Ayre K-5xe preamp? How close to K-1xe?

Everybody here seems so happy with the K-1xe, I went ahead and ordered one today as well as the C-5xe Universal Disc Player. I will be using them with 2 Linn Klimax amps, and Sophia II loudspeakers. I hope I will get good synergy with that system.

Thanks for the responses, they were helpful in making my decision.
Paul

I think you be very happy with this setup. I also think if you could borrow the V5xe and insert in place of your Linn amps you will be very impressed. The V5x is very transparent and throws a really wide tall and deep soundstage. I'd reccommend hooking everything up balanced and omit any power conditioners, plug everything straight into the wall outlets. BTW, Cardas wires are very Ayre friendly, excellent synergy. I have a K-3x and V5x and I'm very interested in Sophias, so I'd be interested to hear your comments if you ever decide to try this out. I may have to try and get a pair of Sophias demos to test out myself.

I agree with Dmichael about not bothering with power conditioners. (I don't use them, and Ayre discourages using them with their equipment as well.)

However, I would recommend dedicated circuits for you equipment. These made a great improvement on the sound of my system.

Congrats on getting the K-1XE, btw. I am sure you will like it! (If you are into vinyl, the phono boards are very good, and well worth the price!)

I just auditioned the k-5xe and k-1xe with b&w802d + V-1xe amp. The differences between the k5 and k1 is not subtle. The k1 just did a better job of presenting the music in more real manner. Voices were more 3-dimensional and palpable. The k1 had more weight to tbe music while at the same time having a very light air to it. I know that sounds contradictory but to me thats the magic of the k1 vs the k5. Is is worth more than twice the k5??? I am not sure yet. I will be doing an in home audition of both preamps shortly. I am also going to be looking into the Plinius M8, which I hear also has a nice warm, tubelike sound like the ayre products.

One thing I did not like about the k1 (i know this is minor) was the loud noise the volume knob makes when moving. I also did not like the overall look of the k1.

How convenient is it to use the K-1xe preamp with a surround sound processor home theatre setup? Also how long is the umbilical cord between the K-1 main unit and the power supply unit Can you set them on two shelves, one above the other by about 6"? I can't find a picture of the power supply. How does it look?