Ayre / Aesthetix hum problems?

I'm not sure about the other preamps. Also, try the Calypso if you can get a demo. The problem may not be there for you. This was about 8 months ago. The Calypso is one heck of a preamp IMO.
If I was going with the Ayre SS stuff, I'd surely find a KIxe. The K5xe is good but not at the same level as the K1xe or the Calypso. The other preamps I'd recommend are the ARC RefII MkII or the newer Ref III, the BAT 51se or the VTL 7.5. I haven't heard the new 6.5 so I can't say on it. (The VTL 5.5 is not in the same park as these.)
I know the fellow who bought my Ayre ran into the same problem with his tube pre but I can't remember what it was. He subsequently bought the 51se and is a very happy camper. He answered your last thread with the 51se suggestion. The V5xe deserves the best you can afford. It's that good as you should know by now. Good luck with your search.

The guy I bought an Ayre V5xe and the seller sold it for this same problem. He was just a little more in love with his Aethetix preamp than the Ayre amp, so it had to go. He even went as far as to send both the Aethetix and the Ayre to Ayre and they confirmed the mismatch. Bottom line is don't get an Aethetix preamp if you are using the V5x.

I can vouch for the excellence of the V1x, I have one and it's the best hifi piece I've bought. Also for what it's worth after a long and drawn out comparison between the V5xe and the Parasound JC-1 Halos, I ended up keeping the JC-1s and selling the V5xe.

I too have the same problem with the HUM issues described above with the Raleigh Audio Line stage preamp. This is a fully balanced output transformer coupled preamp but with my V-5x it gives a very low level hum. At the listing position its not audible but distinct few feet away. Initially I was blaming the preamp and tried all grounding schemes but it was the amp that was causing this HUM.
Other than this issue, the V5x is a great amp, very musical.

I had the V5xe Calypso combo. Not sure if you are talking about hum through the speakers or of the amp itself. I had no hum through the speakers, but no matter what I did the transformer itself in the amp was buzzing a bit. Ayre went out of their way to try to fix this...ultimately sending me a different amp which was quieter. Interesting fact was that the amp also hummed at the dealers in a different setup (though also tube preamp), and that his V5x was dead quiet, unlike my evolution. Note that I have the Vandersteen 5a's so a crossover was between the preamp and amp. Ultimately I sold the amp and went to tubes, which I have found to be more musical in my system. I suggest you take the top off the Ayre and see if pressing on the stamped metal transformer cover makes the amp more quiet.

I have the C5xe/K5xe/V5xe stack. Extremely quiet. Before the K5xe pre- I had a BAT VK30SE. I had no hum problems with the VK30SE/V5xe combo. The BAT pre was slightly more noisy than the K5xe - but this was just the usual tube noise.

Thanks for this thread, I've considered trying the Aesthetix due to the great reviews, but I think I'll skip it.....the V5xe is a stunning product (at the price)...I wouldn't want to give it up...I replaced a VK75se and have not looked back....BTW the V5xe is in a another league than the V5x - I've had both.