2. amps-preamps
  3. 162384-10135

Owners of Vandersteen 2CE & Ayre Ax7e...

I have Vandy 2CE signature speakers and I am contemplating picking up a preowned Ax7e integrated as I have heard good things with the pairing. I do have some questions though about room size, type of music and sound character of the Ax7e. My room is a second bedroom which is approximately 11x14. Types of music I primarily listen to is pop/rock (i.e. Pink Floyd, Rush, Bowie) and electronic (i.e. Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Jean Michel Jarre). How would you describe the sound character of the Ax7e when using the 2CE’s? Warm? Neutral? Is it laidback or more forward? Is it similar to anything from Krell, Musical Fidelity, Naim, Rega or Simaudio? How is the bass, midrange and highs? Associated equipment is: Arcam irDAC, Cambridge CXC transport. Cabling is Mogami speaker cable and interconnects from Jerry at 10 Audio. Thanks. 
jsbach1685
riley804
1,224 posts
 
was room size an issue with the other equipment you have had ?

i can see equipment/ speakers not being a good match but have never heard where equipment didn’t work because of the size of the room.
joey54
434 posts
 
My gut says you will need more power than the AX7e can give you for the 2CE's. I love the AX7e though and used it successfully for years with Harbeth SHL5+'s. The thing is that it needs balanced sources to sound its best. Once I updated my Digital Source to the Ayre Codex it really sounded great. The Codex is also balanced. I don't have any experience with the irDac but I did try running my Arcam Blink directly into the AX7 single-ended and it just didn't have the drive I needed for a satisfying listening experience.

As for the sound with the 2CE's I recommend contacting JohnnyR at the Audio Connection in Verona NJ to speak to the combination of this amp and speakers. He is an Ayre dealer and probably knows more about Vandersteen speakers than anyone outside of Vandersteen.

Good Luck!
erik_squires
16,061 posts
 
I am a huge Ayre fan it has a unique sound, it isn't exactly warm so much as quiet. Extremely calm.

You may want to contrast it to Luxman.  I have a Luxman, but Ayre is the other similarly prices Amp I'd have a tough time picking between.
More to discover