40+ watts SET, cost is not a problem

So you want an SET amp? These typically have output impedances over 1 ohm and higher. Due to interaction with speaker impedance the result is a non-flat frequency response (Ohm's Law). The typical SET amp acts as a tone control as it tracks the speaker's impedance curve - something that is not desirable!

What an SET amp does right far outweighs its limitations provided it has enough power for the load. If we make it an SET vs SS/Push-pull discussion, we will lose the discussion for which I started this thread. Lets do it after we have enough responses/suggestions for the OP 

@larryi when you refer to gaku-on, are you suggesting Kondo or AN UK?

Secondly, which other tube amp (non-SET) would you suggest with at least 80-100 watts which have top tier sound?

@atmasphere @charles1dad @jond and others, it seems people are not warming up to the idea of SET here. And also there seems to be very few seriously good tried and tested choices beyond 25 watts. So what are some really good options for push-pull tube amps operating in class A with zero negative feedback?

@charles1dad I conquer with you completely. There is something so natural about the way SET present music. What it does with distortion is true and theoretical but it must be preserving something vital to make music sound so "right".

Having said that I am totally open to exploring PP amps. @atmasphere will your Novacron work well with a load like TAD CR1x ? Normally OTLs also need friendly loads. Hence I ask

Has anyone here heard the Wavac preamps?

If I go for SET, I am strongly considering AN (UK) Gaku-on but I don't like AN preamps. They are way too colored and even slow. I have owned M6 and M8. Sold them both because of their colored and slowish (too much body and tone) sound. But I absolutely love Wavac preamp. Fast and dynamic without losing harmonics

@larryi I dont have any particular need for the remote. Considering that we will go with a Gaku-on, what is critical is a well matched preamp which doesnt short change or create any sonic anomaly (due to character mismatch). Many people say it is best to get the pre-power from the same brand for this reason. Do you think it is okay to get a different brand of preamp without auditioning it with the power amp in question, that too when we are building it ground up? 

@atmasphere , the listening distance is indeed near field (6-7 feet from the plane of the speakers). However, I do understand your point of these speakers needing a lot of power. Why do you suggest Class D and not A, AB ?

Having heard multiple Berning amps, they ultimately sound a bit sterile to me because of the switch mode power supply. If an audio designer can't even hear the basics of music and figure out what is lost with a switching PSU and just uses it for specs, I have no respect for such designers. And the industry is full of such people. Thats why high end audio is so difficult to get right, musically :-(

If I have to go push pull, my first choice would be a CJ sa108 monoblocks with Art88 preamp. But I am so keen and smitten by SET that I will first explore it well. 

Thanks @charles1dad i am exploring all the SET suggestions you and other fellow audiophiles have suggested. Audio Note (UK) ANKORU or even Gaku-On is looking very interesting