Ayre KX-R line preamplifier Page 2

Ayre KX-R line preamplifier Page 2

I can't think of a product that was as eagerly anticipated as was Ayre's KX-R preamplifier ($18,500). Following in the footsteps of Ayre's <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/407ayre">MX-R monoblock amplifier</A>, a <I>Stereophile</I> <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/features/1207poty/index9.html">2007 Product of the Year</A>, and milled, like the MX-R, from a 75-lb billet of aluminum, the KX-R also shares with its monoblock stablemate the Ayre ethos of zero feedback and fully balanced operation. But what really caused the buzz was the declaration by Ayre founder and chief designer <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/610">Charles Hansen</A> that the KX-R, with its use of a technology he calls Variable Gain Transconductance (VGT) to control the volume, would set new standards for signal/noise ratio.

Company Info

Ayre Acoustics
2300-B Central Avenue
Boulder, CO 80301
(303) 442-7300
www.ayre.com

Ayre KX-R line preamplifier

Ayre KX-R line preamplifier

Nov 04, 2008

I can't think of a product that was as eagerly anticipated as was Ayre's KX-R preamplifier ($18,500). Following in the footsteps of Ayre's <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/407ayre">MX-R monoblock amplifier</A>, a <I>Stereophile</I> <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/features/1207poty/index9.html">2007 Product of the Year</A>, and milled, like the MX-R, from a 75-lb billet of aluminum, the KX-R also shares with its monoblock stablemate the Ayre ethos of zero feedback and fully balanced operation. But what really caused the buzz was the declaration by Ayre founder and chief designer <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/610">Charles Hansen</A> that the KX-R, with its use of a technology he calls Variable Gain Transconductance (VGT) to control the volume, would set new standards for signal/noise ratio.

Elements of Our Enthusiasm

Elements of Our Enthusiasm

Nov 04, 2008
At the end of August, we watched as the number of registered users in our online forums quickly ticked past the 10,000 mark. Ten thousand registered users! While it might prove interesting to learn just how that number breaks down into men and women, old and young, subjectivists and objectivists, or any of several other demographic and philosophical divides, that would only obscure the point: In our online forums, there are over 10,000 members who are eager to share their enthusiasm for music and hi-fi. What a beautiful thing!

Tokyo Audio Show

Forums
General Rants 'n' Raves
Submitted by linden518 on

Tokyo Audio Show took place from 10/3 until 10/5. I've taken some pics from the highly informative www.hifimusic.co.kr and translated their captions for your amusement. The coverage is written by audio writer Yim Jung Hoon.


Esoteric showed with Tannoy and Avantgarde, obviously enough from the pics. Kind of shows the difference between East and West audio thinking, too...

Adding a GSP Solo head amp

Forums
Headphones & Headphone Accessories
Submitted by amanlikemike on

Hey there,

I'm just burning in a very lovely Graham Slee Solo MC headphone amp to use with my AKG K-701 cans. As I'm new to headphone listening, I have a dumbass question.

A bit of background...

My source is a Squeezebox 3 running FLAC into a CIAudio VDA2 DAC via co-ax. At the moment, the VDA2 then goes straight into the Solo head amp (the DAC also feeds my MF A3.5 > Dynaudio S1.4 speakers at the flick of the phase switch).

Help stop dynamic compression

Forums
General Rants 'n' Raves
Submitted by mrlowry on

I believe that one of the most damaging changes to music that is perpetrated by the record industry is dynamic compression. Dynamic compression is the reduction of the volume difference between the loudest and the softest sounds on a recording. Record companies feel that an album or song that is consistently louder will

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