Hey Eric,
We're just now getting everything sorted to be able to go back to running 100%. Most of the units were boxed in temporary boxes for the move, so we want to get them out, retest and set them to make sure that they all arrive in 100% working order. It adds a bit of unfortunate time over just shipping them out, but I felt we'd be remiss if we didn't perform that extra step. They should all be fine once tested, and I don't expect to see any problems, so I expect it will be pretty soon here. UPS just started picking up from our location the other day, so we're able to get boxes out again.
I have no doubt that the R series will blow you away. The KX-R has always been to me the ideal design in a preamplifier. To me, a preamp in any system shouldn't make the sound more warm, or bright, or compensate for some other lacking in the system. It should be completely transparent to let the recording shine and any colorations found would need to be addressed elsewhere in the system. The KX-R does that better than anything else I've heard, and that was from back when I was just a technician at Ayre learning about this crazy world by listening to any system I could get my hands on. There's always preferences for each individual on the overall sound of the system, but it was hard to deny how completely transparent the KX-R was by anyone who heard it. Perhaps even more important, that transparency in all of our preamps remains even at low volume levels with Ayre's VGT method of volume control. The Twenty upgrade was actually a shock to Charley and I, as we both didn't believe that there was a way to make the original any better, and the KX-5 benefited from many of the elements we put into the KX-R as a result, but the KX-R represents a level that we simply couldn't afford at the KX-5s price point.
On an aside, the new place is very exciting for us. We've been cramped in an old former lawyer's office for years that was built back in the 70's and the whole place was a big labyrinth. That made building units, storing parts, and shipping a logistical nightmare that we've put up with for over 25 years! The new place has a nice linear layout with big manufacturing areas that will let us just move the products from one end of the room down the line to the other. Now that we're here, I wish we'd have moved 10 years ago.
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