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

Hello downunder:
I owned for many years the Ayre K-1x/V-1x combination and had a lot of fun with it. In this price category I still think there is no competition here. Last year it went to a good friend who is now very happy with it. Togheter with his Marten Bird speakers there is only one thing comes to you mind: Performance!! A rare combination of ultra dynamics and smooth sound.
While searching for other amps , for me, it would be logical to go for the MXR (KXR was not available yet) but was a bit confused about their appearance and relatively small amount of parts inside regarding the price. Call me stubborn but my interest stopped before auditioning.
Then I came in touch with the relaxed and natural sound from Hovland which introduced a new audio era for me. Finally ended up with the HP200/Stratos combination which I love. Its strenghts are smooth power, inner detail and overall musicality with all recordings. Of course this is another price level, but unexpectably I do not miss the Ayre anymore.
A small tip about racks. If you need something which has it all (performance, stability and looks): The new Stillpoints ESS. It's reviewed in the latest Hifi+
I hope you finally will find the right amps and trust only your own ears.

Akozar -- The gain on the KX-R is adjustable simply by changing one resistor per channel. There is no soldering required. Simply call Michael at x223 and he can help. However, in most cases, there is is no need to change the gaing. It may be that one of the cables in the system was single ended. Increasing the gain can make it difficult to select the right volume level at low listening levels. There is no problem running the gaing at "60". It's not like a car where it is being run at 10,000 rpm and you are in danger of blowing the engine.

MU6,

"was a bit confused about their appearance and relatively small amount of parts inside regarding the price"

Many people prefer a larger amplifier. The MX-R's do not sell well in China because of this. As far as the price goes, Ayre has always built very high value performance products. We are happy to compare our products against competing products that cost 2x to 3x the cost of our products.

Do not be fooled by a small photo in a magazine. There are a lot of *very* expensive parts in those amplifiers. It is similar to the CJ preamps with the Teflon caps. For example, our PCB material in the MX-R and KX-R costs us over 30x as much as standard audio-grade fiberglass. That is just one example.

They are not for everybody -- no product is. But they are also not overpriced.

Charles, there's no accounting for taste, the Chinese still buy American cars (particularly big honking SUVs) in droves ;)

Mu6, maybe you'd feel more comfortable in the 80s with the cell phones that were as big as large bricks ;)

After visiting Taiwan audio show twice and living in Singapore for 2 years on expat assignment, I will present a different perspective.

In Asia, European brands are far more accessible than in US and just one visit in Adelphi in Singapore will give you an idea. And contrary to the popular belief of Asian like American imports, people in Asia have much smaller houses than in US and space is always a premium. Therefore, smaller gears are actually preferred in most cases.

Have you been in China lately? last time I was there, I saw mostly VW, Audi, and their own brands. No American, sorry. Not in Singapore or Taiwan either.