Ayre XK-R vs Pass Lab XP-20?


Currently having Pass Lab XP-20 preamp and X350.5 amp,
I assum the whole Pass gear would match perfectly, but seems MBL 6010D (2010 model) and Ayre XK-R are excellent.
have anyone compared red hot Ayre XK-R preamp with XP-20, is it worthy to spend 6K more for XK-R.
quanmer
you might get more responses from people searching the forum threads if you ask about the proper model designation for the Ayre: KX-R. All of their preamps begin with the prefix letter K.

As for your answer? I owned the previous top of the line Ayre, K1 and auditioned the full MBL reference line when I bought my MBL 101E speakers. I have hear the 6010D numerous times. It has a warmth that is inviting but in the end I found the detail too suffuse. I have not owned a Pass preamp since the Aleph P and imagine the sound has changed a lot in the intervening 12 years.

Note, the XK-R is a great Jaguar sports/GT car.
Haha, thanks for correction,

I searched, but no one directly compared KX-R and XP-20.
I think the original owner of MBL sold the company and now has a new company MC-music culture technology www.music-culture.com if you are looking for a lower priced MBL sound. Personnaly I do not prefer SS preamps. Find a nice direct heated or transformer coupld designed preamp and take a listen.

Happy Listening.