I just sold my QX5/20 for
www.thememoryplayer.net they are making a new DAC and I have the prototype and love it, but it's more money. I have auditioned DAVE in and out of my system a ton. I have not heard the newest though. It's a different sound. Neither will give you the deepest lows. Just not who either company is. Digital is strange as you will hear the same piece using different electricity and it will sound a bit different. Dave has bloom in the mid, but to my ears has always been a bit too bright. The Ayre has detail, micro adn macro detail and is fast, but was more rounded on its notes. It still isn't analog, but The Memory Player has been the only digital that I find is as good so far. Ayre's QX5 has the typical Ayre house sound. If you like that, then get the Ayre. Chord has a house sound, but not all their pieces have it. Hard to explain, but I"ve owned some of their gear over ht years and end up selling it quickly. I like the decay from the notes on the Ayre better as well as the better fleshed out mids. Male vocals to my ears, had better resonance than Dave did.
I'm sure I"ll be called out by many about my feelings, but I've spent plenty of time with both and it's what I have heard. Is Dave a good device? Of course it is. You need to hear them side by side in your room and system to really come to a conclusion. Most folks will like both of them for different reasons. Ayre is much more versital.
I had a talk with Charlie about inputs right before he passed. He used the sp/diff and felt it was best, but publicly he stated that all were optimized and sounded the same. The didn't in my system. I use isolation for my digital and found the ethernet connection was by far the best for me.I also like streaming better from an Aurender N10 vs the streaming inside the QX5/20 or any other built in stream in any DAC I've had in other than what I have in my new Memory Player. JMHO
