Spectral or Ayre (combo)

ayre sounds better than spectral based on my exposure to both brands of preamps/amps

Wow, I cannot imagine any two sets of electronics sounding more different than each other, so much so that it feels odd trying to recommend either or the other because I am sure you'll have very strong feelings one way or the other which will make my typing irrelevant.

Having said that, Ayre all the way. :)

Reading the forum comments gives the impression that Ayre is more acceptable. But isn’t Spectral Audio a higher level than Ayre? I’ve read reviews that Spectral audio is very sterile sounding, really is it? Maybe it depends on other audio equipment? ...but yes, Ayre very highly valued by audiophiles

miglos I'm reading these responses and shaking my head in disbelief.  You need to hear these components first before making a purchase but I'm trying to think of one parameter where the Ayre combo. bested the Spectral combo. and quite frankly, can't come up with anything.  
To everyone weighin-in on this thread please keep in mind that miglos is referring to ENTRY LEVEL PRODUCTS FROM AYRE.  I haven't heard the KX-R / MX-R  combo. but if that is your basis of comparison then you would need to compare it against reference products from Spectral.
There are some misconceptions with Ayre that I think need to be brought to light.  The first is that it has to be run in balanced mode in order to get the most out of it (I never heard any difference.  I leave it in balanced mode "as i'm supposed to" and it can't hurt anything in doing so).
The other is that it is not cable mfr. dependent.   Perhaps it is not as cable dependent as Spectral (where MIT cabling is essential) but there is, supposedly, a special synergy with Cardas so you may find yourself  locked in to 1 cable mfr. just like Spectral.
To think that  that particular Ayre combo. can provide the same bandwidth, speed, and dynamic contrast as Spectral is laughable.

You absolutely need to stay away from Spectral gear. My best friend had a full Spectral set up and it was a nightmare of unreliability, and expensive service. It interfaces poorly with other equipment. It was so bad he traded it for a full McIntosh set up sonically a step backwards but way forwards in reliability. He has yet to require any service. I hear nothing but good things about Ayre equipment. Stick with them. Pass and ARC are other well proven brands. IMHO none of them make an amp as good as the Parasound JC1+. It will pair with anything and it is a thrilling amp to hear, effortlessly powerful but as delicately detailed as any amp and they will drive anything. I have heard $100K amps that are not as good. At $18K they are the bargain of the century. John Curl knows what he is doing. The Atma-sphere MA2 is another but more expensive proposition.