Ayre vs McIntosh Amps/Preamps

[Amadave]

I currently own the MC452/C50 amp/preamp combination. I recently purchased an Ayre QX-5 Twenty digital hub. Until then, I was not all that familiar with Ayre, but since I have done quite a bit of research on the company and am very impressed with their customer centric business model and the passion of their owner, Charles Hansen.

My research has piqued my interested in other Ayre products. I don't live in an area where I will be able to audition their products side by side so I am interested in hearing from others on this forum who've had experience with both brands. It's not that I am unhappy with my McIntosh gear, but I, like many others here, am looking to see if I might make my system better.

Based on economics, I think I would mostly be interested in comparison to the Ayre 5 Twenty series.