Stephen Mejias

Budget-Priced

Stephen Mejias  |  Jul 6, 2006

It's time to seal the brown boxes and send them back to the manufacturer. Tonight, I will be packing up the Ayre gear.

I was absolutely flattered when Steve Silberman e-mailed me back in February:

How would you like to live with an Ayre system for awhile? I was thinking the AX-7e and the CX-7e.

Shit, how would you like to live with an Ayre system for awhile? Damn straight. I know how lucky I am; that's some pretty sweet gear. Expensive, too. And rated Class A in our own "Recommended Components."

It seemed like a big deal to have some Class A gear in my own home. I'd gone from the "Recommended Components" Class C-rated Arcam Solo to the Class B Musical Fidelity A3.5 gear, and finally to the Ayres. The progression seemed natural, but it also seemed fast. It was a busy time for the blog.

While I was never much attracted to the Ayres' looks, their sound allowed me to forget about the system altogether and simply enjoy the music in a way that surpassed anything else I've experienced.

I don't really know what I'll experience next, but I'm thinking of going backwards, in a sense, to some more "budget-priced" components. I do have some things in mind, of course. But if you've got any recommendations for a good and inexpensive integrated amp and CD player — or Chardonnay — please let me know.

Thanks so much.

COMMENTS
Buddha's picture
Submitted by Buddha (not verified) on July 7, 2006 - 1:18am

Hola, amigo.

We need a bar to hang in.

At home," there are no ""letter grade"" components. Knowing those letter grades in advance can affect your ""listening curve.""

Remember the person who told you that the Zu's weren't good"," even though you enjoyed listening to them? Knowing that a component was an ""A"" or a ""B"" is the same problem"," in reverse.

Better to discuss the things people hear from the component rather than ""hearing"" a letter to describe a component.

That's the danger of ""The List.""

Same with wine. Which would you prefer to taste", a wine that has subtle hints of oak with mango, pear, and flinty flavors," or something that The Wine Spectator rated a ""94?""

I hope your next component is unranked and you are left to your thesaurus to describe it to me.

That would be way cool!

Could JA swing you and another reviewer getting the same integrated/CD combo and compare? I bet your ears are better than you give credit.

Buddha's picture
Submitted by Buddha (not verified) on July 7, 2006 - 1:27am

Oh! The wine! I spaced on the wine!

You need to start a relationship with a wine shop that tastes, or a tasting bar that sells. Right away.

Wines are like the womens...there are many fine varieties, and you must taste amongst them to decide what is most to your liking.

Sit right down at a tasting bar/store and start asking questions and approach this with an open pallet. Taste everything you can get your mouth on.

Also, like with Hi-Fi, even the accessories matter...the right temperature, the right amount of time spent breathing the air, the type of glass...it's a beautiful thing.

Beautiful.

There is no substitute for tasting.

In all honesty, the most important thing about learning wine is learning how to taste it properly, to get a little Frazier Crane on ya. Ask the tasting bar person how to do that.

If the moon and stars align properly, maybe I can help out with that on the night of the 21st.

Best wishes.

WonkoTheSane's picture
Submitted by WonkoTheSane (not verified) on July 7, 2006 - 8:07pm

I'm still drinking the bargain basement Barefoot wines, and listening to bargain basement gear, and still giggling like mad that my life has come to a place where electricity and wine in the same month are taken for granted. If you liked the Zu stuff, why not chase them down for a sample? Or, along the lines of bargain gear, why not dink around with some adcom," arguably one of the ""gateway"" manufacturers? Or", perhaps ask Kelli what she thinks, what she would like to listen for? Whatever the choice winds up being, I think it'd be nifty to read about some experiences with a turntable as well as cd media.

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