Mono blocks that can provide that golden sound...

In that price range, I would recommend either the:

110 wpc Lamm M1.2 reference hybrid full Class "A" monoblocks.

or

220 wpc Lamm M2.2 hybrid Class "A/AB" monoblocks, (which are heavily biased into Class "A". (The first 41 wpc are biased into Class "A", and then they go into Class "AB".)

These hybrid amps sound very similar, with the M1.2 reference sounding just a bit sweeter in the mid-range, (as you'd expect from a full Class "A" amp). The M1.2 will drive most speakers with average impedance and/or efficiency, whereas the M2.2 has enough power to drive virtually any speaker. The sound is fairly neutral, with just a touch of tube sound in the mid-range. (They have a great bass response, and the treble response is very refined and well extended.) These amps will warm up fairly quickly. Upon startup, they sound good. Within half an hour they sound very good, and after an hour, or so, they sound great.

However, to get the best sound out of them, you will need to replace the stock Sovtek tubes with some sort of NOS tube. (Something like the Amperex Orange Globe 6DJ8, for less than $100 a pair, will make them sound very, very good. However, something like the Amperex Pinched Waist 6922's will take them to their ultimate sound quality, but they are fairly expensive, at a few hundred dollars a pair.)

FYI: I have two friends that own the M2.2 amps, and I own the 200 wpc M2.1, the predecessor to the M2.2. We have all owned Lamm amps for several years, and none of us has left the Lamm family of amps since we bought them.

Good Luck in your search.

How about using a programmable timer?

I think warm-up time is a constant for any piece of equipment. One or two hours is relatively short compared to other solid state amplifiers. I had the X.5 series, and those required 6-8 hours, and really sounded their best after 12-24 hours. The XA.5 is considerably less dependent upon time for me. Even tubed equipment can benefit from 1-2 hours.

I would recommend the Tripoint Troy, which is an external grounding system for all your components. You will not complain of your system sounding 2D, flat, and non-engaging. This is precisely the effect it has. Your system will sound great at start-up, it will only get better after that hour.

With all the care required for quality connectors and power, I would not use a timer.

while a step back, the mac 501s provide very good sound with no warmup. i had the xa60.5s, which were better, but not much. 501s have less transparency, top end extension, or microdetail retrieval. but again, not much. the immediate gratification of instant good-enough sound and not having schwetty balls while listening in houston in july tipped the decision for me.

I like the Ayre MX-R. I do not have any experience with the Pass so I could not give you a comparison and I do no know if it will work with your pre.

However, the MX-R needs to be warmed up as well. I can listen to them when turning on from standby but they sound their best after warming up for 3+ hours. Listening cold they are a little brittle.