Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty Streaming DAC

An Ayre QB-9 Twenty owner here. And, I concur with your opinion.

Even the Codex was a very capable DAC for the money.

Ayre seems to offer a great products at great price points.

Bob

A DAC is truly a very personal item when it comes to high end audio and how it synergizes with the rest of your system.  I compared the Ayre QX-5 Twenty Streaming DAC to DCS, Cord Dave/Hugo, Weiss, MSB, Hegel's top DAC and others.  All were outstanding sounding DACs in their own way, but it was to Ayre that ultimately captured my heart.  Also, the Ayre was a great value compared to some of the other much higher priced options.  I purchased my QX-5 Twenty pre-owned which makes this word class, reference DAC an even greater value!!!       

For those owners of the Ayre QX-5/20,  look into the USB-2 upgrade if USB is your favored connection.

I had my DAC updated recently while my system was down due to moving to a new home.

Its a significant upgrade to an already outstanding product IMHO.

There is a detailed review on audiophilestyle if interested.

@emtrey, Thanks. Any comments on the sound quality of your Ayre QX-5 Twenty DAC? How does it compare to other DAC’s you auditioned? Thanks.

I found the QX-5/20 to be a game changer in my system even before the update,

I did buy it used rather than waiting for a QX-8 (my original choice) as I was hoping to stay around 5-6K. Once is saw the used Qx-5/20, I just bought it.

My dealer carried DCS and Boulder so I heard some very high end DACs over the years but at that time my main source was an ML390S and I was not thinking about streaming.  The Boulder was amazing but everything in that demo chain was at the top of their line..

I have to admit I am partial to the Ayre "house" sound" so my opinion in slightly tipped.  In fact, soon after I settled in with the DAC, I update my preamp to a KX-5/20 from an ML 380S.

Wish I could help you more. Jerry