I own the Ayre K-1xe and had the Calypso in my house for an audition for two weeks. The Calypso is a very good tube system and much cheaper then the Ayre. The pre amp I replaced was a Sonic Frontiers Line 3 SE, also a very good unit. The Calypso was better then the SF Line 3 but only by a hair. Nice base clean midrange and nice polite high end. I auditioned it with the Boulder and the big super tubed BAT and the Calypso held its own against that lofty competition. I almost bought it.
But then I stopped by the Ayre factory in Boulder (I live in Fort Collins Colorado)just to listen for a few minutes. My wife and I sat down in their listening room and it took about 2 minutes to realize we were listening to something at another sonic plane then the preamps mentioned above. The Ayre may not be the best pre in the world but its the best I've ever heard. Like many audiophiles I sometimes strain to hear sonic differences between units in the high end. Not so with the Ayre. Its the most musical, dynamic, and extended sound I've ever heard. (I listen to classical, jazz, and new age mostly) My wife is a pianist and we are both quite sensitive to the natural sound of accoustic instruments. The K1xe provides lots of information including the inner detail in the piano where you can hear the body tones, the action, and the wonderful micro dynamics associated with the harmonics set up in the instrument. Playing it makes you realize the all music is percussive. The human voice, wood winds, etc all have a leading edge attack that in a live setting is "percussive" is a sense. The Ayre conveys this. (My system includes Krell FPB300cx, Revel Ultra Studios and my newest Ayre purchase a C-5xe Universal player.)
But then I stopped by the Ayre factory in Boulder (I live in Fort Collins Colorado)just to listen for a few minutes. My wife and I sat down in their listening room and it took about 2 minutes to realize we were listening to something at another sonic plane then the preamps mentioned above. The Ayre may not be the best pre in the world but its the best I've ever heard. Like many audiophiles I sometimes strain to hear sonic differences between units in the high end. Not so with the Ayre. Its the most musical, dynamic, and extended sound I've ever heard. (I listen to classical, jazz, and new age mostly) My wife is a pianist and we are both quite sensitive to the natural sound of accoustic instruments. The K1xe provides lots of information including the inner detail in the piano where you can hear the body tones, the action, and the wonderful micro dynamics associated with the harmonics set up in the instrument. Playing it makes you realize the all music is percussive. The human voice, wood winds, etc all have a leading edge attack that in a live setting is "percussive" is a sense. The Ayre conveys this. (My system includes Krell FPB300cx, Revel Ultra Studios and my newest Ayre purchase a C-5xe Universal player.)