Was the AX-7 a bad mate for my Quad ESL-989s? On closer listen, the Quads' bass panels weren't as well controlled by the Ayre as they were by my older, less powerful, and altogether cheaper vintage Naim NAP110 amplifier—and since the electrostatic Quads are grounded and the Ayre has a balanced throughput...well, to borrow a sentence construction that became popular a few…
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The Ayre always sounded good, but the difference between sounding good and playing music is like the difference between wallpaper and a painting: Both can be colorful and detailed, but only one of them goes anywhere.
It was brilliant. Amazing. Stirring, even. It was some of the best-sounding, most compelling music-making I've heard at home. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry: There was the snap in Charles Sawtelle's rhythm guitar playing. There was the dynamic give-and-take between the singers. There was the rhythm, the momentum, the out-and-out excitement of the music.
Now what I had in my system was an integrated amplifier with a clear, open sound, a somewhat larger sense of scale than average, and very good presence, that also played lines of notes with a convincing sense of rhythm, flow, and…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, two-channel integrated amplifier. Inputs: 4 (2 balanced, 2 unbalanced). Output power: 60Wpc into 8 ohms (17.8dBW), 120Wpc into 4 ohms (17.8dBW). Frequency range: 2Hz-200kHz. Input impedance: 40k ohms balanced, 20k ohms unbalanced. Maximum voltage gain: 35dB.
Dimensions: 17.25" W by 4.75" H by 13.75" D. Weight: 25 lbs.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 8B0136, 8G0176.
Price: $2950. Approximate number of dealers: 35.
Manufacturer: Ayre Acoustics, Inc., 2300-B Central Ave., Boulder, CO 80301. Tel: (303) 442-7300. Fax: (303) 442…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Linn LP12 turntables (two) with Linn Lingo, Naim Armageddon power supplies; Naim Aro, Linn Ekos tonearms; Supex 900 Super, Miyabi 47, Denon DL-103D, Lyra Helikon Mono phono cartridges; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Rega RB-300 tonearm, Rega Elys & Exact phono cartridges.
Digital source: Sony SCD-777ES SACD player, Ayre CX-7 CD player.
Preamplification: Fi, Audio Note M3, Naim NAC32-5 preamplifiers; Linn Linto phono preamp.
Power amplifiers: Fi 2A3 Stereo, Audio Note Kit One (300B), Naim NAP110.
Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-989, Lowther…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
The warning in Ayre's manual is clear: the AX-7's speaker outputs should not be connected to ground or to each other.
I had almost finished my set of measurements when Murphy struck. Changing my dummy load from 4 ohms to 2 ohms, I inadvertently connected the two channels' negative terminals together. The rear-panel fuse immediately blew, but the amplifier remained resolutely dead when the connection was broken and the fuse was replaced (footnote 1). This test report is therefore missing my usual high-frequency intermodulation tests and any estimate of…
Sidebar 4: Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: Our heartfelt thanks from all of us at Ayre go to Art Dudley for his willingness to persist in exploring the capabilities of the Ayre AX-7 integrated amplifier. As he found, the AX-7 can require extra care to achieve its full measure of performance, but in the end, that care is amply rewarded. In Art's case, the prize was "...brilliant. Amazing. Stirring, even. It was some of the best-sounding, most compelling music-making I've heard at home." Certainly a prize worth seeking!
One may rightfully wonder why the AX-7 requires that special…
Art Dudley wrote about the AX-7e in January 2006 (Vol.29 No.1):
When I reviewed the Ayre AX-7 integrated amplifier for the October 2003 Stereophile, I wasn't completely taken with it. Heard at its best—which is to say, when I used it as a balanced integrated amplifier with a balanced playback source—it was wonderful. When I used it with unbalanced sources, it was acceptably good but certainly not a product I'd go out of my way for.
Apparently the folks at Ayre took my observations seriously and found a way to implement a few technical refinements. Those efforts have resulted in a…
Sidebar: Ayre's Accessories
Steve Silberman of Ayre paid me a visit right after his company's amp arrived here, and he brought along three accessories to try with the AX-7e and some of the other components in my system. First was an 8'-long Cardas Golden power cord, which Ayre endorses as an upgrade for their own products. As I've mentioned before, out of about a dozen different aftermarket power cords I've tried, the JPS Labs Digital AC, used with a CD player or a D/A converter, was the only one I ever felt made a consistently audible change for the better.
Until now. The Cardas…
Wes Phillips wrote about the Ayre AX-7e in March 2008 (Vol.31 No.3)::
When I attended the CEDIA Expo in the fall of 2007, I had time to visit Ayre's factory the day before the show. I was allowed to participate in the company's "dealer education day," in which Ayre takes its dealers on a tour of its facilities, introduces them to its suppliers, and generally attempts to explain the Ayre philosophy while alerting dealers to upcoming products and plans.
This year, Ayre's founder and designer, Charlie Hansen, had a lot to talk about, having spent most of the preceding year designing…
Sidebar: WP's Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Onkyo DX-7555 CD player, Oppo DV-970HD universal player; Bel Canto e.One DAC3, Musical Fidelity X-DACV8 D/A converters.
Loudspeakers: Usher Be-718.
Cables: Digital: Stereovox XV2. Interconnect: Stereovox HDSE. Speaker: Stereovox Firebird.
Accessories: OSAR equipment stand, Shunyata Research Hydra 6 AC conditioner, RealTraps Mini & Mondo Traps.—Wes Phillips