Integrateds: Luxman vs. Ayre?

I have listened to quite a few Luxman integrated and amps. I have owned a couple of Ayre DACs that I believe reflect the house sound… I would say the Ayre sound is smoother and more well balance than Luxman. I do not find the Ayre dry, but the Luxman has more sparkle (that is not a complement in my eyes… or ears).

@ghdprentice 

Interesting. I like the 'sparkle' that Luxman has. Although I rarely listen to 'heavy' rock and roll, when I do, I have found some amps to be dull sounding. The Luxman sounds wonderful with every type of music, is what I am trying to say.

As for the OP - I don't think the Ayre DAC is going to be better then the Mytek. I have yet to hear a 'built-in" DAC that sounds as good as a stand alone one.

@ghdprentice 

Would the old word for sparkle  be bright? There has  been a trend in hifi the last number of years in my opinion  towards brightness in the equipment.  

In my listening to Ayre vs. Lux, McIntosh, Naim, and Bryston, Ayre comes out on top for transparency, clarity, imaging, and control.  Naim feels more dynamic or punchy, but Ayre out points in all other areas.  This is based on their lower tier separates using their CD player.

For me, Unless you are fine with ugrading, I’d avoid buying a pre/integrated with a DAC Built in. Sure you can always bypass, however, in years time you will hear about the latest and greatest DAC and then you’ll be back to two units again. I'd keep the LUXMan or go with another dedicated PRE without digital, then upgrade your dac as you see fit.