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Ayre A new dimension of musical enjoyment

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  #21  
Old 03-16-2015, 02:39 PM
pessoa00 pessoa00 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yage View Post
Haven't had problems with my AX-5 shutting down. I'll be taking my amp into the dealer later this week to run a head-to-head against his AX-5 Twenty.
I'm also considering updating my ax-5. Looking forward for your thoughs on that head to head!
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  #22  
Old 03-23-2015, 05:49 PM
yage yage is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pessoa00 View Post
I'm also considering updating my ax-5. Looking forward for your thoughs on that head to head!
I did manage to make the trek out to the dealer on Friday. I always go into these sorts of things not wanting to hear a difference. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) I forgot the checkbook at home but remembered the music (all CD's) so I didn't really have to make a decision on the spot.

Here's the setup:

Speakers - Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand
Source - Ayre CX-7eMP
Cabling - balanced IC (model unknown), Transparent Audio speaker wire (model unknown), stock power cords

I listened to the AX-5 Twenty while my AX-5 was warming up. First I cued up "I'm Old Fashioned" from Blue Train. I like the track because it's a lovely take on a standard, but also because Trane, Fuller, Drew, and Morgan each get their own solo, making it easy to compare different presentations. At first, I wasn't impressed. The entire track seemed tame, polite even. I chalked it up to not being familiar with most of the components in the demo system - I've got an Ayre C-5xeMP and Vandersteen 3A Signatures at home. I confided to myself (rather foolishly, I might add) that I might not be able to discern a difference at all given the circumstances. Just how wrong that thought was would be apparent just a few tracks later.

Next I played some cuts from Florence + the Machine's sophomore album, Ceremonials. Florence's voice has the distinct quality of being able to test the midrange of any system. Certain passages have a 'hardness' to the recording that makes it difficult to bear at times. I noted that I detected only a shadow of that edge while listening to tracks on the AX-5 Twenty. I also realized that my toes were tapping throughout the songs I played. Could it be that my ears were at last warming up?

I exchanged Florence for The National's Trouble Will Find Me. Matt Berninger's plaintive baritone is a great test for male vocals. Just a smidge too much midbass and it sounds like he's got a perpetual head cold. By now I could definitely sense that the AX-5 Twenty was doing something *different*. I couldn't quite put my finger on it - much less whether I liked it. Still, toes tapped through this one too - a good sign.

Finally, I came to the last track. The ears and the mind were tired of listening so critically. I popped in Chesky's release of Earl Wild's Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. I cued up the finale and sat back. The strings had real flow - the speakers seemingly effortless filling the room with sound. The piano, surprisingly, was almost overpowered by the orchestra, but nevertheless had good heft. I don't know why, but the thought of 'this is sound I could sink my teeth into' sprung to mind. Whenever that happens, I know that my mind is being at least somewhat fooled into thinking I'm listening to the real thing and not some recording.

Now after all this, a veritable roller coaster ride of emotions and expectations, the moment had arrived. We swapped out all the cabling and listened to the tracks in reverse order on the stock AX-5. And there it was, plain as day - a huge difference. If I were blind, I'd swear that I was listening to two different integrated amps. To put it one way, the Twenty has something to its character that seduces you, subtly, perhaps imperceptibly even. The stock AX-5 demands your attention from the outset. It is vivid, vibrant - and possibly just a touch overzealous.

The strings during the piano concerto were now a touch drier sounding - the ease that I heard earlier now muted. The piano shifted forward in the soundstage. The notes flying from Wild's hands had a distinct clarity and the space that it and the rest of the orchestra occupied were well delineated. Yet I couldn't help but feel that something in the presentation was missing overall.

Somewhat disappointed that the stock AX-5 wasn't knocking my socks off, I popped in The National again. Berninger's voice was now highlighted against the rest of the mix and it also seemed the entire presentation lost some depth. Now I had a better handle of what was going on. I hurriedly swapped in Florence to confirm. It seemed that the AX-5 Twenty was now retrieving? adding? in a new layer of 'information' that only from direct comparison could I detect. The tonal balance was warmer and the sound 'rounder'. It seemed something was happening in the upper bass - lower midrange. Thinking back to the Rachmaninoff piece, I now concluded that the updated AX-5 could not only successfully reproduce the orchestra and piano, but also artfully blend in the contribution from the concert hall they were playing in. Paul Chambers' bass in "I'm Old Fashioned" now had real heft. The tradeoff is that impact - e.g. the snap of the snare drum and dynamism (not dynamics) and clarity are subdued to a small degree - characteristics that drew me to the AX-5 to begin with.

