Ayre Acoustics K-5xe MP Silver

Ayre Acoustics K-5xe MP Preamplifier Line Stage (Silver), like new condition. Original owner and will cover shipping within the continental US along with PayPal fees. From Ayre's site:

Ayre’s K-5xe MP preamplifier combines peerless musical performance with stunning visual design. The exclusive fully-balanced, zero-feedback circuitry renders music with vitality and life. Its custom-designed volume control is actuated by a silky smooth optical encoder, using FET switches and precision metal-film resistors to deliver absolute sonic transparency. The massive power transformer effortlessly provides startlingly real musical dynamics. The Ayre K-5xe MP will transport you to a new world of musical enjoyment.

Stereophile recommended component for multiple years....

Ayre Acoustics K-5xe MP - Class A rating Like all of Ayre's 5-series products, the K-5xe uses the Ayre Conditioner, a built-in RFI filter that works in parallel with the AC line to reduce background noise, grain, and hash. The original K-5xe added nothing to the original signal and had no sonic signature of its own. ST: "It just got out of the way" subsequently adding that this "superb solid state line-stage preamp is everything you could ask for: neutral, detailed, dynamic, exceptionally low noise, fun to use." JA felt high Class B was a fair rating for the original version; the Maximum Performance (MP) version incorporates rare, low-noise Toshiba J-FETs for the output buffer stage. The K-5xeMP had dynamics equal to that of the original K-5xe, but produced quieter backgrounds and had a friendlier, more accurate overall balance, with better delineation of images within a wide, deep soundstage. Though it lacked the top-end air of the Parasound Halo JC 2, the Ayre sounded warmer overall, with a fleshier lower midrange. Its measured performance was "about as good as it gets for a solid-state preamplifier," said JA.