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

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.

Take a read:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24315026/

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.