Spectral or Ayre (combo)

both excellent super well engineered and executed, a matter of personal taste.
have fun, enjoy the journey 

I have two Ayre amps and they both sound wonderful. While that alone is enough to consider Ayre, there is much more. The people at Ayre are great and respond quickly to any and all questions.  Their philosophy for offering upgrades is also incredible: you can buy their equipment knowing that they will continue to upgrade it for a modest cost for many years to come.

I have an all Ayre system.....recommend them highly

ayre sounds better than spectral based on my exposure to both brands of preamps/amps

Wow, I cannot imagine any two sets of electronics sounding more different than each other, so much so that it feels odd trying to recommend either or the other because I am sure you'll have very strong feelings one way or the other which will make my typing irrelevant.

Having said that, Ayre all the way. :)