Used Ayre amp market pricing

cedargrover:  The V-5xe is listed in the AudioGon Blue Book, but too tall for my use.  I think I saw a VX-5 Twenty listed at Audio Mart for $6400.  I hope the VX-5 is less pricey -- presumably it's an older model.

ebm:  A little forbearance might be warranted, because I just bought a K-5xeMP and a VX-5 seems an ideal amp to pair it with.  It would fit in my cabinet with adequate ventilation above the amp.  I've downloaded the VX-5 owner's manual and a couple of reviews that suggest it's the amp I want.

db

mgreen,

Thanks for your insight.  In an effort to declutter the living room, I sold a Parasound A 21 that was too tall to fit into the equipment cabinet so sat on the floor.  Having three JC 1 monoblocks sitting on the floor of our music/HT room is one thing, having an A 21 sitting on the floor of the living room is another.

The V-5 series seems to be over 7" tall, whereas the VX-5 seems a bit over 4" tall.  To me, that's not a small detail.  I admit my only experience with Ayre components is my C-5xeMP that I think it has a superb non-HiFi sound I hope to capture with their preamp and amp.

BTW, as part of the declutter I took down the bass manager and subs.  The unaided KEF LS50s are quite satisfying for the jazz and baroque music I prefer. 

db

re decluttering:  A pair of 20-watt Cary 572 SE CAD monoblock tube amps do sit on either side of the equipment cabinet in the living room, but they are only about 8" wide, seem decorative, and sound surprisingly good driving the KEF LS50s.

hgeifman asks, "Are you saying that its 4.875 height is too tall for your space? If yes, what is the maximum height you need?"

The slot is 8" high, so a height of 5" would provide the 3" ventilation  Ayre recommends -- these amps are reported to run quite warm.  The cabinet is completely open front and back, and I'd be willing to drill 2" diameter holes along the side.  I might try an inexpensive V-3 that has a height of 5.5".

BTW, I think I found the answer to my OP.  The market rate for an Ayre VX-5 seems to be around $4.5K, more than I want to spend for an amp in a secondary system.  I'm trying to devise a plan for fitting a taller V-5xe in into my cabinet.  The market for a V-5xe seems to be in the mid $2K range. 

"I have 2 V-5's in my system"

How scrupulous are you in observing the recommended 3" clearance above the amp?  I can see maybe less than 2" being available, so I wondered about installing one or two 6" exhaust fans in the side of the cabinet adjacent to the amp.  The front and rear of the cabinet are open.

The cabinet will house a Sony HAP-Z1ES, Oppo BDP 105, Ayre K-5xeMP and V-5ex.  Another possibility is to mount the Ayre units on the upper shelves and mount the exhaust fan in the top of the cabinet, although that would be cosmetically more intrusive.  The cabinet is glossy black.

You'd be surprised how good the LS50s sound in the setup.  I have a setup that uses KEF Reference 107/2s and 204/2C driven by 3 Parasound JC 1s.  The stereo preamp in that setup is a JC 2 BP, surround processor a Bryston SP-3.  Sources are vinyl through a JC 3, Ayre C-5xeMP, Oppo 105D, and Esoteric SA-60 disc players.  The setup use a pair of 15" subs for surround and HT, but not for stereo.

I installed a K-5xeMP preamp yesterday that replaced a Cary Cinema 12 processor.  I'm using a 30-year-old Proceed Amp 2 to drive a pair of KEF LS50s.  Sources are an Oppo 105 and Sony HAP-Z1ES.  All connections are balanced.  The sound quality is excellent, with sufficient LF extension that I don't miss the subs.  The Ayre preamp is a big improvement over the Cary processor.  I'll continue to look for a VX-5 not V-5xe, but the dual monoblock Amp 2 is serving well so I'm in no hurry.  The setup appears clutter-free, with everything fitting in the cabinet and without the subs and bass manager.  I suspect replacing the Amp 2 with a VX-5 will not have the impact replacing the Cary C12 with the Ayre K-5 had.

The Parasound JC 1 monoblocks drive the KEF Reference speakers with a sense of neutral authority, with fine detail and imaging.  The amps have sufficient current to extend LF to below 20 Hz.  Pairing the JC 1 amp & JC 2 preamp is often said to approach a straight wire with gain.

I've been using 20-watt Cary CAD 572 SE tube monoblocks as an alternative to drive the LS50s with surprisingly good results.  I look forward to pairing them with the Ayre preamp.

There is a dealer for both Ayre and Vanderstein in Santa Monica, a pleasant drive down PCH from Santa Barbara with only Malibu as a possible source of traffic.  So it's entirely plausible that I may hear an Ayre/Vanderstein pairing.