Is there actually a difference?

Back in the early 80s, a audio enthusiast friend and myself, each had a 100W HK SS power amp and had Audible Illusions pre-amps. My speakers, at the time was the Vandy 2c and I think his was the Pioneer HPM100s. In short - our audio dealer loaned us a new little amp to bring home and try for a week - It was the 80W, PSE Studio II.
Somewhat believing Julian's stories about all SS amps sounding the same, I was expecting to hear very little, if any difference. What a surprise - in both systems, in every way, the little, PSE out performed the HKs. It was like removing a veil.
Needless to say, I picked up the PSE. Even though I went from the Vandy 2Cs to the Vandy 2Ci to the Quad ESL 63s, the PSE stayed and served me very well....Jim

I've tried various amps over the years both SS and tube. Differing amounts of watts from 60 up to 1000 depending on speaker ohms. Tried many kinds of speakers; easy to drive and some not so easy. I always found what sounded best were high current designs regardless of power output or speaker efficiency. Synergy between components is important too. My higher wattage systems never sounded as good as my lower wattage systems that were high current. Mainly a Pioneer M-22 or Threshold S/300. The other amps had higher power ratings but never sounded good. And those were the ones I had full recaps on or upgraded.

@erik_squires—Hi, Erik, your comment was of special interest to me because I think that I comprehend the thrust of your point; i.e. that these three makers each represent distinct (power amp) design approaches that are competently executed but distinctly different.

Now, I know the Parasound approach (I use their Halo A23 myself), which is basically conventional class B operation. (Yes—it's slightly "hi-biased" at very low power—so-called "class A/B" mode—but that's not a truly significant distinction.)  And I'm familiar with the Pass design concept, wherein output stages are biased for true class A operation at powers up to ~ 12-18 Watts output (on many models). But I'm NOT able to gain any meaningful information about the Ayre stuff, and I find that really frustrating!

A Personal Note: I'm an old retired guy with lots of DIY hi-fi experience, including analog circuit design and building my own pre-amps, power amps, & linear regulated power supplies. I like to know the tech stuff, and I do a lot of my own testing. (With my own instruments.)

The Ayre website is the anthesis of Parasound's site. Ayre provides only the barest of product specifications with near zero tech info. And their owner's manual downloads are pure fluff. Sure—their chassis look great and their prices are exotic—but how does one comprehend what they're doing? How does one get to appreciate Ayre's designs and learn what's going on inside? I haven't even been able to find a helpful (meaning with tech detail) review on the Ayre stuff. What do you know, and how does one find out what Ayre is doing? Any suggestions?

Hi VT! 

I don't think you should listen with your eyes. My point was for you to listen to each of them and see if you hear a difference. I think reading the tech and then convincing yourself you hear a difference is the wrong way to go. :) 

However, Ayre famously uses a "diamond" output stage, which is something you should be able to research. I won't say more to avoid further bias (pun intended!) 

Thank you all for the responses - I’ve definitely learned a lot from reading them.

I actually just sold all my gear and am planning to pull the trigger on a pair of Focal Sopra 1s.

The specs are 89 dB, 8 Ohms, and a recommended 25 - 150W.

If I had a budget of $1k for an amp to go with the Sopras, where would you guys recommend I start looking?

Erik - I don't think $1k is enough for any of your suggestions haha. But maybe one day.

It would be very interesting to start with an affordable amp, and maybe in a few years upgrade to a higher end amp to hear the difference between them.