Spectral or Ayre (combo)

ebm:  my current system has both Ayre and Pass components and I couldn't say one mfr. is / was more reliable than the other.

Miglos:  you have the model designations inverted but I have the V-5xe and K-5xemp combo and am actually looking to make a change to Spectral.  It's the extended bandwith with the latter that intrigues me.  I would like to see if I can capture the magic I heard at a Spectral dealer 20 years ago.

miglos I'm reading these responses and shaking my head in disbelief.  You need to hear these components first before making a purchase but I'm trying to think of one parameter where the Ayre combo. bested the Spectral combo. and quite frankly, can't come up with anything.  
To everyone weighin-in on this thread please keep in mind that miglos is referring to ENTRY LEVEL PRODUCTS FROM AYRE.  I haven't heard the KX-R / MX-R  combo. but if that is your basis of comparison then you would need to compare it against reference products from Spectral.
There are some misconceptions with Ayre that I think need to be brought to light.  The first is that it has to be run in balanced mode in order to get the most out of it (I never heard any difference.  I leave it in balanced mode "as i'm supposed to" and it can't hurt anything in doing so).
The other is that it is not cable mfr. dependent.   Perhaps it is not as cable dependent as Spectral (where MIT cabling is essential) but there is, supposedly, a special synergy with Cardas so you may find yourself  locked in to 1 cable mfr. just like Spectral.
To think that  that particular Ayre combo. can provide the same bandwidth, speed, and dynamic contrast as Spectral is laughable.