Ayre V-Kxe and Thiel 2.4s


Anyone heard this combo?

I've been waiting for an appropriately priced Pass Labs 250.5 to pop up, but the wait has made me consider some other alternatives. In my conversations with Pass, they've steered me away from lower power options (e.g., the 150.5), so I'm concerned that the V-Kxe won't have enough power to really push the Thiels. However in reading over the positive Stereophile review of the 2.4s, I think much of the listening was done on the this amp. It does save me quite a bit of cash over the Pass 250.5 though.

Any opinions are welcome (along with other amp suggestions). Thanks folks.
128x128cal3713
Unsound I certainly accept your apology, no problems.

Cal I`m glad you`re getting more out of your current Pass amp.Sometimes more power is the answer, but often I find it`s not the core problem. It`s usally higher 'quality' that`s needed.
Regards,
Cal3713, I was just responding to your thoughts of adding an independent 20 amp line for your amp.
Getting past discussions of how much power the Thiels would need...there's also the difference in sonics of the different amps.

Does anybody have experience hearing Pass XA series, Pass X series, and Ayre amps...preferably with Thiel speakers? That info is of more use to the OP than discussions as to how much power he needs...once he has an idea of the different lines' sonics, then it's a matter of choosing the appropriate power for his speakers.

I've heard Thiel speakers, and I've heard (and owned) Ayre amps. I suspect they'd work together reasonably well - but I wasn't a huge fan of the combo of Simaudio electronics with Thiel speakers - the combo was a bit edgy. Thiel speakers can sound a bit bright with electronics that are "modern" sounding - as such, I'd be looking for an amp that doesn't overdo the top end at the expense of the midrange. My guess is that, sonically, the Pass XA series would be better than the Pass X-series or the Ayre with Thiel speakers...so perhaps just moving up to a bigger XA-series amp is a good idea.
Countingbackwards, the XA30.5's the OP was using is a pretty modern design. Moving up to a more powerful XA.5 would probably be ideal, but there are budget considerations.