Philefreak, I have listened to the Ayre and McCormack which are quite good, but I think the Pass Labs-X250.5 is even better sounding. I wrote a review on my Pass Labs-350.5 which will give you more details regarding the sonics of the X.5 series you might find helpful. Many "tube" guys I know love the X.5 amps because they have the musicality/warmth of tubes with the power and dynamics of SS. Hope this helps.
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!