Feedback on Ayre and Aesthetix with Vandersteen 5As

R

robertkat

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May 2, 2016
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Hello,

I am looking to upgrade my two channel system. This will also be part of home theater setup. (75% two channel listening vs 25% movies). Currently I am running Vandersteen 5a (non-carbon) with a Bryston amp (9bsst) and Marantz preamp (8801). I have narrowed it down to two brands, Aesthetix - Atlas & Calypso or Ayre- KX-5 twenty & VX-5 twenty. I do not have a local dealer for these brands but I was able to listen to both while out of town hooked up to the Vandersteen 5a carbons. They both sounded amazing. I felt the Aesthetix had a warmer laid back sound and the Ayre had a more revealing, forward sound. I am looking for some feedback on your experiences with these brands or things I should be thinking about. Both retail for around the same cost but I am able to get Aesthetix combo for less. My listening preferences are all over the board from classic rock (Pink Floyd, CSN, Elton John) to jazz and classical/acoustic music.

Thanks
Rob
 
Rob,

I have the Ayre combo and absolutely love them. I get wonderful vocals, air, 3D, meat on the bone and no fatigue. I use them on my JBL 4367's, which are horns and are very revealing. They are amazing on my Strads as well. I feel the Ayre combo is a tremendous value and give me many hours of fatigue free listening.
 
Hi Robert, what are the rest of the speakers in the MCH - the center and the rears?
 
I am using the VCC-5 for the center and vsm-1 for the rear and sides.
 
If you can, please try a single Carbon 5 in the center. It will be the biggest upgrade you will get, to play MCH classical, though will cost, of course.
 
robertkat said:
Hello,

I am looking to upgrade my two channel system. This will also be part of home theater setup. (75% two channel listening vs 25% movies). Currently I am running Vandersteen 5a (non-carbon) with a Bryston amp (9bsst) and Marantz preamp (8801). I have narrowed it down to two brands, Aesthetix - Atlas & Calypso or Ayre- KX-5 twenty & VX-5 twenty. I do not have a local dealer for these brands but I was able to listen to both while out of town hooked up to the Vandersteen 5a carbons. They both sounded amazing. I felt the Aesthetix had a warmer laid back sound and the Ayre had a more revealing, forward sound. I am looking for some feedback on your experiences with these brands or things I should be thinking about. Both retail for around the same cost but I am able to get Aesthetix combo for less. My listening preferences are all over the board from classic rock (Pink Floyd, CSN, Elton John) to jazz and classical/acoustic music.

Thanks
Rob
Click to expand...

Rob,

I have heard both on the Vandersteen 7 and it's not even close in my opinion. The Aesthetix Atlas has wonderful soundstage, midrange warmth, body and density and balls in the bass. The Ayre amps (VX-5 or MXR) do not approach the sound quality of the Aesthetix but can be improved by inserting a tube preamp. Otherwise, it sounds a bit thin in the midrange and edgy in the treble. I would purchase the Aesthetix and not look back.

Ken
 
If the Ayre sounds thin/edgy, the cables were wrong for that system. I have Ayre/Vandersteens that are wonderful. Tubes are expensive, and a pia
 
Last edited:
Stringreen said:
If the Ayre sounds thin/edgy, the cables were wrong for that system. I have Ayre/Vandersteens that are wonderful. Tubes are expensive, and a pia
Click to expand...

The cables were high-end Audioquest, which is pretty standard with Vandersteen. I've heard both the VX-5 and MXR on multiple occasions with the Vandersteen 5a Carbon and 7 and I preferred the Aesthetix Atlas Signature monoblocks every time. The Atlas had more drive in the bass and more body in the midrange. Also more air around instruments and vocalists with an expansive soundstage. Only one 6SN7 tube per amp is not much of a PITA in my opinion.
 
robertkat said:
Hello,

I am looking to upgrade my two channel system. This will also be part of home theater setup. (75% two channel listening vs 25% movies). Currently I am running Vandersteen 5a (non-carbon) with a Bryston amp (9bsst) and Marantz preamp (8801). I have narrowed it down to two brands, Aesthetix - Atlas & Calypso or Ayre- KX-5 twenty & VX-5 twenty. I do not have a local dealer for these brands but I was able to listen to both while out of town hooked up to the Vandersteen 5a carbons. They both sounded amazing. I felt the Aesthetix had a warmer laid back sound and the Ayre had a more revealing, forward sound. I am looking for some feedback on your experiences with these brands or things I should be thinking about. Both retail for around the same cost but I am able to get Aesthetix combo for less. My listening preferences are all over the board from classic rock (Pink Floyd, CSN, Elton John) to jazz and classical/acoustic music.

Thanks
Rob
Click to expand...

I think you're seeing what can happen when you ask a question like this on a forum. We all have different expectations on what we want to hear from a system. Even if we all could hear things at the same level, we would pick different systems. That is why there is more than one brand out there. Each manufacturer thinks his approach is better than others.

I just finished auditioning a phono preamp highly rated by a major writer for one of the major audio magazines. For me, it totally missed the boat. Does this mean he was wrong and I am right. No. We just are looking for different things when we listen to a system. Sure, he probably can hear more than I can when listening to a system. But, that would have made no difference in what opinion I had on the phono preamp.

I think you need to look at yourself and see what is important to you and make the decision yourself. You've heard both systems. Which system sounded better to you? Do you want the system to sound like the real thing? Then, go listen to live music and see which system comes closest to that in terms of what you care about. Is tonality your major factor, then decide which system came closest to what you think it should sound like. Is sound stage the most important? Decide which one did this best for you. Is being able to hear the most detail the major factor? I'm just touching on the things that make systems sound different. Maybe you need to go spend some more time listening to the systems.
 
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