View Single Post
  #46  
Old 09-13-2022, 12:47 AM
hifivoice hifivoice is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 1
Default

Yes, I did. I bought a second hand QB-9 Twenty (for a price less than an upgrade), and could compare it next to my QB-9 DSD. The Twenty has a much broader and deeper sound stage, reveals more texture, reverbs isolate and decay into a darker silence, and has a more silky treble. Overall, the sound is embracing you more. The DSD is a very good DAC on its own, the Twenty is an order of magnitude better. To me it is definitely worth the investment.

My cousin, who also owns the QB9 DSD, wasn't willing to spend the money for an update ("other priorities"). But after listening to the DSD, and subsequently to the Twenty with the same song for half a minute, his response was "shit, this is going to cost me money". So he has ordered the update.

I recently acquired an Ayre EX-8, which has an internal DAC that is similar to the QB9 Twenty, with one exception; the USB input section which is like the QB-9 DSD. This setup sounds closer to the QB-9 DSD. So it seems the new USB input section is crucial for better jitter reduction. There is an USB 2.0 upgrade development planned for the EX-8 (just like the QX-5), which should bring it closer to or surpass the QB9 Twenty. I will also order that one when it becomes available.

For completeness, I use an Aurender N100H as input source.
Reply With Quote