Ayre V-3 vs BAT VK-200 vs Classe' CA-200

I too own a V3 and auditioned the Classe before buying it. The Clasee was forward and flat compared to tha Ayre. Even the new Classe gear suffers the same (budy of mine will be putting CA-200 up for sale because of this). I have not heard the BAT and will offer no opinion. The Ayre can be tweaked for better performance. First, get the upgrades! I have all but the ayre-conditioner and found that the upper and lower frequencies were improved. The try to get some heavy duty sobothane feet to put under its rubber feet. They both significantly improve the V3 performance.

Get the upgrades! I too have an Ayre V3 with all but the Ayre Conditioner upgrade and would not trade that baby in for anything. I have compared the Ayre to the Krell KSA S series and FPB series and found it far more musical IMO. I also would agree with the above comments on the Classe being to flat. Have not heard the BAT...What kind of speakers are you using with the Ayre? Best of luck.

i've owned both the BAT and Arye. the BAT is more tube like (more of a warm, romantic sound) the Arye is more accurate. I've also heard the Ayre without upgrades/with the component upgrade/and with both upgrades. IF YOU OWN THE AYRE WITH THE UPGRADES, DROP THE GROUND. it makes a tremendous difference with the sound stage. it is dramatic. if you own an Ayre without the upgrades leave it grounded (also there is a 3-4db decrease in spl with the upgrades (unrelated to dropping the ground)). which one did i like more? female vocalist, i liked the BAT, everything else, the Arye....

Bought a used BAT VK-200 a month ago, and it makes the sweetest sound I've ever heard from my Bryston BP-25/B&W 802's. Very warm, yet incredible, tuneful midrange detail. Not the final word in high end brightness, but it sure sounds like music to me, not electronics. Very tube like, if that's what you want. Krell, Aragon, Clayton, ARC left me out in the harsh cold. BAT invites me in to listen comfortably for a while.