krell600

Thank You Jaques for posting a review of the Calyx and referencing a link to my prior personal review of the unit. The Calyx has been in my system for over four months. I had a QB-9 for three months earlier this year. The Ayre is a fine unit and until recently, was the best of its kind. Personally, I found the QB-9 sound to be rich, texured, detailed and dynamic with PRAT that was on par with other DAC's I have heard and maybe a bit polite. It is a very established unit and I believe it to be better than most DAC units currently available. In my system the Calyx also performs better than any DAC I have previously tried (and I have tried many). The Calyx has a huge soundstage with rock solid imaging, is very transparent and detailed without sounding etched or fatiguing. It has very black background so instruments and vocals are portrayed more organically. The only two nitpicks I have with the Calyx are: Ultimate bass power is a tad soft and the PRAT is a hair slow for my taste. However, all my experience with the Calyx has been with either USB power or the included switching power supply. Many folks I have talked to said that the linear power supply will rectify both. I should be receiving the Calyx designed power supply within the next week or two. I will report my impressions with the linear ps after a good amount of critical listening.