Ayre K-5xe or Bel Canto Pre3?

forget the synergy thing the only synergy worth talking about is how a company doubles their money by having you buy two components from same company

I used the pre out of a B C int,it was nothing special used that way, I'd go with Ayre.

I used a pre3 with my ref1000 mk2 and wasn't taken. It was kinda flat and nothing too special. I use a bc dac3 for source. Tried that as a pre and again nice and smooth but not dynamic enough. I now use a pass x1 for the pre and love the synergy. I bet an xp10 would rock. I wonder about Ayre myself. Ah so many choices. Good luck!