Amp upgrade from Ayre V-5xe

Sell the V5Xe and K1xe, and get an AX5 Twenty or Luxman L509X, or Gryphon Diablo.

Those integrated are a step up from your present combo. Preamplifier section in sota integrated have evolved. Unless you fall in love with a separated amplifier sound, or your speakers are really really power hungry like hell, you can trust the new sota integrateds to give you world class sound.

sota = state of the art :)

K1xe is still a very good pre, I agree. But ultimately if you wanna change the soul of your sound, it would be best to change both pre and amp. 

I would very much keep the QX5 twenty Dac. I would only sell the pre and amplifier , to replace with a sota integrated.

Ask to borrow one to compare with your K1xe / V5xe duo.

Getting a Luxman L509X will improve you sound a lot.

Keeping the K1xe and getting a better amp to go with it will improve your sound LESS. Add to that the search to match both components, and the additionnal signal and power cable needed...

Hope I am clear enough.

If you insist on changing the amp only, to get a worthy noticeable improvement you will need to step up to a Ayre VX-R ( even better a VXR twenty), or a Luxman M-700u / 900u.

And still if it was my move I would change your preamp also, because each night you will go to bed or listen to your system you will ask yourself ( little inside voice) how better would your new amp sound with the latest and better  preamp like a KX-R or a Luxman C900u, ARC Ref6. ( this is why I was giving you the advice of getting an integrated like the Luxman L509x wich has one recent hugely good preamp section built in).

 Not hating it, it’s just a much overated and overpriced product compared to whats on offer by other makers in 2018.

Can you borrow the amp from the store to try it first in your room?

The 150.8 should be an improvement over the V5xe. But not as big improvement  as if you would go Luxman or Gryphon.

A VX-5 Twenty  just has been listed for sale with a nice discount.

One of the reasons Ayre made quick  update ( twenty version) of his diamond output amps, is because they had trouble with overheating. The 20 versions runs cooler.

More and more of those popping on the used market, I guess they are not as peformant as the review says. Users must be upgrading for the better VX-R series. Or something Luxman, Gryphon, etc.

You have to read between the lines... Ayre was always about long duration version of its units. This time with the non twenty versions, they did something that was totally unusual for this company, they rushed an update ( the twenty version) of the 5 séries. You have to think... why they did not go with the twenty version in the first place if it was so much better than the non 20. Single diamond output vs double diamond output, don’t make me beleive they did not compare and test those before releasing the X5 series...

The thing is there was owner reports of the non 20 version shutting down on heat protection.

thyname, there is a used VX-5 twenty for sale on audigon as we speak.

beetlemania, the Diamond output stage exist since the 1960s and was patented by professor H. Baker of MIT. Ayre did not invent anything.

They suposedly perfected it in the first X5 series , and then they supposedly perfected it again in the 20 version.....well because it seems it was not perfected good enough in the first version! 🙄 .........

thyname, If you are so happy with the results of your purchase , then why are you now so soon looking to change your preamplifier to a Simaudio 740p not even Ayre.

Told you you should have gone with a Gryphon or Luxman integrated....