New Ayre MX-4 stereo power amp and new integrated

-- The KX-R is in the early planning stages. If all goes well, it will be shipping by late summer. If things don't go smoothly, it could be the fall before it is shipping. We don't know the price yet, but it is safe to say that it will be significantly more expensive than the K-1xe

-- We will continue to manufacture the K-1xe as long as there is a meaningful demand for it.

-- E-mail sucks as a way to communicate with customers. We tried it when we first put up our website, and it was a disaster. One problem is that it takes about 10x as long to type an answer as to tell the same thing on the phone. The next problem is that most people ask the wrong question. ("What is the peak output current of your V-1xe amplifier?") Then it takes three more e-mails to find out what they really want to know. ("Will the V-1xe drive my Humma-Junga speakers well?") It ended up taking over 50% of our Sales Manager's time with no visible benefit, so we just dropped it.

We participate on the various forums for two reasons:

a) There is so much mis-information on the internet ("Ayre is introducing a new MX-4 stereo amplifier!") that it is worthwhile to try and correct it.

b) It still takes longer to type an answer, but (unlike and e-mail) at least more than one person will read it.

Frank,

Be sure that the AC power cords are the correct polarity. (This happens automatically with US cords, but the Schuko cords can be inserted with either polarity.) Use wood blocks under all of your components. Use wood blocks to keep all of your cables (power, interconnect, and speaker) off the floor. Use balanced interconnects. Use a Marigo mat when playing the discs. (The thinnest one will usually work well, but sometimes will cause some hiccups.) Don't connect a video system to your audio system. Bi-wire if your speakers will allow it.

Good luck,
Charles Hansen

The Cardas Golden Reference cables are great cables. And for the past few years we have also been making our own interconnects (manufactured by Cardas to our specifications), that are especially designed to work well with our equipment.

But as always, you should listen for yourself before purchasing. There is probably more disagreement concerning cables than any other component.

The other thing to remember is that both the Ayre and Cardas cables are extremely sensitive to break-in. When they are new, they require at least 100 to 200 hours of play to get sounding good. At first they sound pretty good, but a little bit "tight". Then they will go through a murky phase and then a bright phase, and finally start to sound the way they are supposed to. And if they have been physically moved, they will take another 10 to 20 hours of play to get back to normal again.