2. amps-preamps
  3. 133359-15091

Upgrade bug - advice on amp or preamp upgrade from Ayre for Revel speakers?

Hi all, looking to tap in to the collective experience of the forums.  My system has evolved nicely over the years.  Most recently I changed out my Thiel CS2.4s for Revel Ultima Studio2s. I’ve had them in place for about 9 months and am enjoying the heck out of them. The rest of my system is comprised of a Linn Akurate DS into Ayre K-5xe into Ayre V-5xe.  Transparent Audio balanced interconnects and power cords.  My musical preferences are primarily informed by my background as a musician (jazz) - I love live, palbable, feeling sound.  I love the wood of a bass, the way a kick drum can either pop you in the chest (ala Tony Williams) or convey subtle timbre changes (Jack DeJohnette). I love the splat of a great trumpeter (Tom Harrell, Woody Shaw...) and the thrill of colors a tenor sax can provide (Brecker, Trane, Berg...).  As a pianist, I am keenly focused on accurate reproduction that is nuanced enough to let me hear the very different touches of my favorite players (Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Barron, David Kikoski...). And I find music most gratifying when rooted by a firm and true to live conveyance of bass.  

My my current system conveys much of what I love, but of late I’m wondering if a more powerful amp might provide “more”.  I don’t need more volume, but if I had one nagging suspicion it’s that the Ayre combination doesn’t grip the bottom end as much as it could and at times appears a tad bit lean sounding.  Alternatively, could it be a preamp solution?  I demoed BAT about ten years ago while there was still a dealer in my area.  At the time I sort of fell in love with the sound, but ultimately felt Ayre was a better path at the time.  I could probably extend $5 to $7k at this time.  A few thoughts would be:  Amps (Pass 250.8, Levinson 532h, BAT VK-600, Classe CA M600, Bel Canto Ref600, others?).  If Preamp is the right way to go (BAT 32se or 42, ARC, Levinson 326s, others). Or am I crazy and should I stick with what I have and be appropriately grateful?

I really appreciate any thoughts or suggestions from those with relevant experience.
miles_trane

Showing 3 responses by beetlemania

beetlemania
834 posts
 
This is a total aside, but anyone have insight into the future of Ayre post Charles?  I still grimace when I think of what happened to Thiel after Jim passed...
Unbelievable what happened to Thiel Audio. Jim Thiel never mentored another engineer and the new owners brought in an engineer that completely abandoned all of Thiel's design principles. Why even keep the Thiel name? Really a shame. Jim Thiel's last models are superb, namely the CS3.7 and CS2.4SE.

I think that Ayre is in much better shape following the loss of Charles Hansen. If you watch the QX-5 videos over at Audiostream, you will see an interview with engineer Ariel Brown. I think he's been at Ayre for about 20 years. New products are supposed to be released very soon. See here.
beetlemania
834 posts
 
Aww, crap, my link is wrong. Here is the text from Ryan Berry's post on AA dated Dec. 2, 2017.
We're planning on being able to start shipping the EX-8 soon, hopefully by end of year depending on when we get some components, such as the chassis, in. We're very excited for it!

As far as features, it will have both USB and Ethernet streaming options as well as S/PDIF and optical inputs. Output is 100 Watts per channel into 8 ohms.
So, maybe these are just now getting to the dealers?
beetlemania
834 posts
 
new Integrated is more powerful than previous models
From Ryan Berry’s post it’s 100 W into 8 ohms, and every Ayre amp to date doubles into 4 ohms. This puts it between the AX-7 (60 W) and AX-5 (125 W). I ran an AX-7 for almost 15 years on my CS1.6s and 2Ces and it had plenty of balls unless I wanted to play The Who at concert levels through the Vandies. With the Thiels, my ears gave out well before the amp clipped. Always best to actually try an amp with your speakers rather than rely on the power rating.

That said, I can testify that the AX-5 is incredible with the CS2.4SE! Still haven't heard the weakness in my system other than bass south of ~30 Hz.
More to discover