Charlie Hansen of Ayre Acoustics RIP

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by htom, Nov 30, 2017.

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  1. John Buchanan

    John Buchanan I'm just a headphone kind of fellow. Stax Sigma

    It never ceases to amaze me that there is a never ending supply of drongoes that pay no attention whatsoever to their surroundings whilst driving, and when they are paying attention, make incredibly poor decisions. If only it was just the driver that was removed by Darwinian selection.
     
  2. bhazen

    bhazen ANNOYING BEATLES FAN

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    :( RIP, Mr. Hansen.

    One of the best systems I ever heard in a shop was an Ayre CD deck and integrated, driving some small Vandersteens. High-end musicality, for a pretty reasonable price.
     
  3. I have the Ayre QB-9DSD which I too would categorize in the realm of “high-end musicality.” I’m not sure the price is reasonable, but very few high-end items are.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2017
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  4. bhazen

    bhazen ANNOYING BEATLES FAN

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    I think this system was around $10k which, based on the music I was hearing, was very reasonable! :)
     
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  5. Total of $10,000 for an entire system sounds entirely reasonable in the audiophile world, but not in the real world! I have trouble divorcing myself from both worlds sometimes.
     
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  6. bhazen

    bhazen ANNOYING BEATLES FAN

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    :laugh: One has to be mindful of who's reading, I guess. I can tell you this: the $10k-ish Ayre/Vandersteen setup was more involving than a $500k-ish Linn/D'Agostino/Wilson system around the same time. The latter was ... boring! In fact, after 10 minutes of that I dashed across the street to hear a demo of a Rega system that probably cost about $5k, which killed it. Those days taught me that money spent doesn't always equate to musical satisfaction.
     
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  7. BSC

    BSC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow, Scotland
    Very sad news.

    I was the proud owner for nearly 10 years of an Ayre AX-7/CX-7 combo. I always considered I had ventured really into the high end with that combo. Sounded great and looked great. I retain a special fondness for Ayre gear.

    Seemed like a great guy that cared about music and the equipment to play it. RIP.
     
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  8. ZenMango

    ZenMango Forum Resident

    Location:
    Florida
    Really sad. I always enjoyed watching various interviews on YouTube over the last few years of him. You can tell a good human being with a passion for his career.
     
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  9. scotpagel

    scotpagel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mesa, Az
    Me too! Bob at Advanced Audio Systems in Tacoma, Wa. The speakers were the first Quatros sock th AX-7 integrated and both the C-7 and C-5xe mp. Bought the C-5 later on because of the auditions
     
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  10. bhazen

    bhazen ANNOYING BEATLES FAN

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    Yup, that's exactly where I heard 'em. I'd asked to hear the most entry-level stuff Ayre made, which was the AX-7 series CD deck and integrated amp. Speakers were 1ci's.

    I'm sorry Ayre don't seem to offer a simple integrated and CDP anymore ...
     
  11. scotpagel

    scotpagel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mesa, Az
    Yeah everything is 8k and up without interconnects, power cords etc.
     
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  12. No, but they offer the Codex which if you are a headphone listener covers DAC and amplification duties nicely.
     
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  13. scotpagel

    scotpagel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mesa, Az
    I really think my next integrated will be a used AX-5 Twenty off of Audiogon.
     
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