Switching to solid state amp?

Thanks for all the recommendations.  If I do make the switch to SS Pass, Ayre, Wells Audio  are all being looked at.  Btw anyone hear Wells Audio amps.  If I stay with tubes Conrad Johnson, Atma-sphere, Quicksilver are currently on the top of my list.  A third option would be a nice integrated amp.  Pass int60 or Gryphon Diablo 120.

A sonically excellent power amplifier should exhibit high input impedance, very low output impedance, flat frequency response, and ultra low distortion. And it should do all of this without contributing any extraneous hum or noise. In addition, it should also be capable of producing unclipped power output that's some 2 or 3 dB more than your loudspeakers can tolerate.

It first became practical to build a power amplifier that meets all of these requirements back in 1976, when PNP silicon power transistors finally became affordable, thereby permitting fully complementary differential solid state circuit design at reasonable cost. And that's when I personally left vacuum tubes behind, in the past, where they belong.

While it's theoretically possible to construct a tube-type power amplifier that will approach the described design criteria, that product will exhibit persistent vacuum tube degradation that begins at initial turn-on and ultimately ends in cathode depletion failure—barring other modes of premature demise (e.g. open filament, vacuum leaks, gassing, microphonics, atypical distortion, hum/noise). So vacuum tubes are not a wise choice when stable, long term circuit performance is a serious design goal.

I ran an Ayre AX-7 for a while.  When I inserted a Rogue CMII into the system, the Ayre got relegated to the secondary system.

Hi.  I switched to SS: Ayre MXR's, but after a couple of years was not satisfied with the outcome.  I went back to tubes: Octave MRE 220 with Super Black Boxes.  They are simply superb and have provided the absolute best of a tube and SS amp: fast, articulate transients and deep inner detail of the former and the true flesh and fulness that only tubes can properly deliver.  Don't know how the age of your current tube amp is but if its more than 10 years old then you should know that some modern tube amps like Octave have closed the gap (shut!) between the worlds of glass and transistors.

Pass/First Watt are a good place to start and Gryphon would be another option.  D'Agostino even better....does everything right.  A used S200 might be a little over your budget but worth stretching for.  I'm surprised Ayre has been mentioned as close to tubes....excellent solid state but it is said to be a bit dry.  Another suggestion would be to look at a Jeff Rowland amp.  Truly among the best of solid state.