Mcintosh with Ayre pre-amp

I guess it would help if i told you what Mcintosh power amps I'm interested in. That would be the Mc 252 and Mc 302.

Klipsch RF7II. Yea they are highly sensitive, but the amps I'm using now are 250wpc and these speakers like power, believe me. 70wpc doesn't cut it.

I meant 200wpc, not 250.

I would settle with an Ayre V-5xe if I could find a black one for the right price (my preamp is black). However, I think I would rather go with a Mcintosh amp. I've been around Mcintosh equipment pretty much my whole life and love the way their amps sound which is why I'm toying with the idea of buying a Mcintosh amp to go with my Ayre pre.

Thanks for the replies. The impedance ratio is the main thing I want to make sure I get right as it seems to be crucial when matching components. Is there an easy way to compute the impedance ratio? I tried searching it but was unsuccessful. The Ayre website lists the Ayre K-5xe(my preamp) as having an output impedance of 55 ohm per phase. The input impedance of an Mc352 20 kohm unbalanced and 40 kohm balanced. I'm not sure what to make of these specs, but it appears that maybe this isnt the best match? The Ayre V-5xe has an input impedance of 100 kohm per phase

I think the MC402 is a little bit outside my price range. The MC352 appears to be within the price range. I will definitely consider this amp when making my final decision. What gives the Mc252/302 a less than quiet background vs the MC352/402?

Al, I have currently disconnected my XLR cables and am using my Audioquest Emerald RCAs for now. I have found that this reduces the hiss to tolerable levels. When using XLR cables the gain increases from 4db to 10db using the Ayre preamp, which makes a noticeable difference to my ears.

I know that Ayre amps will work best together. However, from my experience the Mcintosh will sound better with the Klipsch speakers I am using and plan to keep for a long time. Ideally I would like to have a Mcintosh MC3XX and an Ayre V-5xe to hook up to my system and compare back to back before making a purchase. I don't think any of the dealers around my area would let me do that because I have purchased all my gear on Audiogon, Ebay, etc. and not from them. Some of the dealers around the Seattle area can be kind of snoody if you know what I mean.