So to sum up, it's almost like the difference between a well-calibrated TV and one that's been set up to stand out on the showroom floor. The showroom set's colors really pop next to the calibrated display. But even though the showroom settings will probably get you to fork over your money, under the right conditions or to the right person, the calibrated display will bring more satisfaction. I also think it's a matter of personal taste, if you're happy with the way your AX-5 sounds now, I'd still schedule a comparison at your nearest dealer. You could be leaving with your wallet a little bit lighter - perhaps best to leave the checkbook at home.

Last edited by yage; 03-23-2015 at 09:59 PM.
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  #23  
Old 03-24-2015, 10:51 AM
Kingsrule Kingsrule is offline
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Nice review!
I wish I had the patience to write mine as detailed as yours......
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  #24  
Old 05-24-2015, 04:08 AM
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Manbient Manbient is offline
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My kx-5 just overheated again... first time in a while. Probably 3 hours of music listening in, but it's top shelf away from everything and it's not really hot here today. Listening at loud-but-not-blisteringly-loud level of 30 on the KX-5. Can't wait for my upgrade to fix this, but I actually think my unit might be a but anomalous with its heat sensitivity. Time will tell!
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  #25  
Old 05-24-2015, 07:16 AM
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Douglas Douglas is offline
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Fantastic review, you shoud be on the staff of Stereophile
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  #26  
Old 06-03-2015, 03:18 PM
JPMc JPMc is offline
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Thanks, yage, for the review.

I spoke to my dealer and hopefully will be in line soon for my upgrade to the Twenty version.

My amp has never had an issue with overheating. But recently I have been leaving it on for longer stretches at a time. It does get warm.
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  #27  
Old 07-13-2015, 07:46 PM
JPMc JPMc is offline
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Well my AX-5 is boxed up and presumably on its way to Boulder, Co. I dropped it off at the dealer Saturday and hopefully will get it back in about a month or so.

I did hear the dealer's AX-5 Twenty for a bit. Busy shop at the time and we had just had a nasty ride there thanks to Shore traffic, so not really an audition. Still, the Twenty caught my attention amid the conversation and the ongoing business. Very natural, engaging. It was low volume on Vandersteen Trios with a Sony server and who knows what kind of wires and whatnot. Really had me hearing music.
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  #28  
Old 07-15-2015, 09:11 PM
RLF RLF is offline
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My VX-5 was sent off to Ayre by my dealer about a week ago for the Twenty upgrade. I did an audition of a Sonus Faber Amati Futura with an Ayre VX-5 Twenty at my dealer a little while back. The Ayre did a great job of powering the AF playing my own music. My wife thought so too.
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  #29  
Old 11-21-2015, 02:27 PM
ctsooner ctsooner is offline
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The biggest and best upgrade I've ever made is the upgrade to the Twenty. I was in shock at what it did for my system. Open, natural, spacious, deep powerful bass. real masses strings, triangle and piano. Voices are in the room with me. It's like the Treo's are brand new. Now I'll be upgrading to the Quatro CT's as soon as I sell my Treo's. I have yet to hear the new Rowland integrated, but I've heard many of the 20k plus integradeds recently and the Ayre is better than all and smokes most. It's neither tube more SS. It takes the best of both and gets out of the way. You can actually emotionally connect and listen all day long and get lost. JMHO.
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  #30  
Old 11-22-2015, 03:55 AM
Charles Hansen Charles Hansen is offline
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Hi All,

Great to hear the dialog going on here. I agree with every single post on all three pages. The original AX-5 sounded excellent but not as good as a great tube amp. It also ran very warm and could shut down if not given LOTS of breathing room. The Twenty is a completely new amp in the same chassis, and takes everything to a shocking new level and is now better than tubes.

One person had a V-5xe which is an earlier design. Very, very good but not the magic of the Twenty series. However it is half the price! It will run warm but it will never shut down and can drive any speakers really well.

Hope this helps.
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