Dartzeel 108 vs Ayre Mr-X

I think we all know who needs to grow up here :)

Charles, you have a good point. However, fewer and fewer dealers on earth are willing to loan their equipments out for days. It's a fact, many dealers told me they stopped doing so because loaning equipments out did not generate more sales. Some manufactures offer loaner to potential buyers for extended home trial just for the cost of shipping, you might consider offering that in US or you risk putting your equipments at a disadvantage in dealer show room which is what 99% of population will gauge their impression on. Imagine you are shopping for a Ferrari which is what your MX-R is in automobile's world, after test driving for 10 minutes you were not impressed, would you still want to go thru the hassle of taking it home for a long test drive or simply go to your nearby Aston Martin dealer and put down the deposit?

When is Audiogon going to ban the immature posts?

I don't hate you Semi.

I simply think you have no clue.

And name calling?

Isn't that the purest form of immaturity?

Go figure.

Hello gents

Why is it that you have narrowed down to the ayre and the dartzeel?

If you like dartzeel - try out DNM as well - they use those same rhedeko speakers for product develoment.

Also check out Lavardin - The former UK importer of Dartzeel used to and still does sell Lavardin amps - to which I am partial. I thought the dartzeel had a bit more bloom than the lavardin in that it had a bit more warmth - that was the power amp I might add - though I anticipate that the pre-amp will be cut from the same cloth.

As to equipment borrowing - in the UK i find most dealers take it for granted that they have to lend equipment out if they are to make a sale.

you must be able to isolate a component in your system.

In fact e-mail both Ayre and Dartzeel - you may find that most manufacturers would encourage dealers to lend out equipment, and they may help facilitate it.

Lohan

You've asked about using these amps with a Nagra PLL.

I had the combination of the Ayre MX-R for about a year until I replaced the Nagra with the KX-R. The combination worked fine, and I was able to hear the advantages of Ayres over my previous Audio Research VTM 200's. I had learned to live with what I thought we congested tweeters on my WP 7's, but once the MX-R's were broken in there was a substantial improvement on the top end, particularly with female voices and solo piano. I had thought that the talk about "making poor recordings sound good" was probably marketing hype, but I do find that it's much easier to listen to recordings that used to be tough on the ears, without giving anything away in terms of detail. Maybe it's the higher power rating, or the zero feedback, but somethings different and it's better.

Replacing the Nagra with the KX-R was initially disappointing, but once broken in the soundstage really opened up, and became effortless in terms of
placing the instruments in space. The combination of the two is amazing.

My experience with the Ayre units has been extremely positive. I have not heard the Dartzeels, but given the value of the US dollar and the fact that Ayre provides excellent customer support and is a stable US company, I had no trouble deciding on the MX-Rs

MJF

MJF,

Thank you for confirming that there is a substantial break-in time on the Ayre "R" series components. I wish that this weren't so, as it would greatly simplify the purchase decision making process. Unfortunately, this is one of the drawbacks to using that particular PCB material.

As a manufacturer, there is always the choice either to build products that make a great impression in the short- term or to make products that provide great satisfaction in the long term. We at Ayre have always chosen the latter.

Best regards,
Charles Hansen