ASR Emitter II or Burmester 911?

The Burmester 911 MK3 is the best solid state amp I've ever heard.

I'm fully agree with Surfer_joe. Listening a mono-pair of 911's are unique and unrivaled by any other solid state amp in any price range. These amplifiers are very refined, delicate and absent of grain. The 911 mk3 combines the best of valves with the dynamics of pure solid state race.

Our listening test take place acout one year ago using Dartzel preamp, Nordost Valhala ICs and SCs and Acapella Violon (mk?) loudspeakers. The final result was unanimus from three persons having absolutely no interest of it. All of us claim that Thorens had more refined sound, presence, perfect timbre, better soundstage in every dimension and better instrument separation in big orchestra works. Burmester was more bass oriented amplifier, but again in a manner that covered the rest frequency range.
Sorry, but I totaly disagree with you.

Hr1, Magnepan speakers are famous for being current-hungry and very hard to drive, not a typical load.
The OP has BW 801 speakers, an easier load.
So, IMHO, your audition does not prove unequivocaly that amplifier A is better than B, it only shows that the Burmester amps were very happy to drive the Magnepan speakers.

Murrayp, I believe that you would be better off by upgrading your speakers, because your amp and digital rig are recent, top tier products.
The 801 is an old design. BW and several other speakers manufacturers have evolved their designs by leaps and bounds, several new speakers are much better-sounding than your 801s. The 801 large/heavy woofer is quite difficult to control, it tends to sound overweight and slightly boomy if not driven by a very powerful amp with iron-fist control of the bass, therefore your success with the switched amp.
I suggest that you audition Sonus Faber, Verity Audio, Vienna Acoustics and Revel speakers. These are only a few examples of speakers that certainly will better match your electronics and improve your system's sound quality.
Good luck

Listened many times an Acapella Triolon Exalibur (latest version) owned by a my closest friend...

My friends owns a mono-pair of Burmester 911 MK3 with Burmester 808 MK5, power conditioner Burmester 948, cd player Burmester 069 and a mono-pair top of Mactone with the related preamplifier. All was cabling with Nordost Odin...

For my friend and his friends, including me, the superiority has been unanimous in favor of Burmester ... I think, in that particular situation, the result was particularly amazing and considering your opionion I could realize that our taste diverts us with evaluations. Personally I do not like colored sounds. I searched delicacy and especially extreme linearity. With Burmester the way is right...This of course is my opinion...

Kind regards.