Quote Originally Posted by Jack in Wilmington View Post
Just for curiosity sake. What other amps would you put in the Pass Labs league? Maybe that's a question with too many variables. I would put Bryston, Ayre and Krell on a ladder a couple steps lower. They are the only brands I've listened to so far.
Bryston, Krell, maybe Parasound JC's, and various other less well-know marques such as MBL would be in the same league of s/s amps as Pass Labs. However the one in particular that I would like to hear is Ayre.

I would speculate that the Ayre X-5xe vs. the X150.5 would be slighty warmer, less bright on the top end, but maybe a tad less transparent and dynamic. I'd for sure like to confirm that though.