@joc3021
Yes, I’m quite familiar with Ayre (the company) and hold its products in the highest regard.
As for T+A, after digging deep into the company from both product & business perspectives, I’m discovering that it’s a large, stable, outfit, with a robust global distributorship network; and is one of the leading sellers of high-end DACs in Europe. I bet you could squeeze all of Ayre into the conference rooms at T+A’s German headquarters.
One thing that’s bolstered my opinion of T+A is the fact that in the last few years, since hiring a prominent American executive to expand its presence in North America, it’s expanded from a single retail dealership to two dozen & counting.
Its products have also begun to garner an increasing # of jaw-dropping reviews, even from the likes of TAS & Stereophile, routinely scoring spots in Class A / Recommended Components lists. As good as the Ayre integrated is -- and I consider it to be outstanding -- I’m gathering that T+A’s R 2500 R (OK, at almost twice the price) is in a whole different class.
I’m still looking for first-hand experiences with T+A support since the establishment of its "T+A North America" distributorship & "immediate assistance" service organization in Canada.
So far, it looks like the company goes to great lengths to support customers. But even if this wasn’t the case, IMHO, it’s unfair to lump all "European and Asian" companies in the "good luck with that" category. E.g., on Mikey Fremer’s personal recommendation, I bought a phono stage from a tiny Spanish outfit that has for years provided outstanding support.
And remember that "European and Asian companies" is a very long list that includes the likes of ELAC, Tannoy, Philips, Ortofon, Dynaudio, MBL, EAT, Hegel, Devialet, Chord, Quad, Kuzma, Focal, Cabasse, and many more -- not to mention the huge array of Japanese audiophile manufacturers.
My point isn’t that all of these companies have a perfect track record for support. What I’m saying is that it makes you’ve gotta evaluate each one on a case-by-case basis.
In my case, I’m finding that T+A is highly regarded worldwide, Aavik is an unknown quantity in North America, and Ayre’s once-terrific support may today be in a state of flux (and not in a good way).
I’m still digging into T+A and, again, would value any first-hand anecdotes. But so far, I don’t see the type of red flags you’re warning me about.