jafant,
I'm sure your Ayre amp sounds great. It looks like cable choices are the next big item on your agenda. My experience with cables is fairly limited, but I do have a pretty good feeling for what works in my current system. When I first got the PS Audio Stellar M700 monoblock amps and the Gain Cell DAC/Preamp last year, I settled on using the Cardas Parsec balanced XLRs between the DAC/Pre and the amps after trying several other cables. The Parsec does not produce dramatically etched detail in the upper frequencies, but it does provide a good balance between detail and warmth, and the bass is solid with my 2.2 Thiels. I also picked up several Audience Forte F3 power cords and have been using them with all my PS Audio gear. These Audience cords are a bargain, and they help my system provide a smoother sound with a quieter background compared to the stock cords. Some online comments voice concerns that the Forte cords sound a little soft on the high end, but I don't have a lot to compare them with.
After getting the PS Audio BHK Preamp, I've been using it with the Stellar DAC/Pre in DAC-only mode. This meant that I needed another XLR interconnect between the BHK Pre and the Stellar DAC. If I were being more careful with my audio spending, I would have just picked up another pair of Parsec XLRs, but I've been lusting after the Cardas Clear Reflection XLRs so I decided to try a pair. First the good news: I really like the Clear Reflection cables. And the bad news: I really like the CR cables. This is bad news only because they cost a lot more than the Parsecs do. For now, I'm using the CR from DAC to Pre and the Parsec from Pre to M700s. If my self-control dissolves at some point, I may replace the Parsec with CR. But I still like the Parsec a lot, so there's no hurry to change them out. I'm still undecided about power cords, but I will soon be trying a pair of Shunyata Delta NR V2 power cords on either the BHK Pre and Stellar DAC or on the two M700 monoblocks to compare with the Audience cords. My speaker cables are long runs (24 ft.) of Straight Wire Encore. It's really hard to demo alternative cables that long, and super high-end cables are too expensive in those lengths, so I'll be sticking with the Straight Wire until a better high-performance bargain wire comes along.
A few more comments about the Cardas Clear Reflection interconnects may be helpful. This is not a cable for listeners seeking the nth degree of etched detail, although it does have an extended high end overall. Instead, it is a cable that gets the sound of voices, instruments, and music right. It images great, but not by exaggerating transients or shouting for attention. It simply makes recordings sound like music - at least in my system, which can sound a little too bright with the wrong cables. Because it sounds so natural, the CR is a favorite of many listeners, including several Thiel owners on this thread and Angela Cardas, who has many more expensive cables from Cardas Audio to choose from. If you're looking for some of the "midrange magic" from the earlier Cardas cables combined with the increased clarity from the technology used in Cardas' Clear series of cables, then Clear Reflection would be a great choice.
I'm sure your Ayre amp sounds great. It looks like cable choices are the next big item on your agenda. My experience with cables is fairly limited, but I do have a pretty good feeling for what works in my current system. When I first got the PS Audio Stellar M700 monoblock amps and the Gain Cell DAC/Preamp last year, I settled on using the Cardas Parsec balanced XLRs between the DAC/Pre and the amps after trying several other cables. The Parsec does not produce dramatically etched detail in the upper frequencies, but it does provide a good balance between detail and warmth, and the bass is solid with my 2.2 Thiels. I also picked up several Audience Forte F3 power cords and have been using them with all my PS Audio gear. These Audience cords are a bargain, and they help my system provide a smoother sound with a quieter background compared to the stock cords. Some online comments voice concerns that the Forte cords sound a little soft on the high end, but I don't have a lot to compare them with.
After getting the PS Audio BHK Preamp, I've been using it with the Stellar DAC/Pre in DAC-only mode. This meant that I needed another XLR interconnect between the BHK Pre and the Stellar DAC. If I were being more careful with my audio spending, I would have just picked up another pair of Parsec XLRs, but I've been lusting after the Cardas Clear Reflection XLRs so I decided to try a pair. First the good news: I really like the Clear Reflection cables. And the bad news: I really like the CR cables. This is bad news only because they cost a lot more than the Parsecs do. For now, I'm using the CR from DAC to Pre and the Parsec from Pre to M700s. If my self-control dissolves at some point, I may replace the Parsec with CR. But I still like the Parsec a lot, so there's no hurry to change them out. I'm still undecided about power cords, but I will soon be trying a pair of Shunyata Delta NR V2 power cords on either the BHK Pre and Stellar DAC or on the two M700 monoblocks to compare with the Audience cords. My speaker cables are long runs (24 ft.) of Straight Wire Encore. It's really hard to demo alternative cables that long, and super high-end cables are too expensive in those lengths, so I'll be sticking with the Straight Wire until a better high-performance bargain wire comes along.
A few more comments about the Cardas Clear Reflection interconnects may be helpful. This is not a cable for listeners seeking the nth degree of etched detail, although it does have an extended high end overall. Instead, it is a cable that gets the sound of voices, instruments, and music right. It images great, but not by exaggerating transients or shouting for attention. It simply makes recordings sound like music - at least in my system, which can sound a little too bright with the wrong cables. Because it sounds so natural, the CR is a favorite of many listeners, including several Thiel owners on this thread and Angela Cardas, who has many more expensive cables from Cardas Audio to choose from. If you're looking for some of the "midrange magic" from the earlier Cardas cables combined with the increased clarity from the technology used in Cardas' Clear series of cables, then Clear Reflection would be a great choice.