Without compromising the sound, we're continuing to design more reliable and relevant products."Īt $6800, the VX-8 isn't cheap, but it's cheapercheaper, that is, than everything else in Ayre's amplification lineup: At its AXPONA introduction, it joined the VX-5 Twenty ($14,000) and VX-R Twenty ($37,000) stereo amplifiers. "Every year, we surprise ourselves by lifting another metaphorical veil on the sound that we didn't realize was there. "I have no intention of straying from the sound Ayre is known and loved for, but rather strive to extract and reveal even more," Brown continued. The X-8 series, along with the Codex"≺yre's combination DAC/headphone amp/digital preamplifier"and the recent QB-9 Twenty DAC upgrade, show off quite a bit of my design thinking in those areas. "I believe that some of my bigger contributions, recently and upcoming, are in the power supply and implementation details. "The changes are more likely to be continued subtle refinements to the topology we already believe to be second to none. "I worked with and learned from Charley for 21 years, so my core design thinking is never going to radically diverge from the path Charley forged," Brown wrote. Speaking with Brown via email, I asked if in design terms, the VX-8 bears more of his fingerprints or Hansen's? The sound of Ayre amplification, including the component I have in-house for review, the VX-8 stereo power amplifier ($6800), which debuted in April at AXPONA 2023, is supremely quiet, deep-space black, aerodynamic, even futuristic. To my way of thinking (and listening), the Ayre house sound is as visual as it is audible, or almost so. 'New≫etter≭ifferent' was his philosophy every product had to be a step up from before.'" 'I only know the Charley way! Charley never wanted to introduce a product unless we had something new to offer with that product. As John Atkinson wrote in his February 2019 review of Ayre's EX-8 Integrated Hub, "Brown says that for better or worse, he was indoctrinated in Hansen's way of thinking and design. Brown has worked for Ayre since he was a sophomore in college. When Ayre founder Charley Hansen passed in late 2017, Ariel Brown, who is now Ayre's vice president and chief technology officer, was ready, waiting in the wings. Can an audio brand maintain a "house sound" if the original creator of that sound is no longer among the living? If the brand in question is Ayre Acoustics, the answer is a resounding Yes.
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