Ayre K1X vs K1Xe

Day 2.

Wow!

It's totally worth it.

Mike,

Glad to see you went for it, and that you can appreciate the benefits of the "e" (evolution) upgrade.
I consider my K-1xe to be one of the cornerstones of my system, which means I doubt I will be upgrading beyond it for a long time, if ever!
:-)

That being said though.....

Don't you just long to hear the new Ayre KX-R preamp in your own system?!

I know I do!
But man, the $18,500 price tag is surely going to slow me down from getting it, as even used you can bet it will run around $14K for the next year or two.

And, since it does not have a phono stage, (I listen primarily to vinyl), that means that I'd end up having to spend money on a separate phono stage, and a cable to connect the two. (And since the phono stages I know I'd want to upgrade to, from the excellent Ayre phono boards, are both very expensive (Manley Steelhead or the ASR Basis Exclusive - both around $4K used), I doubt I will be upgrading anytime soon).

That would mean spending close to $20K on the new preamps. Ouch! (I spent $4K for my Ayre K-1x, and $500 to upgrade it to the 'e' version. Quite a bargain, IMHO!)

Oh well, I can dream!

Kurt_tank-

I am in 100% agreement with you. I personally think the K-1xe is one of the biggest bargain in audio. Other than speakers the addition of the K-1x was the single biggest improvement in my system I have ever heard by a long shot. Charlie seems to do everything he tries better than everyone else (Avalon speakers, MX-R, KX-R, etc.).

So I was at Ayre two times for the upgrade(1 drop off and one p/u). The first time they invited me in to hear their in house set up. The room was pitch dark but I knew by the small blue lights what was hooked up. They guided me to a seat and the sound was pretty magical. Without giving away anything in case anyone ever makes it there in person, the set up clearly makes a compelling argument that Amp and Pre-amp make a profound impact in the final sound.

The second time Michael gave me a tour of the building facility. He walked me through the KX-R from the inside out.
Yeah I want one. And I want the MX-R too. And I want them badly. I know they're worth the price but at some point I've got to send my kids to college. I'll keep looking for them used.

I did not realize the KX-R did not have a phono option. I wonder if they might be working on a phono stage. Charlie clearly is in to analog. In fact he just chimed in on a recent thread I started about the new Ayre/DPS turntable which is due out any day now.

If you ever make it out to Denver look me up.

Mmike84