Jump to content

cantona7

  • Posts

    4
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Country

    country-ZZ

Retained

  • Member Title
    Newbie
  1. Please, you're really creating a fight where there is none. Want to hear a broken-in QB-9 versus one that's fresh out of the box? Just compare a brand new one against the one your dealer has on the floor. A good Ayre dealer should have a QB-9 that's been broken in. When you go pick up your brand spanking new DAC, just plug it in and compare. No big mystery here. If you don't hear a difference and you don't like what you hear, then the QB-9 isn't for you and you can move on to something else.
  2. I'm not sure where you're reading about issues about the QB-9. Just because it's a well-reviewed DAC, doesn't mean it's the be-all and end-all, and that the whole world needs to love it. Some people prefer the Bryston, some people might never care for the sound of the QB-9. Big deal. Others, like me, have commented on long break-in time (hardly uncommon in audio components.) <br /> <br />
  3. I posted this in the regular forum about this DAC, but I think it's super-critical to let the QB-9 break-in fully before making any judgments. IMHO, this DAC is damn near unlistenable for the first 100 hours. It sounds ok after 200 hours. Somewhere between 200 and 300 hours is when it really starts to settle down. I personally observed this during regular visits to my dealer when they first got their floor sample, and it's been consistent with my own unit. <br /> <br /> If you can, I'd listen to something else and just leave the QB-9 playing something on repeat for at least 10 days straight. I had the benefit of family staying with me for 10 days, so I just let mine play Ayre's disc of glide tones 24x7. I'm sure regular music will suffice as well. ;-)
  4. I can pretty much confirm Skyblue's experience with the QB-9. My dealer lent me a fully broken-in QB-9 for an overnight audition in my home. The DAC I was using before was a Wavelength Brick V2 (Asynch) with Mortar power supply (well worth the upgrade.) That initial audition convinced me to get the QB-9, so I went back the next day to pick up a brand new one. I was warned that my wife would be appalled at the sound of the QB-9 fresh out of the box. Good thing I got the warning. With the fully broken-in QB-9, everything should sound super smooth, yet detailed. Vocals are nicely fleshed out, vivid, and just a bit forward (I like this). My brand new QB-9 sounds nothing like this. It's very etchy, brittle and grainy. There is virtually nothing smooth about the sound. Nothing flows. I got it last Sunday and it's spent the whole week with Ayre's Irrational But Efficacious disc, running on repeat, 24/7. I've taken time-outs from this routine to see what progress has been made. About 50 hours in, some of the grain started to go away. Yesterday, at about 120 hours, it sounded quite a bit better, with almost no grain, but still a touch of hardness in the upper mids. The good news is that it's sounding more open and less shut-in. Stuff is starting to bloom. With any luck, I'll be able to spend the rest of the break-in period doing more listening. Fortunately, I've had family visiting and staying with me, so I haven't been able to want to listen to music anyway.
×
×
  • Create New...