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Critic's Corner

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

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John Atkinson

In Reply to: RE: John Atkinson's review of the Ayre QX-5 Twenty posted by Charles Hansen on September 02, 2017 at 22:27:53

>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.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Follow Ups:

I love using Roon as my playback app. - Rod M 18:31:37 09/03/17 (2)
I'm smiling. Convenience trumps that last ounce of perfection.

-Rod
- RE: I love using Roon as my playback app. - Charles Hansen 22:54:49 09/03/17 (0)
  > > Convenience trumps that last ounce of perfection. < <
  
  Hi Rod,
  
  I can get that. I remember when green paint pens were the big thing. I treated about 3 CDs - all around the perimeter, all around the center hole, and even in the little groove near the center hole. Did it make a difference? Yes. Was it worth the time, expense, and hassle? No.
  
  Another one was the "Display Off" button on the CX-5e. Did it sound better with the display off? Yes. Did I ever bother to do it? Rarely.
  
  At some point you just want to be able to sit down with your favorite beverage, press "Play", and enjoy the music. That's why Ayre never put things on like "absolute polarity switches" or anything designed to increase "audiophile nervosa".
  
  Same thing when buying a new phono cartridge. I'll spend hours setting it up the best I can. Then every day for a few days I'll tweak some setting on the arm. This will go on and on (but less and less frequently) for a couple of weeks. Then at some point I'll just relax and be happy. I don't want to have to adjust the VTA for every single album - it's just not worth it to me, even though I've heard the improvements that kind of thing can make. Too old and lazy, I guess.
  
  Cheers,
  Charles Hansen
- RE: I love using Roon as my playback app. - bigshow 18:41:53 09/03/17 (0)
  I disagree. If it doesn't improve sound quality, I won't spend money on it. Much to my dealer( of fine hifi equipment)'s chagrin's I don't own an Aurender just because of this.
  bigshow

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