It is arriving Tuesday. I will give it some time and comment after that. |
Here is the update:
It turned out that the unit I was buying was defective:it would not switch power between 4 and 8 ohm.
It came back fixed with the crossover installed and sounds much better at dealer place.It runs very hot.
This particular unit needs crossover which I do not have.
It was an interesting experience and it proofed that sometimes you have to trust your wife.
Next week I am going to try VX-5 and hopefully buy it!
Dbarger:do you have the amp yet and if yes could you please and share your impressions? |
I heard AX-5 last week. I was very impressed. It was interesting because we listened to the amp after listening to expensive tubed gear for over an hour. I normally prefer tubes and they did sound very good but this Ayre amplifier really ticked the right boxes for me. I ended up ordering a VX-5 to go into my system. I only hope it sounds as good as the AX-5. |
Thank you for your comments.
Possibly I did not give the AX5 enough break in time.
I bought many Ayre products and for most part I was very satisfied:
Ayre QB9,V5XE(still have it) DX5 and finally Ax5(about 24k$total).
DX5 was very good with 2 channel audio but the blu-ray picture was average.
Both qb9 and dx5 have only USB input.
@ rufi I have nothing to hide.
For now I am using DCS Debussy as a preamplifier and DAC. |
A long long time to break in. |
"I was told by Ayre not to sell at this low price and if I ever wanted to buy this unit I need to sign an agreement that I would not sell the unit within 1 year."
Hmmm . . . me thinks there's more (or less?) to this story than you're telling. |
Pawel8: Ayre equipment takes a long time to break in. I know you put the Ayre AX-5 up for sale but I suggest you give it more time to break in before you sell it. |
I was told by Ayre not to sell at this low price and if I ever wanted to buy this unit I need to sign an agreement that I would not sell the unit within 1 year. Unless you are an Ayre dealer/distributor, I find their demands amazingly silly. Did the manufacturer make these demands or some crazy dealer? |
I auditioned the AX-5 for a week and it opened up and improved by the day. The sound after a week was as good as I have ever heard any amplifier (separate or integrated). I thought it was better than the MXR/KXR combination or the MSB monoblocks when paired with my dCS and Vivids. I am fairly confident you have not given it a fair trial. It is a very quiet amplifier, with exceptional retrievment of micro and macro dynamics, superb soundstage and full bodied sound. Agree that company should not influence our decisions to sell their products. We pay enough and can choose to do whatever we like with our product. |
Here is the story about AX-5.
I had it and I liked it(please see my comment)above.
My wife came back from vacation and she asked me "what is wrong with the sound".
To her it sounded to harsh when comparing to my previous combo I.e.
Ayre V5-XE with DCS Debussy directly to amplifier.
I told my wife that any audio equipment needs break time.
The sound however has not changed and we have decided that it was not worth it to spend additional 10k to upgrade.
I had already a buyer for V5 and I cancelled sale and instead put AX-5 for sale at discount(my loss).
I was told by Ayre not to sell at this low price and if I ever wanted to buy this unit I need to sign an agreement that I would not sell the unit within 1 year.
To make long story short I do not like this at all! |
Yes, I owned the combo and traded it for the AX-5 and cash. The jump in transparency was shocking. I was always led to believe separates were better. The ax-5 disproves that theory. Can't wait for Stereophile's conclusion. |
Has anyone compared the AX-5 to the K-5xeMP + V-5xe combo ? |
It sounds great straight out of the box with few hours of play.
Ayre recommends 100-500 hours of break-in time.
I use it with DCS Debussy connected via Audioquest Sky XLR.
My sources are Mac-mini,satellite and bluray player from Pioneer. |
I own it and I told Ayre its underpriced because the sound stage and transparency are beyond the listener's expectations. Of course it helps if you have the C-5XEmp, Heimdal RCA Interconnects, and Thiel CS-3.7s to deliver what's really laid down on the CD. |
Ayre stuff is top drawer sound...Customer service is also |
I'm pretty sure ill be hearing the AX5 on Monday. It's going to have to really be something special for the price of admission. There's no shortage of amazing integrateds in that price range. The AX7e barely made my drivers jiggle in my Harbeth C7ES3's so Ill be curious if this unit will do anything for me. |
Incorporates the KX-r volume control. |
I heard it today for the first time driving DeVore Fidelity Silverbacks and 3XL's. A very impressive integrated. |
My retailer confirmed the $10,000 list price. I hope to listen to it in mid January but I do not expect to sell my Luxman 590ax integrated amp. |
Is that price finalized?
I heard it at RMAF in the Ayre room driving Vivid G3s. Definitely, one of my top rooms. I thought my AX-7 would be my amp for life but I'm trying to figure out how I can afford an AX-5! |
