Ayre MXR overheating
 

I have owned a pair of MX-R amps for 2 1/2 years now. Bought from the dealer as a Demo pair, and have been very happy with the sound. Really transformed my system:) This week all of a sudden one amp shut down in protection mode due to overheating. I have tested it out and, just to the touch it heats up much quicker than the other and gets hotter before the shut down. I wonder if anyone has had this problem and what the fix is? I am seriously not looking forward to shipping them in for repair.....well if I am then maybe a Twenty upgrade??
I am waiting for a reply from Ayre via the dealer, which should happen early next week.
I saw on another forum that some of the earlier models had some substandard transistors that led to overheating and had to be replaced?? not sure.

Honestly if you can afford to upgrade just do it. The older amps ran hot. The double diamond circuit cuts that way back. I had the AX5 and it was too hot to touch. Now with the upgrade it's a totally different amp (light years better) and runs at normal temps even in a cabinet and driven hard. Let us know when you send them in for you upgrade. Lol. Promise you it's worth every dime. If you have a local dealer you may want to go through them as the. They can do all the follow ups etc and it costs nothing more to you. Let them pack , insure and ship for you lol.

I owned MXR's for a ~5 years. GREAT amps. And yes I had your problem. It's a bad batch of power output transistors. They can be replaced back to Ayre and back pretty quickly. My dealer had MXR-20's which I wanted to love. I liked em...all the typical things, better bass, more resolute, more quiet, better attack, more dynamic...but had this elusive thing missing that kept me wanting the MXR's back in.

I ended up getting a Nagra Classic Amp ... vs the MXR20 update.


Speakers: Rockport Altair 2
Preamp: Robert Koda K10
Amp: Nagra Classic Amp
Cables: Transparent Opus Gen 5 & Magnum Opus phono
Power Transparent Opus (x4)/Opus Source Power Cords (x6) Opus Power Isolators (x2)
Power Shunyata Typhon+Anaconda Zitron/DPC-6 v2
Digital dCS Vivaldi full stack w/ Transparent Reference XL Digital cables
Phono: Grand Prix Monaco TT, Spiral Groove Centroid, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement v2, Nagra VPS/VFS/MPS
Racks: Grand Prix Audio Silverstone F1 (x3)

I sure hope you dutifully sent in your card within 30 days of purchase so Charlie would bless you with his wonderous extended warranty.

Now, why would an ethical manufacturer knowingly bring something to market that users couldn't even touch?

Hey, look who's here....it's aardvark bark.. boy and I'm surprised, lol. First off, you have brought up that 30 day card deal on other threads and been totally shot down by Alex from Ayre. You are 100% wrong. This is an Ayre thread, so please stop lying about things that you already know are incorrect.

As for it being 'too hot to touch', yes it was very hot, but I also kept it in a cabinet that didn't have the air flow the amp needed. There are plenty of amps that run hot like this. I had Quicksilver and Jadis amps that ran even hotter, so I guess that's ok because they aren't Ayre.

You really are a piece, lol too funny. Go back and play on the Pass site as they are the best ever amps and the best ever company and you are an expert on consulting and telling companies how great or how bad they are, LOL... Too funny man.

Great post and spot on!

jfaris... Welcome to AA! :wave:

Welcome to the boards. What's your system?

Just call Ayre, known issue and they are very supportive. Even though my amps are older than 5 years they told me they would take care of me anyway at no cost other than shipping if needed be. They offered to send the parts to my selling dealer which they knew had a strong tech and they would support install costs.

In my case I had moved one amp over the other, the heat of the one below brought the other one over the top. My cabinet is opened front and back.

Operating temperature is very close to overheating so make sure it's well vented. Try putting a fan on it and a meat thermometer to see what happens, it overheats at 65 degrees C. They also told me to leave it on for thermal stability.

Dan

Dan

Great post Dan. So what you are saying is that Ayre stands by it's products and even when they are out of warrantee, they will take care of something that should be taken care of. Some like to bitch and moan about Ayre not supporting their products or customers if they don't send in their post cards to extend it. Glad to hear your story and of course no one is surprised by that. I haven't sent my card in on my QX5 yet and I promise I'll have the full 5 year warrantee (had major surgery and am only now getting around and that hasn't been a priority, lol).

Like I said to the OP, IF you can afford the upgrade, I promise you that you will be VERY happy.

