ISO Advise on choosing Ayre or Bat power amp

If your Aerial Acoustics LR-5s can be bi-wired, I'd get a used BAT VK-300SE integrated and add the VK-225SE later. This bi-amp setup will rock-down the house and sound damn fine doing it. Make sure the VK-300SE isn't too old, however, as it's been in production a long time.

Dweller-
the BAT VK-300se and the Vk-225se have the same power and serve the same purpose- except the integrated amp with the pre adds more circuitry. Aren’t I better off with just the power amp and a digital pre-DAC/streamer as a source?

i always read that the shortest path is the cleanest and best path- is this not true? Or is there something a pre-amp does that a digital pre-DAC can’t?

John Atkinson ran some tests on this point a while ago and concluded he like the sound better with a pre in the system. I used a VK-300SE for many years and will say it "just makes beautiful music". Adding the VK-225SE now-or-later gives considerably more "gusto" as doubling the available power should. I'm a hard-core BAT fan as I love their pure, simple, natural sound (no fancy-schmancy -just pure music). Take it or leave it, just my advice.

there are at least two maybe three recent threads on the value of a linestage in a high end system

just search