Ayre QB-9 Twenty

[Mike]

Ayre QB-9 Twenty Upgrade!



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've 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

Cost of the upgrade via an authorized Ayre dealer (like me!): $1500



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[slowgeezr]

The DSD upgrade was great. If this makes it even better, I'm in.

[Kuoppis]

Any update for the Codex?


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[Ryan Berry]

Not at this time, Kuoppis, but you never know what the future holds. As it stands, the Codex is still one of the best products we made...it ended up being so good, in fact, it forced us to discontinue the QB-9 which sold for twice as much. We simply weren't willing sell to a product that didn't sound as good as something that came out at half the price because it wasn't the right thing to do. That said, we're figuring out new things every day and finding new ways to tweak the circuit that has had unexpected results, so nothing is off the table.

Cheers,

Ryan

Any update for the Codex?


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[Ryan Berry]

Thanks Steve,

We always like to improve the designs, but never want to be a company that's trying to sell you an upgrade ever year, so we save up a lot of changes to release together once we feel that the change is significant enough to warrant the cost. I will say that I'm more happy with the results of this version of the QB-9 than I was with the DSD version, but you guys are always the best judges, so please let us know what you think if you get it.

Cheers,

Ryan

The DSD upgrade was great. If this makes it even better, I'm in.

[Elberoth]

So it sounds like $1500 gets you a completely new DAC, with the exception of a case and power transformer ?

[Ryan Berry]

Pretty much. The chassis, transformer, and display board remain. Everything else is removed and replaced with an entirely different board. Even the IEC connection is replaced.

So it sounds like $1500 gets you a completely new DAC, with the exception of a case and power transformer ?