I have had a 5:25 for about two weeks now. The demo was good, showing features and all, however the sound quality just did not do the amp justice.
The 5:25 definitely is not a metal amp. However, with my OCD I can get pretty close to high gain territory in the clean channel or doubling up on the crunch of channel one.
I am very pleased with how full this amp sounds. I was worried about the 10" speaker at first. Mesa has done an excellent job doing what they said they wanted to accomplish with this amp. They wanted to make a compact amp with a HUGE sound. I feel they have succeeded.
The amp holds very well in a band setting. Even in the five watt setting in rehearsal the amp has a very nice tone when cranked. It seems to have a nice power tube distortion that is just primo. A perfect mix of British and American tone. This amp definitely sounds "in your face" enough for me. It doesn't sound "boxxy" for being a small speaker amp. I can get a great country tone in the 5 watt mode (think Brad Paisley) or I can get a really nice searing overdrive (think AC/DC) in 25 watt mode. The Dyna Watt feature is very nice. It really makes this amp sound as if it is pushing 30 watts and not 25 watts.
It has taken the place of my Rivera M-60 definitely. The portability and tone for its size are WAY to good to pass up. I didn't think I would ever get an amp that had this type of tone for its size. I did. I am glad I tried it out!