PS Audio or Ayre?

I endorse the proposition that these are two good companies. I own both PS Audio and Ayre. The DirectStream DAC/Memory Player combination is hard to beat while the Ayre VX-5 Twenty and K5xemp, though not a the pinnacle of the Ayre hierarchy, are first rate. I also use an Ayre P5xe - an incredible phono stage.

No experience with Ayre but I have the PS BHK pre. In my system it is superb and is better than direct connection of my Berkeley Reference DAC to Atmaspere S30 OTL power amp. I was previously very happy with a Bent Audio TVC pre but was intrigued to try the BHK for a loan demo. 

I have previously been a big fan of passive and TVC units but immediately noticed a more 'live' sound with absoultely stonking bass. In comparison to my previous pre's I found the bass to have much more texture/colour alond with a fabulous drive to the music.

I love Robert Cray and recently saw the band in concert. Well, listening to the 40 Years Live CD really brought back the excitement of the tremendous guitar playing from Robert and the driving bass from Richard Cousins.

I think the BHK is excellent and value is very hard to beat at anything like the price (plus some!). 

I own both and have the K5xeMP and the BHK. The Ayre is an amazing value and at the prices you will find it used and even new unless Ayre has run out of stock. It has 2 balanced and 2 unbalanced inputs and no headphone amp.

That being said, there is no question the BHK gives you more detail. It has more inputs and it has a headphone amp. I don’t like the stock tubes and would recommend getting a pair of Tunsgrams to roll in. The stock tubes were slightly bright and rolling is a little bit of a pain in that you need to move a jumper.  Another perk of the BHK is that the volume control has more steps.  It is the superior unit but then again is nearly twice as expensive.  

I have replaced both now that I am Art Audio’s importer and my Conductor is a big step up vs. even the BHK. Of course it is also a lot more expensive. The Conductor simply is similarly priced to the BHK and I think it sounds better. But the neither Conductor model has XLR inputs and the Simply has no headphone amp and in the end I am a bit biased.  

Re. Exron's comments about Ayre products, I've had excellent experiences with their gear over the years and dealing with their customer service, which is what I've generally heard about from others on various audio boards over the years. 
Re. Ayre gear having 'a lot of real estate inside their boxes,' two thoughts. One is that most of their gear is made more or less to standard component sizes, which may be partly governed by reasonable aesthetic considerations and/or those related to providing enough mass to reduce box resonance; and two, I've often heard it said in high-end audio that gear benefits from construction aiding simple signal paths and the like, rather than cramming circuit boards and adding more stuff inside boxes. I'd prefer construction quality over quantity.

I replaced a Rogue RP-5 for the BHK Pre. Big difference IMO. Much smoother, wide soundstage. The RP-5 always seemed to have a touch of harshness. My ZU speakers are super efficient and revealing, The BHK Pre is perfect