High End SS Preamplifier Ayre, EMM Labs, ML, or Pass

I have heard the KX-R in pre and twenty configuration, lovely sweet extended airy with detail and no tubes to muck about with
Charlie is true genius and music lover, RIP
my guess is when he walked in the gate past St. Peter, negative feedback went down 3db in the holy city...

i should add the twenty would beon any shortlist to replace my Ref5se, if ever....

Hello,

nice outfit. I've found the quickest way to acquire a sound that involves and captivates often comes along with the influence of tubes. 

what I felt was an inspiring rig was upstaged when a tube pre line stage was injected into the mix.

later a sleeker more costly tube line stage replaced that one and again, the tangibility and nuance were elevated substantially.

these instances were with SS amps. later a dual mono SS amp akin to  your amps.

I got rid of that system then to go fully tube dependent. no regrets there but I could have waited a much longer time to kick the SS amps to the curb. for sure.

there just seems to be something, especially when you slide up the food chain into tube line stage preamps in the class you have named for SS possibilities.

good luck with what ever...

PS of those on your list, Ayre would not be on mine were I to remain in the SS only category, Ayre has never thrilled me despite hearing it/them in numerous setups with substantial accompaniment.

@tomic601  Concur; it's going to be very difficult to upstage the Ayre KX-R Twenty based on what the OP is looking for.  ML isn't in the ballpark and even the D'Agostino Momentum pre was clearly outclassed in comparison.

@blindjim Have you heard the Ayre KX-R Twenty in a top shelf system? The KX-R Twenty is well beyond anything else that Ayre has ever produced - it is Charlie's masterpiece