Looks like I'm a little late to the party, but might I suggest trying to find a Yamaha R-9 receiver? It has a front-panel button for 'Auto Class A', which gives you about 30 watts of beautiful, pure Class A power (about 15 w/ch), beyond which it seamlessly transitions into Class A/B mode up to full rated power (conservatively rated 125 w/ch into 8 ohms, 20-20kHz @ .015 THD).
I've had an R-9 since new, bought back around 1985. The R-9 was Yamaha's flagship receiver, and I've never had the slightest problem with it - built well, and still looks and works like the day I bought it. Currently, my main system's preamp feeds the R-9 to power four sets of indoor and outdoor speakers around the house.
The R-9 is especially great if you have speakers efficient enough to keep the amp running in Class A mode most of the time - even those who aren't big Yamaha 'Natural Sound' fans say that the R-9 in Class A mode is a totally different animal. (Just be sure you have good ventilation, or even a small fan - 'Auto Class A' kicks off enough heat to fry eggs on the top of the receiver!)
From my experience, the R-9 was a very good, solidly built receiver that just never seemed to get enough respect, especially given its fairly unique Class A capabilities. A quick check on eBay shows several fully functional R-9s going for prices between $75 and $200, although one described as "fully restored" was priced around $1300.
A decent R-9 might be a good way to get your feet wet in the "Class A waters" without a mid four-figure outlay. If desired, you could then make a more confident investment into one of the more expensive alternatives, and easily resell the R-9 for whatever you paid for it.
I've had an R-9 since new, bought back around 1985. The R-9 was Yamaha's flagship receiver, and I've never had the slightest problem with it - built well, and still looks and works like the day I bought it. Currently, my main system's preamp feeds the R-9 to power four sets of indoor and outdoor speakers around the house.
The R-9 is especially great if you have speakers efficient enough to keep the amp running in Class A mode most of the time - even those who aren't big Yamaha 'Natural Sound' fans say that the R-9 in Class A mode is a totally different animal. (Just be sure you have good ventilation, or even a small fan - 'Auto Class A' kicks off enough heat to fry eggs on the top of the receiver!)
From my experience, the R-9 was a very good, solidly built receiver that just never seemed to get enough respect, especially given its fairly unique Class A capabilities. A quick check on eBay shows several fully functional R-9s going for prices between $75 and $200, although one described as "fully restored" was priced around $1300.
A decent R-9 might be a good way to get your feet wet in the "Class A waters" without a mid four-figure outlay. If desired, you could then make a more confident investment into one of the more expensive alternatives, and easily resell the R-9 for whatever you paid for it.