Ayre MR-X monoblocks - how good are they??

Charles,
Just an idea, you might consider to develop a power amp for the chinese market (MXR-XL) :) In time you have to do this anyway, because there will start a demand from a part of MXR owners.

Don't get me wrong, my heart is still beating for your products. And regarding the competition I don't think the MXR is overpriced. I agree Ayre is always very competitive regarding the price. But for me this is not always the only criterium for buying a product.

Bar81,
IMO amps and cell phones are not the same, otherwise the 80's cell phone would be very popular in China now;) BTW last week my wife bought an iPhone; quite big and heavy stuff. Are we going back to the 80's? The next day it fel on the floor and the glass (glass in a cell phone??) broke, no warranty here. Cool stuff!
But serious, I don't like bulky things either. Size and shape should be just right and fit the purpose. The Hovland Stratos is not bulky at all and is made off very fine and expensive parts, I like its shape.

Charles,

If you read this, could you tell me how hard it is to convert a 110v american unit to a 230v unit? The american prices are more or less half the european price, so private imports would really pay off :)

How many MX-R owners out there are pairing your amps with a tube preamp? I'm using a First Sound tube-pre and wonder if they will be a good match for the Ayre. My speakers are Sonus Faber Cremonas.
I am considering getting a used MX-R monobloc pair and unfortunately won't have a chance to audition them in my set up. Appreciate any input.

I am using a Messenger preamp with my MX-Rs. The combination is spectacular.

It's been some years since I've auditioned a First Sound preamp, but I would be willing to bet that it would make a great match.

You might want to check with Emmanuel Go to see how the preamp handles near DC frequencies. Unlike the vast majority of preamps, the Messenger was designed to pass those frequencies at comparatively high levels. As a result, the Ayre's protection circuitry occasionally tripped on very high level bass passages. Elliott Midwood of Messenger solved the problem with no discernable effect in bass reproduction (and at no cost to me...great guy!). He also noted that my SoundLabs probably exacerbated the original situation, by the way. After Elliott's modification - audio nirvana. Just a heads up.

Charles, why my MX-R get RED light when I connect them to my KX-R with Ayrelink?