Power Amplifier Reviews

The Ayre had a good deal of resolution and ability to bring out details. That may be what worked to its detriment early on, before the amp broke in—like too much coffee combined with a speech impediment. The thickly layered sounds of Tears for Fears' "Head Over Heels" more than survived the transfer to a 5.1-channel mix, sounding much as I imagine the band would have wanted. Though slightly on the bright side, the song is to big music what Dolly Parton is to milk. Acting much as I expected the Krell would, the V-6 cut the track little slack, but I'd be lying if I said the results weren't still very exciting.

The ambient music written for Donnie Darko benefited from the Ayre's neutral if, so far, unforgiving nature. The amplifier was adept at transporting me into the deeply schizophrenic world in which Donnie lives. And though some of the eeriest moments relied heavily on the subwoofer, the rest of the frequency spectrum received a power-crunching workout as well. The Ayre delivered a room-engulfing four walls of sound without ever sounding strained or compressed. No easy feat.

As usual, I listened to lots of music with the amplifier. The box of Led Zeppelin remasterings from the early '90s (CD, Atlantic 82144-2) may be great for content, but its sound has never impressed me. Cuts like "In the Evening" are too brash, painfully so in some respects, and the V-6 delighted in bringing out small flaws and, well, amplifying them. Is that a good thing? I'm not so sure. More audiophile-approved recordings, like Michael Kroll's Ether Country (CD, Merser NG0005-2), got their just desserts from the V-6, for the most part. But the Ayre lacked the ultimate bit of jump factor that helped set the BAT apart from every other amp I've ever had in my listening room.

Still, the V-6 injected loads of resolution and insight into any soundtrack, though the vagaries of the recording process meant there was sometimes a price to pay: a hint of revealed edge or hardness. I got the good with the bad; however, the good could be very good. One area where the Ayre distinguished itself was in revealing subtle differences between DACs. The Krell HTS 2 pre-pro uses 20-bit/44kHz DACs, while their more recent DVD player, the Krell DVD Standard (along with Krell's new HTS 7.1 pre-pro), uses newer, high-resolution 24/192 DACs. With some songs, the 24/192 DACs of the DVD player produced an immediate softening of the edgy trait I mentioned, with notes rounding yet simultaneously resulting in a clarification of details, similar to the differences sometimes found by switching cables. Cellos became more wooden and voices more properly lozenged. Piano, like Marc Cohn's sometimes Bruce Hornsby-like syncopations on "From the Station" (CD, The Rainy Season, Atlantic 82491-2), held out a stronger foundation and better harmonics, making the piano's attack just that much more realistic than the same cut through the HTS's lower-resolution DACs. On the gospelish "Baby King," Cohn and a quintet of backup vocalists sounded magical through either DAC. With the lower-resolution pre-pro's DACs, the Ayre translated a sharper attack, which helped heighten the individuality of the different singers. On the other hand, the higher-resolution DACs in the DVD player offered a smoother, airier mix of vocal harmonies that was just a bit less hi-fi. The Ayre made listening for differences fun.

But there was still that lower-midrange scoop that, coupled with an oversensitive presence region, seemed to trade resolution for a bit of warmth. The result was sometimes wispy-sounding upper frequencies. I had to consider that the MartinLogan speakers might not be the ideal match for the V-6. While I never felt the Ayre was under any strain from the MLs, I brought out my more conventional, easier-to-drive Acarian Alón Point Vs, which have served me very well over the years. The Point V is a dynamic speaker that any owner of MLs or Magnepans would be delighted to have: warm but detailed, with a spectacular midrange and bass that belie its two 6½-inch drivers. And its treble—this is why I done drug 'em out—is like death by sugar, it's so sweet. If the Alóns had a problem, then the Ayre had a problem too.

Starting at the bottom, the Alón/Ayre combination's bass was very well controlled. The lower midrange and upper bass were a bit warmer through the Alóns' drivers than what I was getting from the MartinLogans' stators, most notably with vinyl. The upper-frequency wispiness persisted, but now to a slight, not bothersome, degree. The system's soundstage also seemed improved with the Ayre driving conventional speakers. I was getting an impressive feeling of depth from the Marc Cohn LP.

After listening through the Alóns to a few cuts from Semisonic's Chemistry (CD, MCA 088 112 3552), I brought out the Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature amplifier for some quick comparisons using the Sunfire's lower-impedance "voltage" outputs. The Sunfire's bass was a tad looser and less well-articulated than the Ayre's, but it made up for it by being a bit more generous. Other differences included the Sunfire's markedly warmer midrange and upper bass, a trait that I can live without but that always feels like going home when restored. The Alón/Sunfire combination was also critical of poorly recorded (read: hot) material, but less fatiguing relaying the event. The Ayre was not very forgiving, but let's not shoot the messenger.

Ayre Thee Well
At this point I was ready to conclude that different folks need different strokes. But then the quintet of Thiel CS1.6 speakers I'd been waiting for arrived and afforded me an opportunity to use the Ayre with a complete dynamic-driver surround system. Even my first hearing made me guardedly optimistic, but I reserved judgment for a month while the Thiels settled in.