Ayre KX-R Preamplifer

Filed under: Home Audio > Preamplifiers


Image Source: Stereophile

Ayre Acoustics has followed up on their MX-R monoblock amplifiers with a new 41lb. flagship preamp called the KX-R, carved from solid aluminum billet. Ayre claims that the KX-R is the spiritual successor to their highly regarded original K-1 preamp from 1996. Like the K-1, the KX-R is a zero-feedback, fully-balanced design. A new Variable Gain Transimpedance (VGT) circuit with "equilock circuitry" for the gain devices does not attenuate the front end inputs for a claimed improvement in signal-to-noise ratio, and a Transconductance volume control uses four silver-to-silver contact switches for the purest possible signal path. Like many of its rivals, the KX-R is priced at $18,500, though it eschews the usual separate power supply for a single chassis design.