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In Reply to: RE: New Ayre amp at CES 2011: VX-R stereo amp posted by AbeCollins on January 10, 2011 at 09:33:48
I have heard the MX-R at my local dealer driving Wilson's and I think the Ayre gear sounds fantastic. Very musical...
However, the escalation in costs of audio products is really getting disconcerting to me.
Follow Ups:
I have a very hard tim believing that the Ayre is worth close to double the money from a Pass Labs offering of simialr power.
For that manner, let's take a old Threshold STASIS-2 or S500, give it to Vintage Amp Repair for a refresh, and compare THAT to the Ayre.
What do you reckon?
"What this country needs is a good 5 watt amplifier!" (Paul Klipsch)
Hi Freo - I am with you here (noting I have liked all the Ayre gear I have heard - MX-R, V-5xe. pre and CD players - very musical)- but to actually say the new 15K amp is substantially better then a Pass or an older Threshold, or even a fully modified DNA225 from SMC is a good question.
I think the hi-end is totally milking the high price bonanza. Higher the price more "street cred".
VAlin of Absolute Sound is totally in the mix with these ridiculously priced Soulution, BAlabo, and now Technical Brain Amps/pre-amps that are getting more publicity then the true bargains and high performers in 4 figures.
Now we have Dan Dagastino back on the scene with a new 40K amplifier.
So for Ayre?? Seems like it may be a tad underpriced.
Sorry I mean no offense to anyone.
"However, the escalation in costs of audio products is really getting disconcerting to me."
Agree. It seems that as certain manufacturers gain in popularity, their prices start to rise a bit and then level off for a while but within the realm of being reasonable.
And then when they're on the down slope losing sales and market share, their prices really start to rise..... to make up for the loss of volume sales. They adopt a "lets see what the market will bare" attitude and the company eventually goes supernova and bust. ;-)
I think this sums up most everything in "high end" audio. It makes the $4K I paid for a shipping damaged, insurance claimed Krell FPB 600 in '99 seem trivial.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Edits: 01/13/11
but approach as well.The manufacturers (excluding the manufacturer of the amp under discussion)seem to have it backwards.
More and more high wattage, high efficiency class D and others with switch mode, read RFI generator, power supplies and low efficiency/impedance speakers.
IMO, that comination is less sonically satisfying than traditional Class A/AB/B designs with moderate efficiency/impedance speakers.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Edits: 01/11/11
I had a Jeff Rowland Model 102 for a brief stint. While it had some nice qualties, compared to Threshold 400A , the Class D amp just could not match in overall sound quality.
"What this country needs is a good 5 watt amplifier!" (Paul Klipsch)
Edits: 01/14/11
When's the last time you've heard a good Class D amp? It has been a few years for me until recently when I decided to revisit the design.
I am happy to report that my efficient and cool running Class D amps are sounding pretty wonderful competing up against my inefficient fully analog vacuum tube monoblocks. ;-)
There are hundreds of "traditional" Class A/AB amps out there too that also sound wonderful, many for much less than $15K. And remember, there is no such thing as "the best" in audio regardless of how much a manufacturer charges.
From Stereophile, HiFi+, Soundstage ? Actually they might have won some awards in Japan also.
Even someone like JA has stated something to the effect that these are his ideal amplifiers. Ditto for the recent review in "The Audio Beat".
The convergence of opinion does suggest these amplifiers are special. Of course, I am biased, and of course there are other amplifiers out there that are wonderful sounding.
...how nice these Ayre amps must sound. Just commenting that in this price class there are several other very wonderful sounding amps to choose from. And I would argue that in this price class, one's choice is more a matter of personal preference and taste vs what amp is "best". Sort of like cars, I suppose.
I don't buy amps based on how many awards a product has received or which reviewers or speaker manufacturers use them in their "reference systems". High end audio is a very tight knit community and if I were a manufacturer of very high end amps, I would give a few to the speaker makers and reviewers -or at least offer HUGE discounts - just so I can say that they're used in these "reference systems". I'm not saying they all do it.... but many do. It's "marketing".
Iagree Abe, and the comment on marketing...now that is interesting.
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