Getting
It right
November
11, 2022
Marc,
I
went back and reread your Ayre MX-R review, and you really seem to love the
high frequencies of those amps but make no mention of the midrange. So when you state, as
you have, that you lean toward tube amps -- which apparently no solid-state amp can equal
in the midrange -- at the risk of beating a dead horse, I just have to ask if the Ayre
amps compete in the critical midrange with tube amps, for the so-called "breath of
life" and all the other benefits of tubes.
I
really only have this one last chance to get it right. For the money I'm going to spend on
my new speaker system, I really need the midrange/upper midrange to do its magic and
provide the emotional experience that the best music and systems can accomplish.
Jeff
Levine
The
Ayre MX-R monoblocks, which I reviewed more than ten years ago, are not your typical
solid-state amps, and while their mids don't have the warmth and fullness of many tube
amps, the region is still very good -- a bit more about truth than beauty. That applies to
most solid-state amps, and the ones it doesn't are usually so purposely colored that they
are unsatisfying overall.
I
completely understand needing to "get it right," given the cost of audio
equipment today, but at the level of electronics you're considering, it's not really about
right and wrong but tendencies and characteristics. I generally prefer tubes, but I own
Lamm M1.2 hybrid monoblocks. Perhaps that says more about my preferences than I am willing
to admit; they are very good amps that walk a fine sonic line very deftly -- and have both
tubes and solid-state circuitry. Still, if I could afford Lamm ML2.2 SET monoblocks, I'd
probably own them, as long as they would work with my chosen preamp and speakers.
-Marc Mickelson
Added
November
1, 2022
Marc,
Can
you add me to your e-mail list?
Irv
Mason
You've
been added. To join TAB's reader e-mail list and find out about new articles
first, send e-mail to rl@theaudiobeat.com.
-Marc Mickelson
