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See Ayre QB-9 Twenty Upgrade Announcement

“Ayre QB-9 Twenty Upgrade” copied from an Ayre email announcement.

“The QB-9 was one of the most successful Ayre products ever. There are thousands of them out in the world, and to many owners, the QB-9 is still their favorite piece of audio gear. As part of our commitment to providing a lifetime of enjoyment from Ayre products, we are releasing an update for the QB-9 with the newest technology from the 8 series. The "Twenty" update for the QB-9 brings it back to the cutting edge of technology, giving QB-9 owners the excitement of discovering their music library all over again!

New QB-9 Twenty Features:  We have made a number of innovations since the release of the QB-9. Here is what has been improved with the Twenty update:

  • Diamond output circuit improves musicality and bass response.
  • A new JFET differential stage lowers the noise floor.
  • AyreLock power supply regulation for better rendering of fine musical detail.
  • New AC noise filtering for improved resolution.
  • Custom Ayre Asynchronous USB technology further reducing electrical noise in the system.
  • New ESS DAC chip for improved signal to noise ratio and spacial detail.
  • Six layer board design for optimal circuit isolation.
  • Proprietary reclocking to eliminate USB domain jitter.
  • PCM play back up to 384 kHz
  • Native DSD capability up to DSD256 (4x)
  • HDCD decoding

Retail Available QB-9 Twenty Upgrade. $1,500 August”.

This new Ayre QB-9 Twenty Upgrade looks very interesting. I wonder how it sounds.


hgeifman

Showing 10 responses by beetlemania

beetlemania
834 posts
 
QB-9 Twenty review up at audiophilestyle.com
beetlemania
834 posts
 
Oh, this *is* interesting. I would love a QX-5 but that is out of my budget. I might swing a QX-8 but upgrading my QB-9 might deliver similar SQ for less money?
beetlemania
834 posts
 
I'm very happy with my QB-9 but I also think upgrading that piece could be the "last" thing I do to my system. I'm super happy with my amp (AX-5 Twenty) and speakers (modded Thiel 2.4). The QX-8 is appealing because I could simultaneously connect my Roon-dedicated NUC and a PC for watching concert videos. With the QB-9 I need to manually change which input device is connected.

I previously upgraded my AX-7 to AX-7e and QB-9 to QB-9 DSD. In both cases, the SQ was noticeably improved and at a fair price. I need to learn more but I might just stick with the more cost-effective solution of upgrading the QB-9 despite its single input (this was never an issue until I switched to the Roon NUC which cannot do videos).
beetlemania
834 posts
 
I decided to sign up for this upgrade after speaking with Gary at Ayre. My confidence is high after successful upgrades to DSD status a few years back. Also, I had my AX-7 upgraded to "e" status and that also was a really nice increase in SQ.

If all goes well, my unit should be "Twenty"ed by late fall or early winter.
beetlemania
834 posts
 
Anyone heard this yet?
Apparently there *are* units that have been upgraded, so someone has heard it by now. My unit is in the queue for next month, hope to have it back no later than December.
beetlemania
834 posts
 
I have an a QB-9 that was the "second generation" (first generation only went to 24/96 files, mine could handle 24/192) and had it upgraded to "DSD". I don't hear any hum regardless of how close I get to the unit. I'm also running a stock NUC as a server. When I bought it, I intended to get a fanless case. But I can only hear the fan when I get close, not from the listening position even without any music playing. Could well be that I'm not as sensitive to extraneous noises compared to you?

I am in the queue for the Twenty upgrade. I've been really happy with the SQ improvements when Ayre releases upgrades.



beetlemania
834 posts
 
Anyone heard this yet?
Reports starting to come in now (link).

beetlemania
834 posts
 
Got my Twenty upgrade back yesterday. I intend to let it burn in for a week or more before doing any critical listening but my initial impression is a cleaner, more open and unbounded sound.
beetlemania
834 posts
 
@marktrav
Approaching the 400 hour mark. I think the upgrade is settled in but someone on another forum posted that it needs 500+ hours to fully reveal its character.

My initial impression is unchanged although the Twenty does sound better now than cold out out the box. To my ears, in my system and room, the main improvements are 1) improved clarity and resolution and 2) an expanded, almost unbounded, soundstage. The overall effect brings a refined sound that makes it even easier to relax into the music. I always considered the DSD version be be excellent but the Twenty is a notable step up. 

The increased clarity makes it easier to hear individual voices and instruments during complex passages. The added resolution adds a bit more texture all around; performers and instruments are more “fleshy”. This is most obvious in the midrange but I also hear improvement in the bass and, to a lesser extent, the treble. Perhaps this is the result of even quieter backgrounds? Well recorded music is revealed on a more dimensional and defined soundstage. And there seems to be no aspect of performance that is a step backwards from the DSD version. Nice!

This could be my final equipment upgrade; retirement is on the horizon and it would take a LOT of money to significantly improve the sound my system is now giving me. Kudos to Ayre for upgrading a discontinued (?) product.
beetlemania
834 posts
 

@gareneau 

How long have you had your QB-9? I don’t see your posts talking about it. The Twenty is a new circuit and with different parts so I’m glad you can hear a difference.


I put the Twenty upgrade at “nice” rather than “wow”. I’m really happy with my system and the Twenty upgrade made a nice difference, snapping the sonic picture ever more into focus to use an analogy. It’s kinda the icing on the cake, bringing a refined sound all around. It was worth the coin to me even if my system is still short of the very best $ystem I’ve heard. At this point, my modified Thiels are my weak link. You can’t have everything at their price point and bass definition (passive radiator rather than sealed) and extension (8” woofer) can’t match $$$peakers even if otherwise very good (and my modded Thiels *do* pretty much match the best I’ve heard in terms of resolution and transparency).


@marktrav 

In my system, I thought the original QB-9 was close to vinyl if playing 24 bit files, in some ways better (bass and silent backgrounds), in some ways worse (relative loss of textures and midrange warmth). The DSD version playing 24 bit files pretty well matched the sonic strengths of vinyl while adding the tomb silent background of digital. I may or may not compare the Twenty version to my vinyl rig - I rarely play vinyl after I got the DSD version.


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