Let me know when you go. I can get free during the week also (actually easier). I have three full systems to bring to JOhn for him to help me sell I think. I heard the Rogue with the Treo's and they were a nice feed. Then he put on the Ayre 5x and it blew me out the door. THAT is what I would dream to have. It was the first time I've really heard a SS amp sound like the best of both worlds. I'm a tube guy first and formost, but I miss tight, deep, musical bass and even the Jadis stuff i've had didn't give me that. The next time I went in, I heard all the Vandy's AND the Proacs ('m a Proac guy who's selling off three pairs right now). I then asked if we could do the Treo's with the 7xe and John set it up for me. I thought it would be underpowered, but it's not. There was plenty of reserve. I don't blast things, but like real levels. Words don't describe. It was set up in fully balanced mode and it was magic. It was musical and realistic. I loved how it sounded and it was through the Music Hall 25.3 DAC with a basic AQ XLR cable and the AQ Rocket series I believe. I'll be getting one of the Rock series speaker cables. I just got the MH DAC with Niagara XLR and WOW. it's almost burned in and it just keeps opening up. GREAT little DAC.
The Ayre gave the most realistic presentation and it got the full bass from that Treo. I was surprised about that part. The mids were very realistic. Piano was in the room.. It never grated or got annoying as it does on most SS amps (Even on very expensive amps I've heard piano sound like crap. I'm really sensitive to it I guess. Female and male vocals ere in the room. It was highly detailed, but clean and tuneful. Pitch was perfect. Dark dark dark background. It was silent and no tube amp is this silent. That adds to the experience to me. Even on my Proac Supertowers this amp is dead quiet. It's THAT revealing, without distortion. It's coherent up and down the scale. Very flat or so it seems to be. The highs are extended in a natural way. I love these highs vs any tube amp. The mids to me are better because of the low noise floor. Everything is cleaner. Now mate that with the amazing Treo's and you have quite a pairing. The synergy is special. I have heard Vandy's in a couple of places now with CJ tube gear and the Quattro's sang. It was magic and very expensive. That said, the amplification was different from the Ayre 7, but not better. The Ayre still did some things better than the CJ, but the CJ did beat it in staging but not imaging. The Ayre was quieter and I felt had better quality bass and lower base. I didn't think it would, but it did. If the CJ separates were in the Ayre's ball park, I would have gone that rout possibly,but that's also the CJ DAC vs the Music Hall DAC. I have a feeling if you had the same speaker cables (the CJ/Quattro used the top series AQ and two full runs to biwire) and the same source and the same speakers (remember this is Quattro vs Treo), then the sound vs the CJ reference separates would be much closer than it was and the difference wasn't a night and day thing.
I wasn't going to get the amp until after the speakers, but my buddy got Ayre mono blocks and top preamp and sold me his for cheap. I had no choice. I even wanted to give John my business and he said to buy it. I"m SOOOOO glad I did. I now love my Proacs again, lol. Hopefully someone will give them a good home as I'll get around 1k for them and they are now sounding better than most of the new speakers I've auditioned under 5k and that includes highly rated Focal BE series and Paradigm sig series monitors.
