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Model: | MX-R |
Category: | Amplifier (SS) |
Suggested Retail Price: | $16,500 |
Description: | Monoblocks |
Manufacturer URL: | Ayre Acoustics |
Review by Mike Currie (A) on May 03, 2007 at 14:26:50 IP Address: 64.192.134.66 | Add Your Review for the MX-R |
The MX-Rs are the latest in a very long series of amplifiers that I have owned over the years. That list includes both tube and solid state types, ranging all the way back to my very first separate, a Dyna Mk III, through the very fine amps that I have lived with quite happily for the past 18 months (modified Parasound JC-1s). Several months ago, I had the opportunity to borrow a pair of the MX-Rs from an audio buddy living (at the time) about 100 miles away in Austin. He was going off on vacation for a week, and I arranged to ‘watch after’ the amps. Jumping ahead a bit, I ordered and received a pair of my own 2 weeks ago.I had been warned that the amps would not sound their best when after any significant period of power outage. Talk about an understatement…upon reconnection in my system and powering up, I heard what I would politely term ‘nice’ amps, but certainly nothing special. I would estimate that they took a good 3-4 hours to really warm up, during which time they went through quite an amazing array of character changes. None were terribly unpleasant mind you, but again, not top class stuff. However, at about 4 hours, things REALLY started to come alive, and progressing further and further towards sonic nirvana over the next full day. It seems very clear that at no time should these amps be turned completely off unnecessarily. I am happy to report, though, that the standby feature works beautifully. The amps are at 100% 5-10 minutes after switching out of standby mode. Since I tend to listen in fairly short sessions, this is a major positive feature in my eyes. The JC-1s, as good as they were, never sounded their best for at least an hour after power up.
One thing that should be kept in mind is that my speakers, Sound Lab A-1s, are a very unusual load for an amp. Apart from them, I have heard the amp only with my buddy’s Vandersteens and their self-powered bass. In other words, my conclusions are based on two quite non-representative speakers.
I suppose at this point, I should begin to describe the sound of the things, but I confess that I’m at a bit of a loss to do so. I promise to try to keep the clichés to a minimum. In an overall sense, there is a balance of musicality and neutrality that I simply have never experienced before. There are those who would argue that an amplification device cannot be too neutral. I disagree – or at least we need to come up with a better vocabulary. Those amps that I would characterize as being too neutral invariably also sound sterile i.e. robbed of harmonic life. I have no doubt that this will offend some, but as an example, this includes every Krell amp I have ever auditioned. OK, so how can something be ‘too musical’? SETs, SETs, SETs. To my ears, they are the sonic equivalent of the glaze on a honey-coated ham. Gorgeous and tasty, but also inaccurate and eventually unsatisfying.
The MX-Rs walk the fine line between these two camps perfectly. The traditional solid state bass control and power is there, along with an oh so difficult to describe harmonic rightness in the mid and upper bass that literally made my jaw drop. Just drop in anything with Edgar Meyer playing his bass, and you’ll see what I mean. It’s completely unclear to me why those particular areas sound so much better, but it’s definitely an ‘I know it when I hear it’ sort of thing.
Sound Labs have something of a reputation for displaying good, deep bass but without the ‘whoomp’ factor. In most cases, this is probably deserved, and is, I believe, partially a function of the listening room (I’m becoming more and more convinced that ideally these things need a BIG room), and also of an amp capable of delivering a lot of power into a high impedance load. The JC-1s were very good at this, but the MX-Rs take it to another level. I recently had three buddies over for a listening session. Throughout the evening, the most common comment seemed to be “where’s the subwoofer?”. ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ from Mephisto and Company (Reference Recordings) literally shook the house, and then – unlike most actual subwoofers – that tremendous bass drum roll was gone – exactly when it should be. No overhang, nothing.
In terms of harmonic integrity in the midrange, I have very little to say – with one exception. The Ayre amps are the equal of any amp I have ever heard in this area, period. My tastes run to unamplified music with an abundance of complex midrange harmonics (classical, jazz, and bluegrass). They simply do it right.
On to the highs, then. This is where nearly every amp loses it, as far as I’m concerned. In spite of the huge advances made in solid state amplification over the years, virtually all of that genre produce that sterility of which I complained earlier to a greater or lesser degree. Some, like the JC-1s, display just a touch. Conventional tube amps, on the other hand, tend to avoid that sterility at the expense of transients. There’s no better test of high frequency fidelity than well-recorded cymbals. The MX-Rs will tell you whether or not a drummer has cleaned his Zildjians lately.
