Attn: Ayre v-5xe owners

I had the V-5xe before moving up to the MXRs. I never felt a particular lack in bass, and my unit always controlled the bass region very well, although the "light in bass" comment has often been attributed to Ayre amps, especially before thier "e" implementation. You should really listen to a V-5xe in your system. One of the benefits of Audiogon is that you can buy, listen for an extended period and, if its not your cup of tea, resell it for essentially the same price. Given how few speakers really plumb the depths these days, any bass shyness may not be a big deal in your actual listening environment. The V-5xe is truly musical, which is ultimately a prime goal in hifi. Have fun.

Proth wrote: '. . . especially before thier "e" implementation.'

I agree . . . I can't speak for the V-5 but the "e" upgrade to my AX-7 resulted in greater bass definition and, seemingly, extension (among other nice improvements). In other words, I'd make sure I was talking about the V-5xe and not earlier versions.

is V1-xe better than the V5-xe?

I wondered the same thing myself. I.e., was it only a difference in power. The guy I spoke with at Ayre (Steve?) said there's a lot of difference, much more than just the power.

Hi Matt,

I am a very happy and proud owner of a V-5xe from Europe and can only recommend it as long as your speakers are not too inefficient. Mind you: inefficient, not power hungry since Ayre amps are electrically very stable. However, the downside of a zero feedback design very often is nonlinear harmonic components that can cause distortion as you crank up the volume. Sonically you will often perceive this as hardness or a slight glare but as I mentioned before, only if you really have to push the amp to its limits. But that's all in terms of downsides.

The advantages of such a design by far outweigh its minor disadvantages as long as you match it properly: Team a zero feedback design up with a pre of the same design principle and pretty efficient loudspeakers and you will be transported to sonic heaven.

Along with the V-5xe my system consists of an Audio Research LS 26, Reference CD 7 for front end and a pair of Sonus Faber Amati Homage (which are quite efficient speakers), and this combo plays way better than anything else I have heard, especially in its price range. Bass shy it certainly is NOT! In my room (600 sq feet) the amp is able to deliver a very deep and - where necessary - loud but also controlled (THE benefit of a solid state design) and detailed bass coupled to a very open and extended but smooth high end. Transparency cannot get better than this with an unbelievably holograhic soundstage especially in the depth (and also height) plane!

But the true virtue o such a design lies in its homogenous and surefooted rhythmic rendition of the music (due to lack of time domain errors inherent to feedback designs). You would not imagine double basslines being reproduced with such brio and power and in the same time such definition before having listened to a zero (or low) feedback design. Anything alse is blurry in comparison!

Musicality is almost on a par with tube designs, with musical colors spot-on and the individual characteristic of instruments clearly laid-out.

As you might have recognized I am a big fan of Ayre amps and am impatiently waiting for the design principles of the (sadly too expensive) MX-R mono blocs to trickle down to more economic designs.

Murat