purchasing used Ayre V-5xe? good purchase?

It’s a good purchase if you contact Ayre and they tell you it can still be serviced. 

What improvements are you looking for over the Anthem, and what sound characteristics are most important to you?

i was thinking the balanced connection to my lumin d2 giving me a fully balanced front end might enhance the overall presentation, dynamics, and clarity as well as reduce noise floor

however after a few amp swaps in the rack im starting to believe my anthem is really good and that I would need to spend alot to gain a significant upgrade

i can likely re-sell the ayre at minimul loss

I have an Ayre V1xe....a little more fuller/muscle sound.  The Ayre people are excellent and service all their stuff to brand new specs.  Be sure to use your new Ayre with balanced connections ...makes a difference.   I have all differentially balanced throughout...even the phono is xlr connected.

In my opinion, anything from Ayre is a quality product that will be serviced whether you are the original owner or second or third. And, anything with the Diamond circuit is killer.

I own the MX-R/KX-R (non Twenty) and find them to be very capable in my system. When a cap blew on the MX-R, Ayre had me ship it back for repair. It took 2 weeks and they charged me very little-including return shipping.

Same thing for a Codex that shorted somehow.

The AX-7e is rated at 60wpc. The V-5xe is 150wpc.

You mention 20 ohms- did you mean 2 ohms.

In any case, I would call or email Ayre. Ryan or Ariel would be the best people to answer your question.

Bob