Just to update the thread:
I played around with positioning, WOW that made a difference.
Moving the speakers further out into the room and toe-ing them in so they fire about 2 feet behind my head really made all the difference in the world.
The speakers now disappear and the soundsage has expanded in all directions. There is no muddiness to any peformer's position. Bass which was more one note has developed texture and defintion. Everything is more resolved and well placed within the soundstage.
That being said, the Ayre equipment partnered with the Sophias lacks weight in instruments and voice. It also creates a soundstage that is too delineated, lacking a cohesive and coherent soundstage. Transients are sharp and do not bloom as they should. Think of RCA cables versus XLR on equipment that should be run unbalanced. Sure it's quieter, but you sacrifice part of the musical message. The last breath of a performer, the key of a piano held or the plucked string of a guitar that resonates through the wood. This is the way Ayre made me feel, incomplete, edgy, separated. Perhaps on warmer, less resolving speakers, this hyper delineation would be great, but on my Wilsons, I need the full musical expression.
So, I was set to try Lamm M1.2 reference amps, but wanted to try a cheaper solution first. Heck with the Lamms, I could have gone with the VTL's, the amps that inspired the purchase of my Sophias. I tried the Pass Labs XA30.5. On the Sophia 2s and in my situation, it has provided the perfect amplification solution. I feel this Pass amp is more resolving and transparent than the Ayre V5xe, but not exactly in the traditional "see through" transparency effect. Ayre may have the edge there. No, with the Pass I feel I am getting the full musical message, I feel like I can hear more of everything. In addition, everything is no longer separated, but woven together without any loss of real resolution. The soundstage is finally coherent. I feel like I am listening to music, with all the different instruments, voices and effects woven together but stable and distinct on the soundstage. The edginess is gone and I can hear deeper into the music.
The thing I would like to stress most about this Pass labs amp is it's coherence. Think of coherence in the best possible way, stability, fullness, complete.
The Ayre K1xe mates very well with the Pass XA30.5, but ultimately I will find a better matching preamp. I'll update the thread when I make that discovery, but remember these are just my experiences in my room and the reflect only my opinions. Hearing the Ayre MXRs with Vandersteen Quatro Woods was an amazing experience and suffered none of the faults I experienced in my setup, so truly YMMV!