I’ve never quite understood audiophiles who say ‘soundstage and imaging are very much secondary to linearity/harmonic fidelity/whatever’. To me, both attributes are part and parcel of the elusive illusion of the live event. Harry Pearson, in describing the way a component reproduced a soundstage, used to use the analogy of a rectangle as something of an ideal, but found that most systems tended to turn the stage into a trapezoid, with the truncated side at the rear. I always found the analogy to be apt, although the actual ideal for, say, an orchestra, is actually more like a trapezoid with the LONG side at the rear. In this regard, the MX-Rs perform beautifully, displaying a sculpted soundstage – when the source material permits it, of course. Similarly, image specificity is outstanding, with rounded, 3D mages of the correct size and shape, and completely avoiding that razor sharp edginess that never, EVER occurs in live music.
I realize that I have described various attributes on their own, and I fear that I’m actually doing these amps an injustice. In truth, I’m struggling to find the right words to properly convey the sum of the parts. It’s just…RIGHT.
I guess there are various bits and pieces that I haven’t covered. Let’s see, how about heat generation? I live near tropical Houston, where components that get really hot are a distinct liability. That reminds me, the only other amps that I have heard on the Sound Labs that approach the capabilities of the MX-Rs are the aforementioned JC-1s and the Atma-Sphere MA-1s. I’ve covered the former to a degree. As for the Atmas? Lovely amps, fall down in a couple of areas relative to the Ayres, and generate heat like you wouldn’t believe. I could not live with them 9 months out of the year because of this. The MX-Rs in standby mode are slightly warm. Turn them on with no signal, a little warmer. Driving them hard for 4 hours? OK, they’re hot, but not so hot that you couldn’t place your hand on them and keep it there. Something (probably the use of the entire case as a heat sink) is working pretty efficiently.
Hmm, aesthetics. My wife, an ardent non-audiophile, described them as ‘pretty’. We will celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks, and this is a first. For my part, I think they’re drop dead gorgeous.
Speaking of my better half, I think it’s instructive to find that she’s willing to sit down and listen to music longer than she ever has before, and even described a particular piece as “it sounds like they’re in the room” (Beatles’ Abbey Road on Mobile Fidelity).
I’m sure that it’s obvious that I am extremely enthusiastic about these amps. Typically, I share certain traits with every other audiophile, one of which is the proverbial honeymoon period in which we become enamored with a new piece of gear, only to become less so over time. That could conceivably happen here, but somehow I just don’t think so. If you are in the market for a high-powered amp with state of the art sonics, I would urge you to give them a listen if at all possible.
Product Weakness: | Price |
Product Strengths: | Full description in review. The best amplification devices I have ever heard. |
Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
Amplifier: | Ayre MX-R |
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | CTC Blowtorch |
Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Ayre C-5xe, VPI Aries 3, JMW 10.5i, Graham Nightingale |
Speakers: | Sound Lab A-1 |
Cables/Interconnects: | Various - Jena, Ayre, Zu |
Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Classical, jazz, bluegrass, some rock |
Room Size (LxWxH): | 32 x 15 x 12 (max) |
Room Comments/Treatments: | RealTraps, first reflection |
Time Period/Length of Audition: | 3 weeks |
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | Running Springs Duke, TG Audio |
Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Follow Ups:
Damn, back to the drawing board! ;-)
John,Maybe a silly question, but did you ever seriously consider a cost-no-object exercise like that of the Blowtorch?
Rest assured that my JC-1s went to a good home. The guy is absolutely delighted to have Bob's personal amps.
So...when's that new Vendetta going to be out, hmmmmmm????? :-)
Didn't you realize they have a website? :-)
Best regards,
Thanks, Brian. Now there's something to look forward to!I hardly need to say that you should listen to the amps driving Sound Labs if the opportunity comes up, right?
Bob's JC1's? WOW! They are about as good as we can do with that design.
I really would like to try a zero global feedback amp at this point, but I doubt that I personally will ever make it. Parasound has been good to me, but I must design within their guidelines. This means reasonably low measured distortion and really high power.
