I got the Ayre over the Hegel as the Ayre seemed to have more air and better leading attacks in all the systems I've heard them in vs the Hegel. The noise floor on the Ayre seems to be lower. I know the zero feedback design plays a huge part in this. Not sure if Hegel is zero feedback. I do like the Hegel and that's why I listened to both in many systems in many rooms to hear the differences. Again, like poster above said, you can't go wrong with either. I have the AX7e since I couldnt' afford the 5, but that 5 is probably the best integrated I've heard ever and that includes some of the esoteric gear I've heard. It has no weaknesses. Also, with the Ayre, you need to stay away from power conditioners as most hurt the sound. Also, you MUST run everything in balanced or you lose what it does.
