I know you already bought but if I were buying an $18k integrated, it'd be an Ayre Acoustics AX-5 Twenty. Full disclosure I own KX-R Twenty, MX-R Twenty, QX-5 and L5xe. For me it's Ayre Acoustics or nothing!
T+A's new R 2500 R integrated amp
**Not to be confused with earlier T+A products that have similar names.**
Does anybody have hands-on experience with this incredibly flexible integrated amp? It’s been shipping in the US for just a couple of months, & has not yet been reviewed in the Tier One audiophile press
It’s absolutely not possible for me to hear the R 2500 R before buying, and at nearly $19,000, I’m hesitant to pull the trigger blind. But it sure sounds impressive on paper, boasting one of T+A’s world-class DAC/streamers, several hundred Class AB wpc, 31-lb weight, discrete headphone amp, some of the most comprehensive connectivity on the market, firmware-upgradability, a friendly UI, and, of course, T+A’s reputation for impeccable sound quality. It even includes a CD transport & FM tuner, as well as HDMI w/ARC I/O for integration into a home theater. Whew.
I normally wouldn’t consider an embedded DAC/streamer, but, heck, this is T+A, the company that made its name throughout Europe for its no-holds-barred DAC technology. And I understand that the R 2500’s internal DAC is an updated (albeit "merely" 512DSD) version of the company’s highly regarded $7500 1-bit standalone model.
Given all that, I’d love to speak with anyone who managed to score one of the first batch (now sold out at many dealerships); or even to a golden ear who plans to audition this amp at AXPONA.
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Actually, Ayre was high on my list when I first started my search. Those X and R series models, and especially the $12K EX-8 2.0 integrated, were almost a slam dunk for me. Unfortunately, it seems that Ayre is having some serious internal issues and I hear rumors from insiders that, despite its public notices, may be on the verge of going out of business. I can't verify whether this is true or not, but the difficulty finding any product in the channel led me to err on the side of caution and put an X through the EX-8. FWIW, the T+A has a reputation for being at least in the same class, sonically, as the best Ayre separates, so I'm pretty happy with my purchase. And really, I can't say anything bad about Ayre products. As you say, they punch way above their weight class, great Charlie designs.
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https://darko.audio/2024/10/ta-r-2500-r-video-review/ I just discovered this R 2500 R Darko review, which covers most of the points I outlined above, even confirming some of the reasons why an old monoblockhead like me, for the first time, chose an integrated component over separates. (Yes, Dorothy, despite audiophile street lore, an intelligently designed integrated, all things equal, actually has intrinsic sonic advantages over otherwise-comparable separates. Our DAC & streamer don't need your steenkin' external clock! Think about it.) My only beef with Mr. Darko is that the author compares the R 2500 to a $10K+ set of Cambridge EDGE separates, which hardly seems like a fair comparison. The Edge gear is pretty impressive at the price, but the T+A is in a higher class. More to the point, I’ve heard credible opinions from a dealer who handles both product lines that what the reviewer the "fuller bass" that the reviewer hears in the Cambridges' low end is the product of a less-resolving EDGE preamp -- a guess that's consistent with the reviewer’s other comments. I personally found it interesting that the review evaluated the R 2500 R with Vivid S12 speakers + external sub. The Vivids have been getting so much praise the last year or two that I'm considering a similar pairing (but with a better bass box), so it's nice to see how that worked out for this guy.
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