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.