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What can I expect from Ayre?

post #1 of 17
11/21/06 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 
Just bought the Ayre Ax-7e from audiogon. what can I expect? I plan to drive it with eastsound balanced and use VR-1 speaker.

Anyone with Ayre feel free to comment
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post #2 of 17
11/21/06 at 5:58pm
Any reason why you chose the Arye? The AX-7e will probably be overkill if you're not planning on upgrading the VR-1s or the E3. Anyway, here's a short post review by Stereophile on the amplifier: http://www.stereophile.com/integrate...39/index8.html
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post #3 of 17
11/21/06 at 6:01pm
Thread Starter 
uh..I didn't say I never planned to upgrade

Paradigm S2 looks nice, and eventually I would want to drive some Sonus (cough...when I graduate...LOL) as well as the Ayre's own CX-5 SACD player.

This is all I can muster right now to spend. I really just want 1 component I can grow from.

Anything wrong with AX7e and VR-1?
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post #4 of 17
11/21/06 at 6:14pm
If you're planning on upgrading, then yeah it'll be a great amplifier. I've heard that Ayre makes some of the best stereo upgrade. I actually did the same thing. I bought a Denon 2000IVR which was worth more than my speakers or my source with the intention of upgrading later. I was just curious why you had chose the combo since I didn't know you had planned on upgrading.

That Ayre SACD/Amp combo with something like the Sonus Faber Concertinos would be awesome .
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post #5 of 17
11/21/06 at 6:34pm
Thread Starter 
well..a cheap (relative) one came up on the agon and I just can't stand NAD C320BEE anymore. It is so far from my Dynahi/HF1 sound that I just had to upgrade.

Ayre's design reminds me of M3 (balanced), u know voltage gain via opamp and current gain via FET. So the design makes sense and I also don't mind the looks either

oh and since they kept AX7e on the Class A list for several years in a roll means its really decent
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post #6 of 17
11/22/06 at 11:33am
Thread Starter 

Urgent before I click "buy" need advise!

So is Ayre AX-7e decent?
Need some idea what it sounds like
PPA? M3? Dynahi? Headroom Home/Max? PPX3? MPX3? LOL..I can't remember all the ones I heard. I need some correlation of the sound quality between AX-7e and a headphone amp

PLZ respond quick before I put down the $$$.
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post #7 of 17
11/22/06 at 11:50am
The Ayre is a nice sounding amp. It’s fast and transparent (without being bright). The only minor flaw is that it lacks a little in bass power (Lacks balls). Not that the bass sucks, just that it’s not as good in the bass as it is everywhere else. The bass is fast and tight, but on the lean side.

Going from a NAD 320, you’ll be in heaven with the Ayre.
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post #8 of 17
11/22/06 at 11:56am
Thread Starter 
hmm..light base. would this mean the base is more like HD600 vs HD650? or HF1 vs PS1?

I need some comparison since I got no experience with high-end integrated stuff.
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post #9 of 17
11/22/06 at 3:27pm
Thread Starter 
just kissed my money goodbye ...
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post #10 of 17
11/22/06 at 4:20pm
Please understand that I am a major high end snob. When I say something is "nice" it is a very strong Endorsement. For the money it is among a handful of integrated amps that are worthwhile.

Good choice. Enjoy
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post #11 of 17
11/22/06 at 4:38pm
I have an Ayre V-3 fully upgraded and would characterize it's sound more like the tube amps listed above. It doesn't have razor flat response like the PPA and M^3 amps have, but a bit more character and euphonic distortion... like the Singlepower house sound.

Hope that helps!
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post #12 of 17
11/22/06 at 4:47pm
Thread Starter 
yum. sounds nice.
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post #13 of 17
1/26/07 at 4:29pm
So any updates on how it sounds? I am interested in this amp as well. Thinking buying either this or the Plinius 9200 and matching it with Merlin VSM speakers. Any comments?
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post #14 of 17
1/27/07 at 1:00am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dimitris View Post
So any updates on how it sounds? I am interested in this amp as well. Thinking buying either this or the Plinius 9200 and matching it with Merlin VSM speakers. Any comments?
It sound harmonically right (you have no idea how hard it is to find a amp that gives the right harmonic overtone to the instrument), the soundstage is deep, wide, delineated. The bass is tight but tuneful. The presence is startling. In live jazz recordings, the feeling of 'in the room' is exceptionally strong. To give some idea of the general typical sound (American vs European v. Japan), Ayre sounds closer to European, particularly British stuff, musical yet transparent, but still retain the American sound which is excellent soundstage, great top end extension and tight and hard hitting bass (my room isn't that big and speaker is easy to drive

I pretty much base my rating of amp on how closely and how quickly the amp freaks me out and makes me think the stuff I am hearing are real. What does that really mean? It means the amp captures all the harmonics of the instrument, timing and phase has to be absolutely correct or else you don't get that sense. This is different from speaker disappearing, which is not that hard to do and that is abs min I will accept from an amp/speaker combination.

Yes I am happy with my purchase. Bargain even at the asking price IMO

I read it can drive BW 802D...LMAO..I would never try that personally

One person's post I think its Ayre v. Plinius with Harbeth
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post #15 of 17
1/27/07 at 1:45am
Sounds good. I am thinking of getting a pair of Merlin VSM or Sonus Cremona Auditors. I was considering getting a preamp and power amp combo that the budget is getting out of proportion especially for fully balanced setup therefore I think I might pursue a good integrated like Ayre, Plinius or Simaudio.
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