Charles Hansen's super concern for power supply clean-up is also very interesting. I have not tried hard enough (so it would seem) to completely RFI proof my Parasound power amps. Of course, the CTC and Vendetta designs are pretty darn well RFI buffered, but it has been difficult to put that into high power designs. At this time, I am on another website, www.diyaudio.com trying to knock some sense into those 'designers' who laugh at Charles' efforts, because they don't use global feedback. He is apparently getting the last laugh.
Something tells me I know pretty well what forum you're talking about John, though I haven't been back there in close to two years. Some pretty thick heads there. Good luck!I have only heard the MX-9 in prototype form at last year's CES, but Chas was really jazzed about them then, and even how well they measured at that point due to some things in the VAS stage he hadn't tried before, thinking it wasn't the right thing to do- if we get wedded too much to our own dogma, it can be a hinderance at times. They did sound very good then, but he put a lot more work in and shipped the first ones over about three months later from what I heard than he originally plan- a definite perfectionist.
I've been so wrapped up in my day job that I hadn't even heard about the Thermal Trak parts from On Semi. Now I"ve got a few tubes of them to play with, but as usual no time. Maybe I should just start saving my spare change for a set of MX-9's... would be less work, I'm sure!
~Jon
Earth First- we'll screw up the other planets later....
John,
Well, speaking personally, I sure would like to hear your best effort.Yes, these were Bob's amps. I purchased them from his estate last year. They've been wonderful. The MX-Rs are better in most respects, but not by that much. I have no idea if this is largely an RFI factor or not. Al Sekela, who posts on the Sound Lab Owners' board, asked this:
"Charles Hansen has posted on the Audio Asylum that his products do not use the AC safety-earth connection. This is a large benefit in many applications, since the AC safety-earth wiring carries RF noise from sources within the house as well as within the audio system."
Interesting stuff. For me, I'm just enjoying the music.
Or something of the sort not much availible in quality low power SS and with so many transducers on the market that dont need big power I feel you big amp guys are missing out on alot of sales. Times are changing somewhat big power isnt as popular or needed like it used to be.If you do market something sign me up to beta test;)
It seems most SS manufacturers reserve their best efforts for the highest power amps. I'd like to see some all out assaults on a 25-50W amp.
hey johni modded a couple JC1s around town, changing some of the parts that bob put in (the ACME is the wrong IEC for the amp; a gold-plated furutech is much sweeter, and a couple bybees never hurt!).
i've always thought that putting a TI shield (see percyaudio.com; its like mu metal) around the tranny would make a big / positive diff with the JC1---lord knows it does on every power conditioner that has a toroid in it. any thoughts?
Thanks Rhyno, any successful mods is appreciated I have 4 units in my living room at the moment and I am thinking of adding Bybees, etc.
"OK, so how can something be ‘too musical’? SETs, SETs, SETs. To my ears, they are the sonic equivalent of the glaze on a honey-coated ham. Gorgeous and tasty, but also inaccurate and eventually unsatisfying."Congratulations on your nice amp and nice system, but you really shouldn't use SETs on a pair of SoundLab A1's. :-)
You own this piece of equipment, is that right? It was not supplied free by the mfr to write this review, isn't that so?If so, how can the price be weakness for you? You thought the product was worth the price and you bought it. Correct?
Don't you just mean you wish it were cheaper? That can be said about anything.
$15,000 sounds cheap to me for what you got. My dream mono blocks cost around $25,000 and i am afraid to ask if that's each!!
Yes, I own the amps. When writing 'price' as a weakness, I guess I was referring to the audience of the review rather than as a personal note. The things are so damn good that it's a bit unfortunate that they are not more financially accessible to more people. I have no doubt that Charlie Hansen would agree with that statement.
I don't feel the folks at Ayre have gouged the price of any of their products. It's all there, the quality of parts and most importantly the unique design. Personally, I think Charles Hansen and his crew have the best ears in the business.Nice review, one that many should take note of. It's important to hear product history and the detailed differences of the product it's replacing. The admission of new ownership and the possible biases is a refreshing admission, well done.
You've got one of those preamps, sweet!
Thanks very much. I don't begin to pretend that I've heard everything out there. This is actually one of my pet gripes about the mags, especially a certain reviewer with Stereophile, although TAS has now formed the vexing habit of the screaming 'Best' headline as well. As for biases...well, we all have them. My goal in writing something like this is to have a reader place my own notions of what's correct in context with his or her own.
