[BrandonB]

Earlier in the month I bought an Ayre KX-R Twenty preamp.  I am extremely happy with it.  I had the KX-5 Twenty prior to this, and a friend talked me into selling it to him.  It is also excellent.

Ayre has what they call a Variable Gain Transimpedance setup.  There are individual resistors for every step of volume.  And the gain varies along the way, so the signal to noise ratio stays at it maximum, throughout the volume range.  The KX-5 Twenty has a very similar setup, with the difference being parts like $7 resistors... and 400 of them.

Here is a video of how the volume control works.  It's like having a little dude in there hardwiring each volume change.

https://youtu.be/8ma3dwRDIPk?si=s3SrI1JTAVO-rvMk

So how does it sound?  I have watched some YouTube on it but did more research on the kx-5 twenty.  Do you notice a difference?  How do they compare?  How does your system compare to nice tube equipment?

[Jaytor]

Earlier in the month I bought an Ayre KX-R Twenty preamp.  I am extremely happy with it.  I had the KX-5 Twenty prior to this, and a friend talked me into selling it to him.  It is also excellent.

That's a pretty cool looking unit. Bet it sounds great!

[DanM88]

Hey guys, I'm new here and just ordered an NX Studio to build. Does anyone have experience matching these speakers with an Anthem STR? Or should I look into tubes?

[richidoo]

Welcome to AudioCircle, Dan!

STR amp has plenty of power for NX Studio. It is relatively neutral, and should be a good match, imo.