Please report back on your impressions.

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David, a/k/a David10024

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I share Serge's impressions with the Ayre products. I have listened to the C5 and C7 quite a bit and the QB-9 a few times, all with Wilson Sophia 2's. All are characterized by a top to bottom coherency, openness and sense of ease. I was on vacation Wed and stopped in and listened to the QB9 and Sophia's being driven by an ARC Reference 110 tube power amp and Ayre KXR pre. The ARC definitely added a measure of warmth that was very addicting. Not too much, just a touch to that side of the neutral line that made things very, very nice. While it added a little warmth it didn't detract from the detail and dynamics. I could easily live with that system. That same dealer is having a digital audio special tomorrow so I'll be playing with iTunes and that setup a lot more tomorrow afternoon.

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my wife liked the Esoteric DV-60 over the Ayre C7 but not over the C5, and liked the EAR cd player over both of the Ayre's. She didn't know the prices.

It's weird with the Esoteric it was like someone left the high frequencies on all the time. The Ayre didn't have that issue. The first thing you notice is the smoothness of the Ayre but that is replaced with just how dynamic it is. For me the Ayre C5 was a lot more addicting than the Esoteric though the Esoteric had a richness of sound that was enticing too.

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Did the C5 have the new MP filter? Makes a difference!

That was right before the change up. My dealer was kind enough to let me borrow the C5, while he was working on my turntable. It was quite fun to have it in the house even for a couple days.

Mark

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I have not yet had the benefit of having the new MP version of the C5xe in my system and from what Serge has noted it is a winner and an improvement over the older unit.

I am not sure what the Ayre sound is supposed to be but when I compared the original C5xe for two weeks to my Esoteric X03-se it was not as tight in the bass nor did it convey the details on the music as well as the Esoteric unit.

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The Ayre unit does not force detail or have an exaggerated tight but dry bass. The Krell Evo 505 I had in my system excelled in detail, slam and tight bass but ultimately sounds impressive and less easy on the ears, relaxed and natural like the Ayre. If you want to be "impressed", there are better units than Ayre for that for sure. If you want a more natural sounding presentation, the Ayre delivers. As always, the choice boils down to preference.

That's interesting. I guess they also could have called it " long term enjoy" and "short term impress"

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That is welcome news. I am just in the process of ordering the Ayre QB-9 USB DAC

icebreaker,

From all the reviews and the Ayre reputation you have purchased a nice DAC.

Keep us posted on your findings.


Dave

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