Thanks jfrech, I am unable to audition the Twenty's where I live, so would have to do it on blind faith...and it does worry me, what if I prefer the original? I will see what happens but the trip to the factory will be arduous from Australia so not something I am likely to do twice.
What did the Nagra do above the Twenty? I like the detail in the standard MR-x would hate it to be "more tube like"( ie. mellow?), it's the dynamics and pace that I like, perhaps fast a better word.

redsectora , my amps are in free space next to each speaker so can't improve on ventilation. running a fan is not an option. Years ago (like 20) I visited a house where the owner had periodically spray some aerosol on his Mark Levinson's to stop them overheating:) I don't want to go down that path!!
It is summer in Australia, but they worked flawlessly through 2 previous summers so I doubt it is ambient room temperature...and it is one amp that heats up very quickly.

ct schooner...that's what worries me I don't want a completely different amp...I really like the MR-x . Better, yes, different, I'm not sure about

dinster - I demoed the Nagra classic amp and a Nagra preamp in my system at the same time had the MxR Twenty and KXR Twenty on demo. To my ears, the Ayre Twenty combo was better. More organic with better midrange. I could always detect a tiny, small trace of solid state electronics sounds with Nagra, but none with the Ayre combination.

Not different. Really just so much better in all aspects. They corrected any problems etc and have a much faster amp that's more musical. Ayre is neither Ruben or SS. They just get it correct. They have lowered the noise floor even more with their filtering of the power line and it gives much more micro and macro detail. When I say a new amp, it is but still has that sonic signature that is Ayre. I've seen people change brands, but many often do in audio just because they wanted something new. I've not spoken to anyone who has done the upgrade in any of the Ayre models who wasn't pretty blown away and happy. The nice thing is that there is a good size market of you are not happy. Go read the other forums by Ayre owners who did upgrades. You will always find one or two like aardvark who aren't happy and want to bash the former company on the way out the door, but that's pretty rare I think. JMHO

Dinster - I'm in Australia and had the same problem about 2 - 3 years ago. One of the MX-R started to overheat after 2 odd hours of use. Back then Ayre had just announced the MX-R upgrade. I phoned Ayre and they said that the new MX-R Twenty boards would fix the issue as well as upgrade the sound. But because the twenty upgrade was was just announced it was going to take a while for it to be available in Australia.

I phoned Audio Connections (Sydney's - main Ayre dealer) and they recommended not to wait until the new boards were available as they felt that the longer I waited other problems may occur with the amp. So I dropped the "problem" amp to Audio Connections and their Tech fixed the issue without needing it to go back to US (I can't remember the cost of the repairs). I think it was a week (possibly two) turnaround. When it came back it actually ran a little cooler than the one that did not have the problem.

Also when I phoned Ayre - they said that the local Australian tech can do the Twenty upgrade - they would just need to supply the new boards to Australia (but please recheck this).

So it can be fixed locally or if you want to upgrade to Twenty status - it should be able to be done Locally In Australia, without needing to go back to U.S.

hope that helps.

I had VX-R four plus years and ran into same problem with output device overheat/ fail. i did upgrade to Twenty when amp was back at factory where they took fantastic care of me.

Some observations after a year or so with the amp driving Vandersteen 7 mk2.

A much more tubelike amp than the initial configuration - mids are smoother more fleshed out richer - even a bit full. the treble has lost a bit of extreme air and extension. the old config when left on had a very delicate etched quality and shimmer that for me in my system anyway is missing. I had to leave the old config on 24/7 to get best sound - the Twenty kicks A in about 10 minutes. bass is better defined. I will say that many of my comparative hours were with Vandersteen 5a.
Is it worth the extra $ ?
Probably IF it gets you out of the old thermaltrac output devices and into a new warranty period.
Hope this helps.
ayre product and support are first rate in my book and experience.

Upgrades to 20 series are done locally by authorised dealers :)

Tom, I have roughly the same things to say about my AX5 Twenty upgrades.

Thanks for all the responses. Things move slowly from 20,000 miles away...You have persuaded me to go for the upgrade, hope I don't regret it, will post my impressions when it happens.

