You ended up with Ayre, what are your speakers?

Favresj and nrenter, have either of you heard an EX-8? Wondering if, apart from its digital functionality, is it sonically the equal of the AX-7?

@drubin, unfortunately I have not. 

@drubin, I did an extensive comparison between the EX-8 and AX-7e. My source was an Aurender N100H and an Ayre QB-9 Twenty. In a nutshell:

The Ayre EX-8:
- Has a much larger (depth and width) and more stable sound stage. It projects much more accurate, sound sources are better projected and stay in a stable position over the the whole frequency domain.
- Has more body in the sound (80-150Hz). The AX7-e has the tendency to sound more empty in that domain, with the tendency to sound nasal.
- The treble has more brass and definition, without becoming irritating, sharp or pushy/brittle.
- More authority, and very nice combination of dynamics and control.

The AX-7e:
- Sounds nasal due to the lack of energy in the low-mid region.
- Sound is more concentrated and projected between the speakers
- Is relative (!!!) “lifeless”, and has less good timing.

Overall, the beautiful sound timbre of the AX-7 and its holographic projection are outperformed by the EX-8 with more neutrality, without the tendency to become too clinical. On the contrary, it has more grandeur and authority.

I think the EX-8 is clearly sonically better on all aspects. I have the initial version, and awaiting the 2.0 update when it is available again.

Thank you very much, an excellent comparison. I see you joined AG just today, so some skepticism on my part, but still …

I have V1xe, K1xemp, C5xemp, all Ayre with Vandersteen 5A...   All the stuff is old, but so am I