Passlabs XA .5 vs Ayre MXR

I think the .5 is a "major" improvement if you have speakers with unsmooth impedance curves with dips below 4ohms - the .5 is better able to handle that, with a speaker that is "tube" friendly I can't imagine much if any difference as they don't need huge current to run their best, they are made to sound good with tubes (the XA are more like tubes in that sense than the .5 - the follow a voltage paradigm). Don't know abouth this warm/cold divide, the XA30.5 sounded true in terms of timbre. Ultimatelyu I prefer tubes with my speakers becuase I like the soundstaging effects caused by tube distortion (more 3D and layered to my ears).

I have nothing bad to say at all about Pass, especially as I always really liked the older Alph amps Nelson made. However, having had the MXR's for almost two years (and the KRX since March of this year), I can heartily recommend them. The MXRs have been revelatory with my Vandersteen 5As. Obviously, there will always be a system synergy issue, and everyone has their own tastes, but I don't believe there to be any "solid state" sound or compromise to the MXRs at all. In fact, I know several MXR owners who were, before switching to the MXRs, die-hard tube amplifier owner/proponents, largely because of the generally dry/thin nature of solid state traditionally when compared with the best tube amps. Either way, at the level you are talking about, it is critical to have an in-home test drive of both units to see how they respond to your system and how you respond to them. Good luck and gool listening. - Pete -

Proth..I am running the 5A's with Ayre V1xe and K1xe... Have you heard that combination and compared it to yours?

Speaker match is critical, obviously Richard likes the Ayre for his speakers as he showed with them a few times, including RMAF last month. No doubt these are the two SS designers at the top of my list (and the Symphonic Line guy in Germany, and Richard Brown and BEL).

Which amp is highly dependent on speaker match? Is it the XA160.5 or the MXR?