Personal amp evolution

An interesting series of events recently took place that made me realize I have an amp I really enjoy, so I'll probably keep my Ayre V-5x for now. Before that it was an Ayre V-3, Pass Aleph 5, Bryston 4BST; Plinius, Musical Fidelity & Creek integrated's; Adcom 565's & 555; Sherwood, Pioneer, Kenwood & Sansui receivers.

My first stereo system started with a 10 watt Sony receiver in 1971.

Just 3 months ago I said I was happy & would keep the Ayre V-5x & while I wasn't actively seeking another amp, the opportunity to upgrade to an Ayre V-1x "fell into my lap" and has now become part of my system.

I sold the big Ayre earlier this year & wound up with a BAT VK-200 after trying a handful of amps, including tube monoblocks (which were very nice!). I actually sold my entire system and it wasn't because I was unhappy with the sound. The VK-200 is paired with a BAT pre and I have to say this system is quite enjoyable. I've purchased/acquired more CD's so far this year than the previous two, so I've been trying to make more time to listen than before. One thing I've learned over the years is that a good amp design, be it SS or tubes, is a good amp design & will give you quality sound. A bad amp will do the opposite, period.

This will make the third time I've posted to this thread and each time about a 2 year interval. Again, I've sold off the entire system and now have a Blue Circle integrated. I just wasn't listening that much lately but when I do, still want a good listening session. I'm very happy with this set-up.

So much gear to choose from and not enough time to play with it all.

My every other year post #4. Went through a few more changes but recently put a Primare integrated in the system. This is an older model (30.1 built in 2000) but had just been rebuilt & completely gone thru, so it was fresh. Actually I believe it still needed a bit of final break-in when I got it.

I'm pretty impressed & have once again started to seek out more music, which is always a good sign. Sometimes I just get in audition mode w/gear moving from one piece to another-not searching for "that final piece" but looking for something to really enjoy. Well, this might be what I've been looking for.

I'll check back in a few more yrs. & see what took place.

I'd like to say a few words about my latest amp, as it is somewhat off the beaten path. This summer I picked up a vintage GAS Son of Ampzilla. Part of the decision to go with this unit was that Mike Bettinger, who runs GAS Audio, is located nearby. Without going into all the details, not only was it completely reworked but I also opted for the J-FET upgrade.

Funny how this is the newest amp I have yet may be the oldest separate I've owned-depending on year of manufacture.

I see this thread hasn't quite died out, so I'll add another update.  I enjoyed the rebuilt GAS for a good four years but in addition to simply wanting more volume, I wanted better speakers too, so I once again picked up another Ayre, the VX-5 Twenty.  This is my 4th different model Ayre over the last 16 years, so there's definitely something I like about these.

I posted in Nov 2017 how I picked up the Ayre VX-5 Twenty but I sold it the following July, so it didn't really work for me.  I then picked up a Magnus Audio MA-400, which has worked well with my current setup.  I'm in the process of selling my speakers so I can move to bigger full range speakers and eliminate the JL sub, which was similar to a system I had 15 years ago.