I made the switch from mid-fi to hi-fi after I heard the Ayre AX-7 in 2002 - it captured most of the the sound of a V-5/K-5 combo but at a price within my budget. I've been adding to the system ever since and am now done, maybe forever. I really like my system. The soundstage is huge and inviting, plenty of bass with good, if not SOTA, definition, and natural timbres. My only significant complaint is a slightly veiled quality to voices. I just switched from Cardas NR with jumpers to bi-wire pair of Ayre Sigs. I'm hoping that'll open up the mid-range - I'll report back and plan to review the 2ce Sig IIs which I think are the best buy in audio.
The store I bought the Ayre from is also a Rega dealer, good guy, I never feel like I'm being sold anything. When I was buying the Ayre I asked him if he would check out my turntable for alignment etc and he said sure. When I picked it up he said that in order to hear a difference I would have to go up to a Rega P3 with the new Benz cart, total about $1k. Of course I would then need a new phono stage. Is the Ayre P-5x compatible with .5 output?
Very nice. I recently got the CX-7e and love it. Still using Parasound separates for amplification but plan to replace them with the AX-7e next year. Would also love to upgrade my vinyl rig but just not sure where to spend the money. Maybe I should keep my inexpensive turntable and put good wires in it and spend the money on the phono pre and carttridge, as you have done. Nice job.
