Feedback on new Ayre MX-R Monoblocks

I just want to add that I am also a very happy MX-R owner. I auditioned McIntosh 501, ARC Ref-210 and Ayre MX-R and on my ML Summits the Ayre was a keeper. All these amps are excellent. Just a matter of system matching and individual taste......Have fun....Enjoy the music....Steve

Just an update...the Ayre MX-R monoblocks are doing wonderfully well at natural sound...big improvement moving from Wilson to the Rockports...an even more musical match...

I'm a dealer, but not for Ayre. I was very impressed with the new Ayre monos on Vandersteen Quatros. One of the best solid state sounds I have heard. There was not a hint of dry or lifeless sound.

Another amp that uses the same Thermal Trak bipolar transistors is the hybrid ARC HD220 at $8995 and 220 w/ch. It's vacuum tube input stage gives it a bit more tube character than the Ayre. BTW, I am a dealer for ARC, Vandersteen and Linn.

Take the Shindo out of the mix and then listen to the Ayre if you want to hear it's true character. Guaranteed the presentation will be completely different. Whether it is good or bad depends on your ear and what they put in place of the Shindo Pre. Very few preamps will match up to a Shindo.

I have MX-R and KX-R in my system, in the beginning, I felt the difference between KX-R pre and my precious owned Pass XP-20 immediately, but I did not feel the same way to MX-R.

But after few hundreds hours of break-in, I realize MX-R is as incredible as KX-R, they are neutral and real, very little color by themselves. Image is excellent and accurate, nothing cold or dry.

Before it fully break in, treble sounds a bit conservative, maybe that's why some people consider it is "lifeless".

Ayre R series is very transparent to the system, so any small change in your system, power quality, cables, etc., you can easily hear them. My friend always like to bring his cables to test on my system, which he can't hear the differences in most other systems. But he can hear it in 1 minute in my system.