC. |