Ayre KX-R Twenty thoughts?

[gaboudreaux]

Anyone who has heard it or owns it... thoughts? Any comparisons you did ?

New member here... first post. I have the Ayre KXR/MXR Twenty with Aurender N10, Ayre QX5 Twenty dac and Wilson Sasha DAW. IMHO it sounds very good.

I have not heard many other systems, so hard for me to compare to others. However, I do have some time spent listening to Dag Momentum and Wilson Alexia V2 and feel I can compare to that. Without trying to get too analytical and of the belief all of our adjectives used to describe what we are hearing may vary, I would say the Ayre/Wilson combo is comparable to the Dag/Wilson combo, but Ayre is a little less fwd sounding (maybe just a smidge more relaxed compared to the Dagastino). Ayre is very sweet on top, good bass grip, very musical and resolving to my ears, but (I'm splitting hairs here) the Dag gear seems to be slightly more fwd in the mid-hi freq. range.

Unfortunately, I can't give you an opinion specifically on the KXR Twenty compared to other preamps, but there are many reviews out there that name it as one of the top performing preamps.

On another note, I tried running my QX5 Twenty dac direct to MXR Twenty amps, and definitely prefer it with the KXR Twenty. QX5 Twenty direct to amp has a slight "digital" sound at loud volumes compared to KXR in system. Also feel like I get a much more complete sound at very low volumes with KXR in system. Medium volumes were slightly less obvious improvement with KXR in system.

 

[SuperDave]

New member here... first post. I have the Ayre KXR/MXR Twenty with Aurender N10, Ayre QX5 Twenty dac and Wilson Sasha DAW. IMHO it sounds very good.

I have not heard many other systems, so hard for me to compare to others. However, I do have some time spent listening to Dag Momentum and Wilson Alexia V2 and feel I can compare to that. Without trying to get too analytical and of the belief all of our adjectives used to describe what we are hearing may vary, I would say the Ayre/Wilson combo is comparable to the Dag/Wilson combo, but Ayre is a little less fwd sounding (maybe just a smidge more relaxed compared to the Dagastino). Ayre is very sweet on top, good bass grip, very musical and resolving to my ears, but (I'm splitting hairs here) the Dag gear seems to be slightly more fwd in the mid-hi freq. range.

Unfortunately, I can't give you an opinion specifically on the KXR Twenty compared to other preamps, but there are many reviews out there that name it as one of the top performing preamps.

On another note, I tried running my QX5 Twenty dac direct to MXR Twenty amps, and definitely prefer it with the KXR Twenty. QX5 Twenty direct to amp has a slight "digital" sound at loud volumes compared to KXR in system. Also feel like I get a much more complete sound at very low volumes with KXR in system. Medium volumes were slightly less obvious improvement with KXR in system.

I know that system, welcome Glenn! Hope you've been well

 

[gaboudreaux]

I know that system, welcome Glenn! Hope you've been well

Hey Dave! Thanks! Hope you're doing well too! This forum wasn't even on my radar... didn't know it existed. Just getting acquainted with the site and it looks very active with a lots of great discussion.

Sorry OP, back to topic.

 

[thedudeabides]

Just getting acquainted with the site and it looks very active with a lots of great discussion.

Dare I say "the best". Very little flame throwing and many well informed, polite audio types that provide insightful comments.

 

[BillK]

I know the last post here was years ago, but I wanted to mention I still use the KX-R Twenty and a pair of MX-R Twenties as my system, and would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about them.

I did compare a Boulder 1110 to my KX-R Twenty about three years ago, and it remained connected in my system for about ten minutes.

The Boulder was harsh and very "solid state" sounding, edgy and bright.

I let it warm up an extra 48 hours just to double check, but it never improved.

 

[chuck]

I auditioned the KX-R Twenty when I was looking for a SS pre that could replace my tube ARC Ref40. The ARC Ref40 sounded better with my Boulder 3060 so passed on the KX-R Twenty. I auditioned the Boulder 1110 later and it was at least a match for the ARC Ref40 and better IMO than the Ayre. Perhaps system synergy or just preference. Anyway, I have owned the 1110 for four years now. The late Dr. Anthony Cordesman reviewed the Boulder for TAS and he did caution that the 1110 may not work in some systems.

 

[BillK]

Possibly personal preference as well.

I also have found there is always a certain synergy between preamps and amps from the same brand, and my amps are Ayre MX-R Twenties.

I found, like JA did in his Stereophile review, that the KX-R Twenty actually made sources sound better than when connected directly to the amps.

Enjoy your 1110!

 

[Slingblade]

I spent a lot of time with a KX-R/MX-R system and was always impressed with the sound quality. It still more than holds it's own today IMO.

 

[LL21]

Possibly personal preference as well.

I also have found there is always a certain synergy between preamps and amps from the same brand, and my amps are Ayre MX-R Twenties.

I found, like JA did in his Stereophile review, that the KX-R Twenty actually made sources sound better than when connected directly to the amps.

Enjoy your 1110!

Its very interesting...in our first separates in 2000, it was CJ and CJ for about 8 years...and then along came the search for a be all, end all powerful tube amp (a super-long Audiogon thread I started)...and ended up with Gryphon Class A SS amps...but still led by CJ preamps. And that persisted from 2008 all the way until 2022 or so. And now we are finally back to matching...the Robert Koda K15EX/K160 Monos.

I genuinely enjoyed the CJ preamp/Gryphon amp pairing. But knowing the little I do about CJ amps, and from everything I have known about Gryphon set ups...I think I am glad I created a 'collage' given my own personal tastes.

However, I DO really get the singular vision AND the interactions being purposefully made by a single company of a set preamp/amp design. And I think that continuity, evenness of sound (at least with Robert Koda and I definitely imagine the latest CJ flagships as well) really does create a very reliable, complete foundation on which to build a system.