I've never heard an Art Audio amp, but the deHavilland 845s I had were lovely, especially with the new Shuguang 845B tubes. I'm not one of those who is thrilled with the 845 sound however, but my local dealer is. When I asked him to sell the deHavillands for me, he took one listen and promptly traded me his Canary preamp for them. He's still thrilled 6 weeks later. They're seriously butch amps, just as bit too romantic and bloomy for me.
Art Audio Carissa vs deHavilland 845 tube amps
Has anyone compared the Art Audio Carissa and the deHavilland 845-based amps? Both appear to be very dynamic and musical amps, but the deHavilland is apparently somewhat veiled in terms of detail. I understand there several current production 845 tubes now available. These would be driving 88 db speakers with a tube-friendly flat 4 ohm load. I would appreciate any inputs on these products. Thanks.