Ayre K-1xe upgraded to e status in 2016. I put a brand new factory black faceplate, nametags, knobs plus a new top on it (April 2022) because it had a silver faceplate and I prefer black. I then had an expensive tune-up done at Ayre, which included zeroing out DC. I also had the RCA jacks for the output replaced (which I use for the sub) then it was put on their brand new $100,000 Audio Precision test equipment.

I also had Ayre rework the remote, as the previous owner let the batteries corrode the battery tray. They cleaned up the area around the battery tray nicely and soldered in a new battery tray, which has Lithium batteries installed now.

There is a full set of name tags and you can change them as needed. There are also 7 extra sets of resistors for the phono stage, which is currently loaded with 300 ohms and the gain is 75 ohms. It comes with a nice manual reprinted on heavy stock bound with plastic covers.

I received this back from Ayre recently and put it in the system and have to say there is an improvement since the repair work. In particular, there is a little more depth to the soundstage. It's not a dramatic change but enough that I noticed. Audio memory being very short at least I don't think it was this amazing before. It seems to me all those attributes one looks for in quality gear is present with the Ayre. Without getting caught up using audiophile superlatives, there are quite a few reviews out there extolling the virtues of this piece.

For those who are not aware, Ayre provides a full upgrade path within a series, unlike some audio companies that offer a one time model. This unit has all the upgrades available and Ayre supports all their equipment.

I've had a lot of preamps in my system and this is the only one that adds or subtracts nothing IMO. You will truly hear everything else that makes up your system.