Outstanding. I bet you will love what you did. Can't wait to hear your impressions.

well I finally got my amps back today, twenty upgrade done. Initial impressions were good, like really happy....but one amp went into DC offset, and it keeps doing it even with the source disconnected.
So I am currently not happy with Ayre products, in reality ... initial iteration, just a matter of time 'till it starts overheating....seems most have had this problem, and now I have a very expensive dodgy upgrade.
I need some serious reassurance:(

So 2 months and $15,000.00 later I have a non functioning amp. Anyone else had this problem? I notice that no one seemed to mention the overheating problem until I asked .... then it seemed like just about everyone had had a warrantee repair.

Bought KX-R and MX-R 4-5 years ago....no issue.

Upgraded everything to Twenty 2 years ago......no issue.

(Audio)

Ayre MXR overheating
 

I had three MXRs for 3 years and now 3 upgraded "20" versions and VXR20 for last two years. No issues or repairs over the 5 years of ownership and counting

I did have two amps show the violet light once after power loss and generator kicking in....I just unplugged for 15 min...plugged back in and good to go

Good luck....dealer or Ayre should be able to resolve quickly....I hope once resolved you are able to enjoy

This is the first time I hear of an issue with the Twenty. Was it upgraded by your dealer or Ayre? Since my dealer was in another country and I had the recurring problem with the MX-R, I had him run them for a while after upgrade before confirming they're okay and shipping them back to me.

Have owned a few Ayre pieces over the last few years and found them to be bullet proof. Never a problem and they sound outstanding. I'm surprised to hear of your problems as I know at least 50 people who do or have owned their gear and never had any problems. From digital to amps, never a problem. Even that overheating problem seems very rare as I don't know anyone who's had that problem either, even though it used to be a problem, that they fixed immediately. Where do you live? Who is your dealer? What have they said or done?

I have a KX-R (now Twenty) and a pair of MX-R Twenties.

I did have some issues with DC offset due to an improper AyreLink cable, but that was solved very quickly.

Other than that, no overheating or any other issues.

You may want to double check your preamp to make sure it isn't producing or passing any true DC offfset, but since it does it with no connection it sounds like an internal issue and your dealer should be able to get it sorted quickly.

Thanks for the replies. Billk, initially I thought it was an Ayre link problem but it persists no matter what is or isn't connected, does it with input disconnected, ayre link disconnected, even speakers disconnected. The clue that something is amiss is that on turn on for the very first time it shows violet (low supply voltage) for a few minutes before going into standby (green), and then on another push to on (blue), when I push again to go into standby it goes red (DC offset) and needs a complete power down to reset.
ctsooner, that's great to hear!
Dealer waiting on a response from Ayre, I can't get hold of Michael at Ayre on the phone, it did take them 2 months to do the upgrade, so nothing is going to happen fast:(

Dinster, I sympathize with you. I had problems with an Ayre item too. Michael's 'tude was basically "that's why we have dealers" and he referred me back to mine (who, ironically, couldn't address my issue). I'll never buy from a manufacturer with that kind of arrogance and indifference again. Ayre's slogan really ought to be 'talk to the hand'. The Ayre-fanbois on the boards just do NOT like it when you suggest problems with their fav gear or Boulder buds, especially after they dropped the kind of coin they did (how embarrassing!).

Ayre seems to excel at customer service when their gear works. It's just when it doesn't that they fall flat. And shouldn't that be the real test of customer service? Apparently, Charlie thinks not.....

I think Ayre has great customer service...
 

I recently had an issue with my KX-5 Twenty that occurred during a strong Thunderstorm that caused a problem with the volume control of the unit. I contracted my dealer and Ayre to voice my concern as the product was less then 3 months old when this occurred.

My dealer contacted Ayre who asked for the unit to be sent back to them immediately and I received a loaner K5XEmp which was the same as the preamp I just traded in for the new KX-5 Twenty.

I also phoned and contracted Ayre and spoke to Michael in regards to what happened and my concern for having the unit back fully functional and as good as new. He assured me that would be the case, and that they would get the unit back to me ASAP. I

I also received an email from Alex Brinkman who is their National Sales Manager who asked me to call him on his cell which I did. I had a very nice conversation with him and he apologized for the inconvenience and said they would cover this without any questions and take care of me. I received several updates over the two weeks they had the unit and once returned it was in immaculate condition the same as when I sent the unit in (including the box). The unit performed flawlessly and sounds as good as ever and far better than the K5Xmp that I had previously.

Needless to say, I am a huge fan as I have had Ayre gear now since 2007 which has been very reliable.

