![]() ![]() I use the SPDIF digital output to connect to my modded Esoteric D-70 DAC with spectacular results that surpass the sound I can get from my custom Esoteric P-70/D-70 combo. The Q105’s DACs are fine, and it is great to be able to play different music into 2 zones, but if you are a serious audiophile, you will eventually want to output its digital stream to a high-end DAC. You must choose between the analog or digital outputs, since you cannot play them all at the same time. If you use the Q105 this way you will not have the ability to play 2 zones. ![]() ![]() You can also output a digital signal to an external DAC via the Q105’s SPDIF coaxial digital output or via its USB slots. When set up in this mode, you can simultaneously send different music to 2 separate zones. You can treat it as a standalone digital front-end and play music through its analog outputs just like any CD player. Once the “computer” side of the Q105 is set up and you’ve loaded some music files, you have several options on how to connect it to your stereo. I want to emphasize this: the Q105 is extremely easy to set up even if you are not a computer geek. In short, this is not a product that will require you to hire a computer consultant to install. If you don’t, you can put a downloaded album on a flash drive and load it via one of the Q105’s four USB ports. If you choose to network it to your home computer you can easily transfer music files you download from the web. You can network the Q105 to your home computer, but you can also treat it as the stand-alone front-end of any stereo system. For readers like me who are not especially computer-savvy, it is a computer dedicated to storing, sorting and playing digital music files, paired with a nifty touchscreen 15-inch monitor that controls the computer. The $4,450 Q105 is a slightly scaled-down 2-output version of the original 4-output Qsonix Q110 at $6,550. I’ll discuss much more in this review, but I urge the reader to keep these main points in mind as you read along. Second, the Q105 has proven to me that the growing buzz is accurate: properly implemented, hard drives sound better than even the best optical transports. This transformation has to do with something we normally don’t write about: how we go about selecting, accessing and playing music for a listening session. First, over the course of three months the Q105 has transformed my listening habits and listening experience. There is so much to say about the Qsonix Q105 that I will have to skip many nifty specifics to keep this article to a reasonable length but there are two main points that should not get lost amidst all the detail. The Qsonix Q105 has been one of the most innovative audio components I’ve auditioned. Editor’s Note : Reader’s question and manufacturer’s response added at the end of this Review. ![]()
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