2. amps-preamps
  3. 1230240383

How make my Ayre system "warmer"?

Hello and happy christmas!

Please help to make How make my Ayre system "warmer".

My System:
Ayre K-5xe
Ayre V-5xe
Ayon Eagle (speaker with Accuton ceramic chassis)
Linn UniDisk 1.1
Cardas Golden Reference XLR
Shunyata Phoenix speaker cables

It´s a great system. It´s makes so many things very very good but it´s a little bid on the "lean" or "clean" side.

How can I change this to be "warmer" without loosing transparency and tonality and musical enjoyment? Other cables? Would be an K-1x as preamp a real step forward? Or an C-7xe as red book player. I love the Linn because he´s DVD playing is great (picture and sound).

Thanks!

Tom
tje
amfibius
282 posts
 
I would go with what Mrtennis said. If you want more warmth, go with valve amplification.

I do not deny that the above posters who are urging you to fix your room have a point, but fixing the room will not change the harmonic structure of your amp-speaker combo. Fixing the room (in my experience) does not give a sterile sounding system warmth. Rather, fixing the room improves imaging, gives you a more consistent frequency response (provided you did it right!), and gets rid of ringing. If you want warmth, which I take to mean a predominance of even order harmonics, you either get an amp or speaker that does this.
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Well, tell us about your room and speaker placement. Do female vocalists often seem "shouty" leading you to turn the volume down. If so, that's a symtem of poor speaker placement, with lots of intermodulation distortion in the room. Search for Sumiko Master Set for some ideas about properly setting your speakers. This is a highly likely problem.

Also, do you hear a lot of glare and edge? That would likely be coming from you CDP. Unfortunately fixing that costs dollars. Tubes won't clear this up. Great tubes and great SS sound pretty much alike. Unfortunately the bad SS, which you don't have, sounds harsh and bad tubes can sound euphonically warm. The best of both are very, very close to each other, and expensive.

So, tell us about your room and start looking around for a superior CDP.

Dave
zkga
20 posts
 
Have you listened to Vandersteens with your current set up?
I am running the K5xe, v5xe, and Cx7e ....I've run this set up with 2ce, 3A sigs (current), and Quatro Vandersteens. All have been very "un SS like" I used to have the K1X, but with the current E upgrade on the pre amp, cd, and amp....I'm really not missing it that much...
system is run fully balanced with Audioquest Colorado ic's and alpha Core Goertz MI II speaker cables (flat copper super low impedence)
It's anything but lean!
For as cheaply as you can pick up a pair of used, current 2ce's it might be worth a listen. I thnk you'd be really surprised.
Greg
Post removed 
driver's avatar
driver
750 posts
 
I'd say no to the C-7xe, as you'll just be getting more of what you want to get away from, as I've had (heard) it in 3 different systems. Also owned the V-5x, V-1xe & the V-3. I would say move to a tube pre-amp or tube CDP, such as BAT or something like the Cayin CDT-17A CDP.

Changing your outlets to gold plated units will help, along w/similar PC's.

V-5xe is a great amp & I would definitely hold onto it. Don't know anything about your spkrs, so no comment there.
More to discover