I too have had a long held bias (no pun intended) for tubes, but there are some very nice SS amps out there. I respect Ayre and Sim Audio but they are not quite my cup of tea. I think the McCormack is very good. My favorite, though, enough so that it will soon be a new addition to my household, is the Hovland Radia.
Playing with the idea of solid state amps
After many years of tube amps (mostly SET and OTL). I'm wanting a solid state amp to try again. Must be transparent. The amps I'm considering are Sim Audio W-5LE,Ayre V5XE,Blue Circle BC-8,McCormack DNA 500,and Pass Labs X250.5. May consider hybrids such as Monarchy Audio. Anybody with experience with the above mentioned amps or some other great amps your input will be much appreciated. My system is a Droplet player, Oskar Heil Kithara speakers,Modwright SE9 preamp. Thanks!