To Ayre or not to Ayre...

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by HenryH, Jun 19, 2017.

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  1. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    If Ayre ever makes a dedicated headphone amp, it will be nicknamed Ayre-head.
    If Ayre ever does a dedicated headphone amp I want one. Assuming it's affordable ($9000 for a headphone amp ain't ever happening for me, but a couple grand I can do).
     
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  2. HenryH

    HenryH Miserable Git Thread Starter

    Thanks! Good to know.

    I have considered Rogue as a possibility, but their higher powered amps are Tube/Class D hybrids. Their all tube unit is 100w.
    I even looked at the 150w Carver (red) mono tube amps. Nice, but yes, pricey.

    Yes, the Vandersteens do require an amp that can easily deliver a bit of power (87 dB/6 ohms nominal), so I'm looking for something in the 150w range. The Bryston is fine for power, but it does have some of those SS characteristics you mention.

    From what you've said here, it seems that the Ayre would be worth seriously considering.
     
  3. captwillard

    captwillard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville
    Rogue isn't in the same league as Ayre. Nice stuff, but not Ayre.
     
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  4. Larry I

    Larry I Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    I am not a fan of most high-powered tube amps. Many sound brittle and harsh, as compared to comparable solid state amps. To me, a lot of high-powered tube amps (amps utilizing a lot of tetrode/pentode tubes in parallel) sound more like the olden days' solid state amps than do current solid state amps (hard sounding transient attack and "brittle" sound). I admit that I have not listened to many, because I don't need much power, but, the ones I heard did not leave a favorable impression.

    These days, solid state amps don't sound bad at all, at least in terms of the old day complaints of being grainy or shrill. Most do have a sort of artificial edge or sharpness to the initial attack of a note and then a sort of truncated decay of the note, as compared to the more natural sounding attack and decay of better tube amps, but, most are much better than before in this regard. It is not so much a sin of commission, but one of omission that still bothers me a bit with solid state amps. I cannot really identify what is "wrong" specifically, but, I tend to lose interest more quickly when listening to solid state amps--they sound just a little bit boring and lacking in dynamics at lower volume levels, i.e., something is missing.

    If you think you need 150 watts or so, I would say stick with solid state, and Ayre is certainly a contender in that field. But, just for fun, see if you can find and try a much lower powered tube amp, even something in the 20 watt range, to see if the tradeoff is worth while. You might be surprised.
     
  5. HenryH

    HenryH Miserable Git Thread Starter

    Oh yes, I understand that. As I mentioned earlier, I've been considering options for a few years. The Rogue equipment is in my general price range and it's available from a local dealer, so it was something that I thought might have potential, but ultimately not quite what I was looking for.
     
  6. chili555

    chili555 Forum Resident

    Which Vandy's are surely not.

    I once tried a Marantz 8b with my Vandersteen 2ce's and, at modest levels, the sound was very slightly warm and polite. Perfect for Bill Evans; anemic for large-scale symphonies or Led Zeppelin. Power! I want power!
     
  7. Larry I

    Larry I Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    I agree that the Vandy 3A is probably not a match for low-powered tubes. But, you never really know until you try. I heard the old Rogers LS3/5A (15 ohm) playing quite loudly and with really nice sound in a big room driven by a 20 watt amp. The Rogers is admittedly a very easy load (15 ohm nominal impedance), but it is also considerably LESS efficient than the Vandy at 82 db/w/m.

    The Marantz 8b is a pretty robust 35 watter, so I guess it does not bode well for low-powered tube amps driving Vandy speakers. Perhaps one of the moderate powered amps with a pair of KT150s can do the trick.
     
  8. countingbackward

    countingbackward Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montreal, QC
    I like Ayre gear. It's well named in that it tends to have a nice airy top end, which lends a feeling of lightness-of-touch to its sound. It's not a heavy sound that focuses on impact, it's more of a refined sound that focuses on balance and coherence. I think that's why tube lovers tend to like Ayre gear - while I'm not of the opinion that good tube gear and good transistor gear sound alike in any way, I can see how somebody who is a fan of a "refined" sound would enjoy Ayre gear, and also enjoy good tube gear.

    I once had a Bryston 3BST and replaced it with an Ayre A7xe...the Ayre was a huge improvement IMHO, with more refined sound and a feeling of more headroom.
     
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  9. Steve0

    Steve0 Audio Banana

    Location:
    australia
    I recently compared my VX5 to an Audio Research Ref 150 and there was not much between them.

    If I had the funds I would own both and rotate them in and out for different types of music however for an all round option that meets my needs and budget i chose to stick with the Arye Vx5.

    Also tested with my current speakers are the Bryton 7b's sst2's monos and the MF M5-700 monos and MF A308CR stack, sure the monos have more power but lacked the air and finesse of the Ayre amp.

    Disclaimer I have not tried the Ayre monos due to budget constraints.
     
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