Decided to live dangerously over the weekend and instead of the usual 60 setting on the ARC pre, I pushed it to 80!
I have never before pushed this setup as loud as I did Saturday and boy it did not disappoint. Other lesser amps I have had in my rack in the past would get very loose and sloppy at that level ( 70 actually), so I never tried the ARC/Ayre combo beyond 60 plus I am not keen on releasing any magic smoke from my kit nor smoking any drivers in my MB2's.
The music that I used for the test was a very heavy bass track by Notorious BIG (Hypnotise) and BIG is exactly how it sounded.
I know that Ayre claims on its site that it uses very high quality power supplies, but lets be honest here because every manufacture claims that. However in Ayres case it seems they are not just being truthful but are in fact being very accurate because the speakers were held with what seemed to be an iron grip and there was zero flab or wobble in the 12" bass drivers with the volume at 80!
The only other amps I have tested so far that gripped my MB2's like that are the Bryston 7bsst2's and the MF M8-700 both of which are mono blocks configurations (900w & 1300w @4ohm repectively). But both of these mono setups lacked the air and finesse I sought which is why they got sent back and were not kept.
Heat aside, when I actually wound the VX5 out and let it truly stretch its legs, I was compelled to do the the only thing a man could do in such a situation and that was to dance to the music
ARC and Ayre really are a ridiculously good combo which my little lady even backed up when I got her to A/B test my pre amps options with the VX5. She has no idea about brands or costs but she like the rest of us knows what her ears like and they voted for the ARC pre over the KX5 when coupled with the VX5 amp.
I may some day opt for the twenty upgrade but for now I am a happy camper. Not sure why I am always in search for a little more but its probably due to that disease we all seem to suffer around here, audionervosa.