The irony is that the Ayre owners are providing real data points on how Ayre has helped them with questions/issues and are transparent on product issues as well. I have not seen anyone try to rationalize poor service...and you don't seem to accept that all the rest of us have stories of great service. In fact for me personally....I am a very demanding customer and would not accept poor service

I don't know what you asked or how you asked it but I expect that if we all knew....it would be you who looked bad...not Ayre

But by all means keep bringing up your side of the story....I have come to expect it

For the OP....I hope it's resolved soon. Keep us posted

aardvark, I must say I think you have nailed it "all men are equal except some are more equal than others". Trumpism at work:)
When I first had my overheating problem I got hold of Ayre and they were all over it wanted me to bypass the dealer, send the amps directly to them and would have had exceptional service and a fixed amp within a week. As soon as they heard I was in Australia it was like "tough, we're out of here talk to your dealer". My dealer took 2 month to do the upgrade, blamed Ayre for sending them an incomplete parts set....how hard is it to send a single PCB??? For the price, components $1000.00 R&D $14,000.00.
However...I managed to get the amps running this morning, the faulty one heats up much quicker than the other one and gets hotter, but running for some 4 hours now, and as long as I leave it "on" position all seems OK. Difficult to compare the sound to the original because it has been over 2 months between listens..... but the sound is brilliant, these amps seem to do all I want, delicate detailed fast highs, controlled bass, and a midrange that is just perfect.
Currently listening to Aerial Boundaries recorded from vinyl in DSD on my Korg MR 2000, from Atlas/4 Point/Master Solution/AudiaFlight...Windham Hill did amazing stuff.
Are you in RSA?

Greg I hope I can write something similar soon, Pleased you were sorted.

oh dear great morning listening but now some 4 hours into the session the "hot" amp shut down "red" DC offset. I do have a problem:(

I talked to Michael a few times regarding my QX 5 Twenty on the phone about the illuminated letters on the display screen and the fact that their are some missing lines, example letters and numbers are not complete and Michael said that its a simple LE display replacement fix and I can send the unit back to him or have my dealer here in Viet Nam fix it. So far Im very impressed with Arye customer service and technical assistance over the phone, I have never experienced them rushing me thru a phone call or trying to get rid of me so to speak.

I have to say Ayre has been more than friendly to me as well whenever I have called Michael, though in all fairness he's very busy and I can see where if an issue became more detailed than he could easily deal with, he might feel it to be an issue better handled with your dealer.

They've been great to me, and I've even had a few nice chats with Charlie.

dinster, I'm sorry you are having issues but I know Ayre will get it sorted quickly; I suspect Michael will be no happier to hear of your issue than you are to be experiencing it.

Guys, the reason they use dealers is because Michael is one person and can't do his real job AND talk to all of us who want to talk. Many audiophiles just call to talk and get advice and that too take away from what they are trying to do to support us all.

I know many Ayre dealers who love dealing with the company as they support the dealer network fully. They want us to all purchase from the local dealer. Not a bad thing.

As for aardvark, he's just a constant negative poster against Ayre. The more I hear the venom of his posts, I wonder if he was not nice to Michael. Did he go through his dealer? The answer is NO! He loses any credibility on an Ayre board since anyone who's had a problem has had a positive interaction other than the OP and Ayre is trying like heck to fix it from the sound of it. They will do what they have to. Since the OP is in Australia so it may be harder to take care of quickly, I don't know about that. I'm sure they will make it right and get you fixed so that you can enjoy one of the best amps in the world the way you had been.

As for aardvark, just stay on your pass board and enjoy your sold out the back door as B stock amps, lol. You aren't the only one who is or was a consultant and deal/dealt with some of the largest and smallest companies in the world.

I have had nothing but exemplary service from Michael and all at Ayre.

Well I finally heard from Ayre, through my dealer, on Tuesday the query was "is it something I have connected to the amps, some non-Ayre component, like a Creston"... what ever that is?
I replied that the problem is present with nothing connected to the amps. In fact tonight I did a test by swapping the outputs from the KXR preamp to the power amps and again the same amp failed after a few minutes, so clearly it is a problem with that amp.
I hope someone contacts me with a solution soon. I am really not happy.
The 15 minutes I did get to listen was very good...Eva Cassidy:)
Don't be too hard on aardvark...I am currently not experiencing the exemplary service you all seem to have received.