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

Downunder
I fully believe the components were thoroughly run in and properly matched up together.
Nothing was out of sorts.

What I heard with the Ayer gear and the entire system in general was system synergy carefully set up by a competent dealer.

At this point, you should listen for yourself.

Downunder,

Since you have the SF Stradivari speakers, I would think that the Ayre MXR will match very well with them. I have the MXR driving my SF Memento and they sound great. I used to have Pass Labs and Boulder (piece of junk), the MXRs are by far the best, granted that they cost more.

Sorry to take this thread somewhat off course but I did briefly want to address two comments: 1)"the Isis is not known to be musical." I am not really sure what exactly that means or whether it is intended to be negative in nature; however, based on my listening, the Isis are accurate, "garbage in, garbage out". They can be very musically natural when driven with the proper amp. By the way, I do not own the Isis nor am I in the market for new speakers. 2) "the Einstein is not very kind or musical on normal recordings." Again, I am unsure what "normal recordings" means and whether this is intended as criticism. In this particular instance, I do own the Einstein phono stage and while it does have weaknesses, it is accurate and does not sugar coat what is played through it. Normal recordings can sound spectacular with warmth and body, but again "garbage in, garbage out". My only point is that someone developing a system must make certain choices based on their perceptions and what they want to achieve. Accurate seems like a good starting point. Whether it is the final destination is another question. Note that I have no qualms with someone who chooses one of the other phono stages which are mentioned as each does have its strengths and weaknesses.

Fcrowder

My only point was that the Einstein sounded wonderful, however not with all recordings and was a little unforgiving to poorer recordings.
The unit is good enough for me to have another listen if I can, as i have removed one source of irritation in my system that may enable me to better appreciate the Einstein.

Are you using the balanced or SE Einstein?. BTW, great system

As you know at this price point, a lot has to do with synergies and compromises as there is no BEST, only best for your musical tastes.

cheers

I agree Avalon Isis is quite neutral and resovling, but to call Avalon sweet and musical is something I would not do, at least based on what I heard in several systems. Maybe it was the cable choice, but I certainly did not feel any enjoyment listening to Isis.

as for GP Monaco, my impression is it removes so much of external vibration from your components that you are hearing your components at the cleanest state. using maple block under component adds a certain warmth, using GP is like lifting everything away and in fact lift the frequency spectrum up a little. but the most important thing is there is less grain and glare despite sounding more extended and "higher" with even more details.

Fcrowder, I am debating on the Einstein pre amp. it's a sizable investment, not to mention the operating cost from 18 tubes and power it consumes. I started out looking for a new pre to displace my still very good Sonic Frontiers Line 3SE+, I was considering Ayre KX-R (and thought I would get the Ayre combo if I like them enough but didn't like them enough in dealer show room), Dartzeel (would go for the combo again if I like the sound enough, but even used price is slightly out of my reach now), EAR 912 (didn't think the phono stage built-in is as good as Einstein XLR phono), and Atma Sphere MA-1 (no remote). I am surprised to see you mating Einstein pre with JC-1 for such an efficient speaker, I would think Einstein OTL would be a nice amp to go into your system.