Ayre KX-R with Wilson Sashas

[MadFloyd]

Purist Canorus between pre and amps.

Speaker cables and interconnects (sources to pre) are Proteus Provectus.

[jfrech]

Hi any comments on the Ayre KXR compared to the Lamm L2R? And then to the Pass XL 30? Honestly, you have a good pre amp, wondering if better or just different on these 3...I think I said before, I had the KXR at home about 2-3 years ago. I found it very resolved, loved the volume control...but thought the Nagra PLL added a touch more wetness on the notes...

I never tried the Canorus, I did have my whole system wired with Proteus Provectus Praesto for about 2 years. It's a killer cable in the mids...I did find the Transparent Reference MM MM2 to sound better, lower noise, more dimensional, better bass, sweeter on top (that was a surprise vs the pad ppp). Something about those networks and wilson's just synergistic. It's a lot more money however and it's not that much better...the higher end Purist might have done the same thing...I have a friend who keeps telling me the new PAD 25th anniversary is a breakthrough in cabling technology/sound.

PS I have a Tri Planar also (using a Allaerts MC2 Finish) I am considering a Reed 3p arm...have you ever tried different arms?

[MadFloyd]

The Ayre is a totally different beast than the Lamm (solid state vs tube even though technically the Lamm is a hybrid).

I think the Ayre is very neutral and transparent - if the recording isn't superb you're going to know real quick. Put it this way, imho the Beatles aren't that enjoyable on the Ayre (too thin for my taste) but they sound like they're in the room on the Lamm.

I think the Ayre is more detailed than the Lamm, but the Lamm portrays realistic body (without bloat) in a very convincing manner. Both are great on Jazz. I prefer the Lamm for rock.

I prefer the Pass for classical.

I went with PAD because I wanted great midrange. I was afraid that Transparent would be thinner - although I have no idea how I got that impression. PAD has been my only high end cables and I bought them blind. I'd really really like to try Transparent now, but I knew I'd need to go MM2 and they just seemed out of reach to me. I have a feeling that I'd really appreciate the bass with Transparent from what I've read.

I have not tried different arms. I loathe the work. I have my Triplanar/Dynavector setup well enough that I don't want to mess with it. For example, I have an Ortofon A90 that has been sitting around for 2 years or so and have never heard it.

I'm not familiar with Allaerts MC3 Finish - what is that?

[jfrech]

Hi, the Allaerts is a very limited edition cartridge. Just one guy designs/builds/services...so it can take awhile to acquire one. I mentioned it because I do think Tron and Allaerts have a relationship (or at least Tron's phono stage is near perfect match for the Allaert's cartridges) Just fyi here Jan Allaerts cartridges

I know your dynavector is a VERY nice cartridge also !