BAT SS amps VS Ayre MX-R

I went from bat vk150se to ayre mxrs. I am very happy with the
Change. I think system matching at this level is critical.

The ayre mxrs do seem to need several days to warm up and very
Extended breakin time.

Finally, if you are keeping your bat pre then bat amps maybe the
Best matching option. Bat has a more robust sound vs the more nuetral
And extended mxrs, this part comes down to preference and system $matching

Both are great.

Hi Arthur
I hate to say it, but if you really want to hear those Prince's sing, you've got to think tubes. Just my 2 cents.
-Carl

You should listen to the new Aesthetix Atlas amplifier. It's a hybrid amp with a vacuum tube gain stage and a SS output and driver stage (200watts into 8 ohms and double into 4 ohms). For me, in my system, it seems to bridge the gap between SS and Tube amplifiers. They also make a monoblock version that delivers double the power of the stereo amp. My previous amps were a Pass Labs 250.5 and before that Quicksilver V4 monoblocks.

Thank you to everyone for some really great responses.

Because I'm looking to get off the upgrade path there are a lot of variables to consider. Between my VK-52SE and the Modwright Transporter I have a fair amount of tubes already. While I have some experience with tubes, I'm certainly not an expert on the subject. I like the tight quick base that solid state delivers. I love the texture and imaging that tubes deliver. I don't leave my system on all the time because it throws off a lot of heat and burns a lot of electric. I will say that after it's been on for three hours plus it gets very liquid and transparent. I tried a McIntosh MC402 and found I lost a great deal of the transparency the BAT delivers. I sold it and bought a second VK-250SE after selling the previous one. That was an expensive mistake. I've thought about the new McIntosh MC 2301 amps at 300 WPC. They are a bit more reasonably priced than some of the other high powered tube amps. I wouldn't commit to them unless I heard them in my system first. I'm also thinking about giving a Krell Cast system a try with the Modwright. I'm keeping the Transporter. The Krell EVO amps burn a ton of power in stand by mode. In good conscious I couldn't leave them on all the time either. The one thing I'm reluctant about the BAT VK-600SE is the amount of heat it produces. Overall I'm really happy with my current BAT set up. I'm just not sure it will be a long term stop for me. Between the two VK-250SE's I have had it since November '07. That's a fairly long time for me.

I'm using Karan amps with a BAT pre-amp. The Karan stays on all the time, and is just warm to the touch. You might want to look into a demo to determine whether it fits the bill. You might also consider Hovland and Gryphon. If you have alot of extra money, Dartzeel monoblocks. For tubes, perhaps CAT or BAT monoblocks. Not sure about Krell with those aluminum cones. Also, would probably not think to use Boulder, Halcro, or Edge. You need something with some fullness in the midrange, even with the tubed pre and DAC. BAT VK-600 and McIntosh might work.