Ayre V-3 vs V-5 or even V-1

For three years I had a V3 with upgrades (Ayre conditioning, etc.) and then heard the V5X. I bought one. It has more power and is smoother, cleaner and the bass moved me more. My speakers are Maggie 3.5.

I owned and loverd the V-5x, but never had the chance to compare to either the V3 or V1. As I understand it, you get more control, mre transparency and more power as you move up. All damn good for SS amps!

I've listened to a V-3 directly against a V-5 on ProAc D25s. The most noticeable difference was in the bass. The V-5 filled the room better. I'd say the V-3 was 85-90% of the V-5 in all other areas. I was fairly surprised at how well the V-3 fared in comparison. If your speakers are fairly easy to drive the difference lessens. But the V-5 will definitely drive a more difficult load easier. Now when I heard the V-5x after the evolution upgrade for $400, the improvement in all areas was noticeable and the gap widened.

The V-1 is just in a class by itself. It will drive most any speaker. You'd have to have Maggie 20s or something similar that really needs monoblocks for me to question the match. And it may just be the most musical stereo amp available. I'll put it this way. I don't really like the Thiel sound. But the V-1 really made the Thiel 3.6s sound pretty darn good to my ears.

All 3 are great values for the money. And I would just go up the line depending upon your speakers' efficiency and the appropriate $ you're spending on the other components.