I evaluated the Ayre K5xe versus the Classe CP500 and Ayre won hands down
I spent over a week evaluating the Ayre K5xe against my existing Classe CP47.5 and the new Delta series CP500. The Ayre with the help of several other audiophiles in the room was felt to be smoother sounding, more three dimensional with a deeper sound stage. Furthermore the music sounded "more realistic" and took the edge off the leading transients of the music which in my opinion could cause listening fatigue over time.
I really wanted to like the new Classe as this would match up to my Classe CA201 Power Amp, and had more inputs and a balanced phono stage option.
At the end of the day however what was most important to me was the musicality of the system.
My other components are:
Marantz SA14 SACD player
Rega P25 with Dynavector XH20
N802 Speakers
I spent over a week evaluating the Ayre K5xe against my existing Classe CP47.5 and the new Delta series CP500. The Ayre with the help of several other audiophiles in the room was felt to be smoother sounding, more three dimensional with a deeper sound stage. Furthermore the music sounded "more realistic" and took the edge off the leading transients of the music which in my opinion could cause listening fatigue over time.
I really wanted to like the new Classe as this would match up to my Classe CA201 Power Amp, and had more inputs and a balanced phono stage option.
At the end of the day however what was most important to me was the musicality of the system.
My other components are:
Marantz SA14 SACD player
Rega P25 with Dynavector XH20
N802 Speakers
Comment