ayre mx-r vs ayre vx-5 twenty

Hi Joe,

I bet the MXR-20's sound great!  How do they compare to your PS Audio BHK 300's?

Hi,

The MXR-20’s are my destination amps, like I’ve mentioned before.

Please don’t read the following sentences as absolute and please don’t read anything more into them because it’s difficult to describe what I hear and like.

My personal preferences are for a slightly softer (as in non-aggressive), smoother and sweeter sound. I, for one, don’t care for the absolute truth in my system, but I don’t want to miss anything either.

I could easily live with either as my only gear, it just depends on the speakers and rest of the system. Overall balance is the key to any system. The BHK’s are amazing and when I first fired them up, I could detect a similarity in sound to the classic Conrad Johnson Premier 350 amp. It’s funny, I mentioned that on the PS Audio forum and Paul McGowan forwarded my post to Bascom King, the designer. It turns out that Bascom designed that amp too and scores of other high end gear. Bascom knows what he is doing. I feel that the BHK’s easily beat out the CJ Premier 350 and is better in every category.

Compared to the MXR-20, the BHK’s feel a little more energetic, slightly more forward (in a good way) and feel like they play a little bigger. BUT, balancing with the right speaker (for your taste) is very important. Having the tube input on the BHK’s sweetens up the sound and the amps are wonderful. Once the MXR-20’s settle in and break in, they are incredible. Not flashy, not forward, sweet tone for solid state, even across the board with nothing calling attention to itself. My MXR-20’s are my amps for extended listening sessions. Upon first power up or pre-break in, some think the Ayre might be a little bland or laid back (sort of like in a Dartzeel or VAC kind of way). On the contrary, they are perfect to my ear.

With a slightly more laid back kind of speaker, the BHK’s would be awesome and truly deserve the Stereophile Class A rating, just like the MXR-20’s are Stereophile Class A rated.

I hope this give you some insight. As I’ve cycled through tons of gear, I now realize there is no best, it’s just what YOU like. I am not as picky as it may seem because my Job INTegrated satisfies my need for music as well. Feed it a good digital signal or hi-res file, wow! for the money it will embarrass many high end separates.

ps, My stereo plays 12-15 hours a day and as time goes on and as I get older I am getting away from tubes (except for my Triode Labs M845 monos for special occasions). The Ayre solid state puts a smile on my face like no other solid state gear does.

Thank you for your in-depth comments, Joe.  Well stated and insightful.  (I bet they help the original poster, too!)

can you tell me please  more about ayre vx-5 twenty, the sound is warm like tube? it is powerful? 

The VX5-20 is an amazing amp. Has the same DNA of the MXR-20 but in my opinion is not the same. I feel that the VX5-20 is a little more forward and ultimately not as sweet, but only upon comparing to the MXR-20, do you ever realize the difference. It’s not obvious and the VX5-20 has a wonderful tone, is dead silent like its older sibling and draws you into the music. I would take any Ayre piece over anything else at this point. Don’t feel that you settling by getting the VX5-20. The MXR-20 has a little more refinement and is more subtle in its presentation but both amps satisfy fully.

All Ayre strikes the perfect balance between tubes and solid state. I know that comparison is thrown around a lot but it really is some of the best solid state around, period.