Mrtennis, your timing of when you heard the BAT amps is off. Before BAT went into business, one of the founders was a customer of ours. They were seen for the first time at CES in 1995. Their SS amp followed some years later; its likely you heard that comparison in '98 or '99.
more on the topic: The most 'tube like' (meaning to me: musical without artifact, detailed, I can listen to it all day and not think about the sound of the amp, just listening to the music) transistor amp is the Ridley Audio amplifier. No other transistor amp is even close; it is better than many tube amps I've heard. It also costs about $100K and employs a heater circuit to heat the output section- it runs as hot as any triode class A tube amp of the same power. IMO, for Maggies, you are better off with actual tubes. Fortunately, they are easy to drive.
more on the topic: The most 'tube like' (meaning to me: musical without artifact, detailed, I can listen to it all day and not think about the sound of the amp, just listening to the music) transistor amp is the Ridley Audio amplifier. No other transistor amp is even close; it is better than many tube amps I've heard. It also costs about $100K and employs a heater circuit to heat the output section- it runs as hot as any triode class A tube amp of the same power. IMO, for Maggies, you are better off with actual tubes. Fortunately, they are easy to drive.