Don,, what else was in the system? I've heard the brand new H200 vs the AX-5 and it wasn't even close to any of us in the room. Even the guy who had the Hegel was bummed that he just got it (yes it was broken in). He brought it in to audition new speakers at a different dealer. It's funny how many 'other' products I've been able to hear while at a dealer that doesn't even sell said product, lol.
the Ayre just had much more space around the instruments. The bass seemed to go even lower and tighter/more accurate. It just seemed to everything a bit better. We listened to it on the larger Dynaudio (forget the model, but it retails for over 15k), the Paradigm signature 8, Wilson Sasha (both made the Sasha's much more enjoyable than any other time I've heard it) and some floorstanding Revels (again, didn't catch the model). I've also heard the 5 sound awesome on some Proac D2's at Audio Connection as John had it in the front of the store at the time. Again, just my ears, but side by side the Ayre was just more musical for me. I did love the Hegel though. Isn't the Ayre much more money?
