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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 6 responses by hgeifman

hgeifman OP
2,110 posts
 

@beetlemania, I agree the Ayre QB-9 DAC upgrade makes it very interesting.  The new ESS DAC chip plus all the other improvements mentioned above should, substantially, improve the sound quality of this already excellent DAC. 

I believe this DAC was discontinued and now this excellent upgrade brings it back to life.  I am anxious to hear comments from people that upgrade their Ayre QB-9 DAC. 

hgeifman OP
2,110 posts
 
@vepitesk, I understand that spending $1,500 for the Ayre upgrade is expensive based on your purchase price. 

Please call Ayre, again, and ask them is them if they just repair the humming transformer. Of course, they want to sell you the upgrade but you only need them to repair your humming Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC. They should be able to make this repair. Please keep us posted.
hgeifman OP
2,110 posts
 
I agree with the @erik_squires post above.

I also suggest you plug the Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC into a different electrical circuit. This might solve the problem.

And, I would also use a cheater plug to plug the Ayre DAC into the wall. This might lower the hum level. 

If the hum continues, I would email Ayre, again, and ask if they might have a less expensive repair option to eliminate the hum. You should say in your listening environment, the hum interferes with your listening. I agree, in this case, spending another $1,500 is expensive but the newer model is expected to substantially improve its sound quality.

Please keep us posted.


hgeifman OP
2,110 posts
 
I have since sold my Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC but it “stop working” and had to be retuned to the factory for a transformer repair. As you noted, I wonder if your humming issue is due to a transformer issue and you might need a new transformer.

I was told the Ayre Codex DAC employs a very high quality linear power supply. This is why it sounds so good in balanced mode. This also means that the voltage is fixed

Based on my experience, please ask Ayre if they will repair the transformer only under their warranty program.
hgeifman OP
2,110 posts
 
@vepitesk, as you posted above, did you take your local Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC to your Ayre retailer to discuss the hum issue? They should be able to get this resolved. 

Please let us know what happened. Thanks.
hgeifman OP
2,110 posts
 

@vepitesk, I am very disappointed to hear that your local Ayre retailer was unwilling to help solve the Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC hum issue.  This is poor customer service. 

As I stated before, have you tried a cheater plug to plug the Ayre QB-9 DAC into the wall.  This might lower the hum level (maybe). 

AND, one more time.  If the hum continues, I would CALL Ayre, again, and ask if they have a less expensive repair option to eliminate the hum. You should say in your listening environment, the hum interferes with your listening.  I agree, in your case, spending another $1,500 is expensive but the newer updated model is expected to substantially improve its sound quality.

You are requesting Ayre to repair your Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC to eliminate the hum.   They should be able make the repair unless the needed parts are not available or if the upgrade is the only way to eliminate the hum.   Or, maybe the available internal transformer   always hums and the upgrade is needed to eliminate the hum.

Please keep us posted.


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