Speakers for Ayre AX-7e


As a present for a young (29yo) friend who is buying his first house in Tucson and settling down for the first time, I'm providing the sound system!  For digital streaming, I already bought a Raspberry Pi and a Hifiberry Dac+ProXLR. I also already bought the Ayre AX-7e integrated amp for the following reasons:

  • Robust choice that would drive mid to high efficiency speakers
  • Excellent build quality
  • Less heat output than tube amp for Arizona living
  • Stellar Ayre customer support in case issues arise, and reasonable repair costs

As a 20-something, and knowing his musical tastes, the speakers should be able to handle dynamic music with bass happening (e.g. alt rock, progressive), but lots of other varieties as well. The living room is small to medium - and they would probably appreciate a small footprint speaker.  I believe the floor is cement (not uncommon in AZ). I don't think the AX-7e is powerful enough to drive a low efficiency speaker.

I would like to buy used.  Cosmetic condition isn't very important, in fact, cost savings due to cosmetic damage may be a good thing. As I've already got $1400 into the system, I am actually looking for a bang-for-the-buck speaker - maybe costing me between $400-$1000 a pair. I could be swayed, but I've heard inexpensive speakers sound great with good amplification (e.g. Silverline Minuet Grand). But I'd like a speaker that provides bass.

Thoughts or concepts?  Thanks, Peter
peter_s

Showing 1 response by peter_s

@dbphd - I imagine that would be a good match.  I also have a pair of LS50's that I run with an Ayre V5xe in my bedroom system.  But for this young man, I think both of those components may be a bit light on bass, which would cause an overall sense of bass missing.  I think he'll need some bass!