Ayre MR-X monoblocks - how good are they??

Hello downunder:
I owned for many years the Ayre K-1x/V-1x combination and had a lot of fun with it. In this price category I still think there is no competition here. Last year it went to a good friend who is now very happy with it. Togheter with his Marten Bird speakers there is only one thing comes to you mind: Performance!! A rare combination of ultra dynamics and smooth sound.
While searching for other amps , for me, it would be logical to go for the MXR (KXR was not available yet) but was a bit confused about their appearance and relatively small amount of parts inside regarding the price. Call me stubborn but my interest stopped before auditioning.
Then I came in touch with the relaxed and natural sound from Hovland which introduced a new audio era for me. Finally ended up with the HP200/Stratos combination which I love. Its strenghts are smooth power, inner detail and overall musicality with all recordings. Of course this is another price level, but unexpectably I do not miss the Ayre anymore.
A small tip about racks. If you need something which has it all (performance, stability and looks): The new Stillpoints ESS. It's reviewed in the latest Hifi+
I hope you finally will find the right amps and trust only your own ears.

Charles,
Just an idea, you might consider to develop a power amp for the chinese market (MXR-XL) :) In time you have to do this anyway, because there will start a demand from a part of MXR owners.

Don't get me wrong, my heart is still beating for your products. And regarding the competition I don't think the MXR is overpriced. I agree Ayre is always very competitive regarding the price. But for me this is not always the only criterium for buying a product.

Bar81,
IMO amps and cell phones are not the same, otherwise the 80's cell phone would be very popular in China now;) BTW last week my wife bought an iPhone; quite big and heavy stuff. Are we going back to the 80's? The next day it fel on the floor and the glass (glass in a cell phone??) broke, no warranty here. Cool stuff!
But serious, I don't like bulky things either. Size and shape should be just right and fit the purpose. The Hovland Stratos is not bulky at all and is made off very fine and expensive parts, I like its shape.