For classical music, I strongly recommend you try to audition the EMM CDSA. I A-B'ed it against the Linn CD12 (which I owned at the time), and pretty much wrote a check that day. It does amazing things with redbook CD, and is highly regarded for it's SACD, of course. It does an amazing job of clarifying orchestral textures.
I did audition the Ayre against my Linn as well (some months previously). I know some people like it, as noted above. It didn't work for me. I recall thinking it was too bright, too "hi-fi," but otherwise, can't recall much about it.
I also have a Wadia 860 modified by Great Northern Sound here in the States. I was ambivalent about it in stock form...it tended to empasize detail too much for my taste much of the time (i.e., again, too bright), but the upgraded version is much better, and I still use it for certain things that sound less satisfying on the EMM. (The modified version has a lot of presence and a lot of bottom, and does certain things very well.) I don't know if the 581 is the same way, but I would proceed with caution. The 860 in stock form could be fatiguing (to me).
