f1wheels
I like the AQ Sky IC -RCA or XLR. It is outstanding.
Happy Listening!
Best amp/ IC's to go with my Thiel 2.4SB's
Hello All,
It has been many years since I have joined in on the forums, sadly it was because I sold off all of my Ayre components, but fortunately I kept my Thiel speakers.
As for the amp question I pretty much know the answer before asking, the Ayre V-5Xe. That is the amp I previously owned. But just like before I am at the crossroads of do I go with an Integrated or a stand-alone two-channel. Before I started with the BAT VK-300x SE, Ayre A7-Xe, and finally the Krell KAV-400xi. The Krell out of the three Integrated s performed the best as I was completely surprised at it's power output and ability to drive the Thiels. Then when finances allowed I purchased the V-5xe and the Ayre K-5Xe pre-amp. I have a shot at another V-5Xe, except this one is Black (originally a $250 up-charge) for $2,750 from the original owner.
My second question is at the time I went with AudioQuest Cheetah XLR IC's they were second from the top at the time. I always like the neutrality of AQ's when it came to their sonic footprint. But after working for 5 years for a local company, which will remain unnamed. I found out what many people don't know and that is that all of AQ's cables are marked-up aprrox. 300% from what an employee would pay. Now to me I just won't pay that kind of money I would rather buy something used at half the price. With that being said since I was last in this game I see the Siltech cables which from what I read are high quality and very neutral. Can anyone give me a fair comparison between AQ and Siltech .
Finally, I am trying to decide if I should go with an Integrated first. The only reason I am even considering this is because I have found a very clean Ayre K-5e pre-amp but to be up to date it would be $1,200 to send it back to Ayre to have it brought up to the present K-5 xeMP pre-amp that sells new for $5k. I am looking a a 5 month old Music Fidelity M5si, they are asking $1,500 but is accepting offers, I figure $1,250. It being rated at 150 W @ 8 Ohms and only puts out 265 W per channel @ 4 Ohms.
Sorry for the long thread but I greatly appreciate your input.
Thanks,
David
It has been many years since I have joined in on the forums, sadly it was because I sold off all of my Ayre components, but fortunately I kept my Thiel speakers.
As for the amp question I pretty much know the answer before asking, the Ayre V-5Xe. That is the amp I previously owned. But just like before I am at the crossroads of do I go with an Integrated or a stand-alone two-channel. Before I started with the BAT VK-300x SE, Ayre A7-Xe, and finally the Krell KAV-400xi. The Krell out of the three Integrated s performed the best as I was completely surprised at it's power output and ability to drive the Thiels. Then when finances allowed I purchased the V-5xe and the Ayre K-5Xe pre-amp. I have a shot at another V-5Xe, except this one is Black (originally a $250 up-charge) for $2,750 from the original owner.
My second question is at the time I went with AudioQuest Cheetah XLR IC's they were second from the top at the time. I always like the neutrality of AQ's when it came to their sonic footprint. But after working for 5 years for a local company, which will remain unnamed. I found out what many people don't know and that is that all of AQ's cables are marked-up aprrox. 300% from what an employee would pay. Now to me I just won't pay that kind of money I would rather buy something used at half the price. With that being said since I was last in this game I see the Siltech cables which from what I read are high quality and very neutral. Can anyone give me a fair comparison between AQ and Siltech .
Finally, I am trying to decide if I should go with an Integrated first. The only reason I am even considering this is because I have found a very clean Ayre K-5e pre-amp but to be up to date it would be $1,200 to send it back to Ayre to have it brought up to the present K-5 xeMP pre-amp that sells new for $5k. I am looking a a 5 month old Music Fidelity M5si, they are asking $1,500 but is accepting offers, I figure $1,250. It being rated at 150 W @ 8 Ohms and only puts out 265 W per channel @ 4 Ohms.
Sorry for the long thread but I greatly appreciate your input.
Thanks,
David
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- 19 posts total
If you're going to consider pass, I would call them and ask for a recommendation. I used an xa30.5 on mine, which was much better than a 250.5. At the time I was warned by pass that the 250.5 would be "a little bright" with the 2.4s, and that was true. The xa series lost that brightness and felt more natural to me. With the new lines, I'd ask for their recommendations. They don't care if you're buying used. |
If you're going to consider pass, I would call them and ask for a recommendation. I used an xa30.5 on mine, which was much better than a 250.5. At the time I was warned by pass that the 250.5 would be "a little bright" with the 2.4s, and that was true. The xa series lost that brightness and felt more natural to me. With the new lines, I'd ask for their recommendations. They don't care if you're buying used. http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/pass-labs/175913-pass-labs-amp-combination-thiel-speakers-pass-advice... https://www.passlabs.com/press/leaving-class |
Hi, I appreciate the input from all of you! I ended up going with the same amp that I had before, the Ayre V-5xe. It is a one-owner and in really good condition. Plus it is in black, which at the time Ayre charged an extra $250 for this. I prefer the black as it will match the rest of my gear. I also got ahold of Rob @ coherent source and he sent me the up-grade kit with the different caps to install. So I am looking forward to getting that as well. The only thing I have left to decide is do I want to go with the Ayre K-5x pre-amp or just save some money and keep using my Marantz AV-7701 pre-pro? There are 2 K-5's on Ebay right now, one of them I already called Ayre on. It is from 2004 but went in for a non working remote this last January and it was given a clean bill of health, it is selling for $1,600. Or there is another but it is the K-5xeMP, which is current for $2,600 OBO. Ayre would charge me $1,200 to upgrade the K-5x to the current K-5xeMP. Anyone have any thoughts on this matter? Thanks Again, David |
- 19 posts total