Passlabs XA .5 vs Ayre MXR

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?

I suspect that both amps would be electrically compatible with any speakers assuming enough power, by match in this case I mean that Richard likes the way the Ayre makes his speakers sound; you could be pretty sure that the Ayre is a pretty good match with the Vandersteen's sound signature. That being said, I can't imagine the XA160.5 couldn't make most speakers dance as well. These are among the finest SS amps made IMHO and can't see why both would not work well. Since the Vandersteen's bass is self-powered, I can't imagine either amp being a problem. Really I think this is a toss up and is just a matter of taste - they are both great amps - I can see why you ask for help in deciding, but I'm not sure there is any defintive answer hear as neither one s*&^%ks. Not a bas position to be in.