How would you compare Ayre to Parasound?

I had the Ayre V5xe and also the Halo JC-1s. I think the JC-1s are better. They are more powerful and sound more relaxed and enjoyable. I didn't care so much for the Ayre amp, but I do love the Ayre K1x preamp. To sum it up I hear the JC-1s as being more relaxed sounding but at the same time more dynamic. They ought to be since it's 150 watts vs 400 with the JC-1s. I was comparing them on rather power hungry speakers but all in all the V5xe amp never really floated my boat, though I do love the other Ayre products and the company as a whole could not be better to deal with. Parasound I don't find particularly good to deal with compared with Ayre.

My experience was exactly opposite! I had the Parasound with 4 different speakers I was auditioning, and in all cases I felt like it was dull and unengaging. The Ayre is the finest non-tube SS amp I've had in my system, beyond the Odyssey Stratos dual mono and the Ref1000's - though I admit I haven't had any of the real expensive SS amps. To each his own I guess!

I've had the Parasound JC-1s and Ayre V-1XE amps in the same system. Both nice, but IMO, the Ayre was a better amp, and one of my favorite SS amps. Smoother and more texured. The Parasound was a little dry. I had multiple problems with the parasounds. I bought them new and both the dealer and parasound made good on each repair. I also had a wire come loose in the Ayre (which i also bought new) and they were quick to repair it. IMO the Ayre was a little more money, but worth it.

I've had a V-5xe in my system for about 5 years now and I too think the magic is missing (particularly in the lower region) however I'm reserving judgement until I can run in balanced mode. I've read in a few threads here that the Ayre should really be run in balanced mode to get the most out of it.