I've owned an Aleph 5 and found it a very pleasing amp indeed. As has been hinted at, it seemed like the power rating was a bit exagerated (to my ears it was). Still a great SS amp. I also borrowed a friends Aleph 30 and had a similar experience Ejlif in that the difference did not seem too profound and the power gain did not seem all that great. Both were great SS amps to me. The only thing is I'm not a big SS fan, and as much as they tried they did not give me what I prefered (holography, space, airiness). I went back to tubes and stayed there. To counter Ejlif's observation, one of the all time greatest buys in all audio IMO is a a pair of Quicksilver MiniMites at the same $900 as an Aleph 3 (30). I now have these in my works system where the Aleph 5 once was. For me these little tube amps give me far more satisfaction and are much more engaging than my Aleph 5 ever was. Just one more opinion to confuse things further. If I had to recommend a reasonably priced SS amp though, I'd certainly point someone to an Aleph series. No experience with the 2's but you have plenty of good info to go on above.
Good luck!
Marco
Good luck!
Marco