Ayre V-5xe/K-5xeMP or Modwright KWA-150/LS-100?

I heard the Ayre at a dealer where I bought my Maggies...it might have been the source or room or cables (nordost), but the sound was etchy and flat. People who have heard the same Maggies in my setup versus the same dealer reach the same conclusions...I assumed the major difference was the Ayre stereo amp they were using.

Pod, that's odd as I have them paired with maggies but not those cables and have no "flatness".

Cables must have not been a good match...don't get me wrong...the sound wasn't bad (I ended up buying the speakers!)...just not as organic sounding as they are in my system....

Could have also been the room as I have been to many dealers where they positioned maggies horribly

I found myself in your position a few years ago, fed up with valves and the heat they produce, so I moved over to the ayre cd, pre and power and have been very happy with them. I was worried because I loved the valve sound and was reluctant to change. The ayre system has been a success in that I think I'm listening to more music than ever before. Which is after all what it's all about!