Short List of Amps I prefer over the Pass Labs XA25 or INT 25

chorus:

The Luxman 507 runs ~ $3,500 used, or less.

@chorus Not to be a Pass pusher, but you may also consider some first watt offerings.  Nelson tests all of his products on Tannoys and as such you should be able to find an ideal match from the lineup.

In various systems over the years I've tried a number of amplifiers (Atmasphere M60s, Lyngdorf TDAI3400, Coincident Frankenstein 300b monoblocks, Classe INT150, Pass Labs XA30.5, X250.5, XA25, First Watt SIT2, and DIY First Watt SIT3 and F4 monoblocks). 

I've always enjoyed the Pass products, but did not end up buying the XA25 I demoed, sticking with my underpowered Coincident Franks before ending up with First Watt F4 monoblocks (all with Coincident PRE speakers, see my system page).  

I don't quite have enough experience to be sure that this is the reason, but both the Coincident 300b Frankensteins and the First Watt F4s are dominated by 3rd order harmonics, while the XA25 is dominated by the 2nd (and all three have low levels of higher order harmonics).  My guess is that my ears are sensitive to the balance between the 2nd and 3rd, and prefer amps that are 3rd harmonic dominated. 

Given everything that you've stated, it might be worth trying out a First Watt F4.  Since you don't listen loudly, you probably will be ok with a zero gain amp.  My system can also be bright and I'm also very sensitive to forward amplifiers, and find the F4 to be refined and smooth on top. Unfortunately they don't make new units, but the price will be right if you can find one used (or have someone DIY one for you, they sell official boards at the DIYAudio store).  

I owned the Pass XA25 for several months and had a chance to compare it against some other amps. The original question asks which, if any, do you "prefer" over it. Any answer to that question is going to depend on at least two variables: your personal tastes and your speakers. Amps will sound different when driving different loads.
In the end I preferred the Parasound Halo amps. In my case it was the A21. I auditioned several amps and what I heard always boiled down to a judgment between transparency vs dynamics. Yes, the Pass was more transparent than the Parasound. However, the Parasound provided considerably greater punch and rhythmic drive and offered decent musicality to boot. In the end, this simply reflected my personal taste, and I might have felt differently had I been using different speakers. The impedance of the speakers I use drops down to about 2.8 ohms in the low end and requires an amp with a really beefy power supply and a lot of current to sound good.
Interestingly, purely in terms of musicality the amp I liked the most was the Yamaha A-S2100 integrated. However, it sounded even more anemic than the Pass in terms of dynamic drive, not that the Pass sounded anemic. These are all relative assessments.

Cal,

I started on the First Watt path. Then I saw an review of the Cheviots
in which both a SIT3 and an XA25 were used. He said the SQ jumped
very noticeably with the XA25. That's a pretty close comparison to
my system. Also the thing which got me interested in Class A was
after buying a used pair of Pass diy monoblocks. 7 wpc. They are not bad
for the $350 I spent. The F4's are certainly much better than the set
I have. I could save a bundle buying the diy pack if still offered. Problem
is at this stage I am more looking for SQ than a cheaper out. 
I have a limit of $5k for this. Thanks again the fine ideas.

Huffy,
You had me til Yamaha...

April Fools!!!