For most of us, the price is an extreme weakness. It doesn't matter whether the product is better than anything else or even anything close to its price.Value is always an individual judgement, but for those of us who would need a 2nd mortage to buy these units, price is a prohibative weakness.
Bill Bailey
___________________________________________
See my stereo config
;-P
Why the sigh? You have a great amp. By the way, I saw your posts in the Planar Asylum on your bedroom, uh, antics. Looks to me like you're making the best compromise that you can given the situation. I'll be interested to know what you finally do.If you're ever down this way (Magnolia area), come on by.
Houston from 1977-2003 before moving to Northern VA. FYI, Rick Roberts has reopened the Esoteric Ear as Esoterick on Portsmouth off 59 in Houston. John Catalani is back as manager, Drop in and say hello.
Henry
Hi Henry,Neighbors indeed. Apart from 6 years overseas, we've been in the Houston area since 1981. I grew up in Richmond, Va., though. Will be retiring to our dream home in the Shenandoah Valley in not too many years.
Thanks for the information on Esoterick. I'll make a point of getting down there.
Henry
it's kind of like cars...I wanted an Audi TT since they went into production in 99 and saved and saved and finally bought my own in 03. I absolutely love my car. It's everything I ever wanted and after 4 years it still brings a smile to my face.... but damned if I don't lust after Audi's new R8 sports car :)
I want I want I want but I can't have
so
*sigh*
:) <----- daydreamy smile
Sounds like you're the type to go after what he wants. Be patient...
.
> > > > I realize that I have described various attributes on their own, and I fear that I’m actually doing these amps an injustice. In truth, I’m struggling to find the right words to properly convey the sum of the parts. It’s just…RIGHT. < < < < < <
Your comment above is exactly how I felt when I auditioned the K-5/V-5 xe combo. It's really hard to describe isn't it. I'm not an audiophile, just like listening to music, and trying to find something that sounds good to me. So far a lot of units have sounded good, but the Ayre sounded RIGHT. Whatever the reason for that RIGHTNESS it's got me sold, and I'm saving my money. The MX-R is out of the question, but reading your review makes me think the sound is consistent across the line.On that note, has anyone out there compared the difference between the K-5 V-5 and the AX-7 integrated. I hope to be able to listen myself, but wouldn't mind hearing some opinions, as to what I would be missing with the integrated. Just curious, I'd like to get as many thought and opinions as i can while I get the funds together.
I've written a number of reviews over the years, and always I've been able to pin down what I really liked - and occasionally disliked - about a given component. This is really the first time that I just can't point a finger at a set of characteristics and say "this is what makes it special".You may have noticed that I also own the C-5xe player. This unit has drawn a degree of criticism from some as being too polite and laid back. If that means it doesn't sound spectacular or forward, then that's absolutely true. To my ears, it sounds much more like music than its competition. In other words, it sounds RIGHT.
I also had the opportunity some time back to audition a Ayre V-1x (not the 'e'). Great amp. I ultimately preferred the JC-1s by a small margin, but I have to wonder about the 'e' generation.
I guess the point is that Charles Hansen and his listening panel have both great ears and the engineering capacity to bring their visions to fruition.
I understand that the companion preamp to the MX-R (KX-R???) will be out late in the summer to early fall. Somehow, some way, I'm going to audition it. Will it provide a better listening experience than the Blowtorch? Well, that's certainly a more difficult job, but who knows? It will be great fun to find out.
Thanks for the informative review, Mike. It would be interesting to have someone's comments about how these work with more conventional speakers. But the fact that they do well with full-range electrostats is a good recommendation in and of itself.
I absolutely agree. All comments from those who have auditioned these amps on conventional speakers are more than welcome. Some third hand information...one owner of the MX-Rs and Magnepan 20.1s has described his reaction as having been 'blown away'. Given the stable (and low) impedance curve of the Maggies, I'm not surprised.
Thanks for the excellent review.The Ayre MX-R is the first solid state amp in a generation that has got my attention. Innovative, a sonic knock-out, and a drop-dead beauty to boot.
My pleasure. Your comments indicate that you've heard them. I presume on Quads? Would you mind sharing your impressions?
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