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RE: John Atkinson's review of the Ayre QX-5 Twenty

Posted by John Atkinson on September 3, 2017 at 12:43:08:
>In the system at the Ayre factory the USB input using a Melco server sounds
>better than the Ethernet input - but in that case the modem is at least
>200' away and the network has about 20 computers and servers with a lot of
>traffic and old CAT 5 wiring.

My network router is just 8' from both the Mac mini and the QX-5 Twenty
and the only other things on are my MacBook Pro, a NAS, and an HP printer.
Ethernet cable is AudioQuest Vodka, which I think is equivalent to CAT-6.
(I could be wrong.)

>The best way to get a handle on how good your computer set is working is to
>compare it to a CD/SACD transport (preferably with a linear power supply).

I use my 2005 sample of the Ayre C5xeMP as a transport, and yes, the sound
of that playing CDs over S/PDIF to the QX-5 Twenty has a little more of
what Art Dudley calls "force" compared with the computer on either USB or
Ethernet. But . . . I love using Roon as my playback app.