I've gone through the demos from the usual suspects, and it's a really interesting, modern sounding amp (which is exactly what Mike was going for). But it's clearly different from my SLO-30. I didn't hear a single demo get the SLO sound out of the Astro 20. I like that.
Once the hype dies down, I may try to pick one of these up used for $1k. For now, I'll crank the SLO through my recto 2x12 and raise the roof.