Mark Levinson 326s vs Ayre K5xeMP

The 326S is a very good preamp; I owned one for many years.  It's also the best designed preamp in terms of user interface I have ever used or tried.  Having said that, the Ayre KX-R was clearly better and it's not even in the ballpark of the KX-R Twenty.  Given that the KX-5 Twenty reportedly rivals the performance of the original KX-R, I expect that I would prefer it the 326S.  On the other hand, the K-5xe is now a couple of generations old and I don't expect that it will be able to keep up with the 326S.
Irrespective of all that, given your preference, I  expect that you will find that the 326S will be a clear upgrade to what you have now and might even be your preference irrespective of the performance of the KX-5 Twenty.  Be aware that while the 326S still has that typical Levinson house sound it has much less of it compared to earlier products. 

I don't think you can go wrong with the 326S.

I agree @bar81 the KX-R is in a different league.  The old K-1Xe was significantly better than the KX-5 in my experience when I compared them head to head.

The 326 is not the cutting edge, but I think it's a really nice mix of performance, features and interface.

Hk_fan andv@bar81. Thanks for the replies. Is the ML 326s closer to the new Ayre KxR Twenty than the K-5xeMP I have now, meaning a good upgrade ? 
You mentioned ML house sound, are there big difference in sound between Ayre and ML like neutrality, resolution and openness? Or are they similar? 
I don't have dealers to let me audition in my own system. 

I like neutral sound considering gear listed with Revel F228be's speakers, Cardus Clear interconnects and Clarus power AC cables. Using Kimber Kable speaker cable. 

I think the 326s is more comparable to the KX-R, than the K-5exMP. The 326s sonically is laid back or recessed in the mids and upper mids. It is very quiet and smooth with a solid hold of the low end and a nice clear midrange. It lacks however a little life that tube pre’s or the KX-R brings to the table.