BAT or Pass With My Sophia 2s?

Keith - the Ayon is a keeper, and I was planning on using it in an upstairs listening room. The reason for considering solid state is that the equipment behind the Sophias will be going in a closet, and I'm concerned about the heat from a tube based amp. I know the big BAT amp (VK600-SE) runs hot, but not nearly as hot as my Triton.

Thanks for the comments so far - anyone else?

I have both: a pair of Pass XA 100.5 monoblocks and a VK-600SE.

My speakers are Wilson Sophia 2. Preamp varies between SS and tubes (I'm still searching...)

Both are great amps. The differences to my ears:

Pass:
- Better midrange
- Thicker, more tube-like bass
- Warmer presentation overall, not much in the way of 'air', but highs are very smooth

Bat
- Bass is much tighter, less overhang
- Midrange and highs not as smooth as Pass
- Leaner presentation with much more air

At the moment I prefer the Bat, but both amps are great.

Meant to add that if you're going with a tube pre, the Bat would be the one I recommend.

Madfloyd - thanks for sharing your impressions. Thinking of going VK600SE and Rex preamp. Any experience on your end with the Rex?

Consider Madfloyd has not yet paired his Pass Labs XA-100.5 with a preamp that matches optimally (the preamps he used both have high output impedances that are too high for the Pass Labs amp). This is based on his comments in another thread.

So, take his recommendation here with a degree of caution.