Budget Audiophile Looking For Amplifier Suggestions

I like my Sunfire - the caps don't last forever, so you may need to replace after 20+ years.

BTW, Nominal Z: 8 ohms is fine, but be sure the entire impedance vs. freq. graph has no dips into low ohms (for most amps).  I expect a Sunfire will not care.

I've heard Vincent pre-amps and they sound nice, but I'd worry about the co. going belly up, as many small co.s do...

Budget = Krell??

John Curl and Bob Carver are designers of note.  So are some others.

Class D often use the well-regarded N-core modules and gets around the need for pulling lots of amperes thru the wall.

Take a look at reviews of the Benchmark AHD2 -  an new technology is used by a pro equip. co.

Never forget that Class A really refers to 2 different operation modes - and only one has the design feature you want (or think you want) and that will suck so much power that Trump will send the BPA secret police to your door.

Bryston is not a budget amp either - unless the amp breaks 18 years later...

And the MOST IMPORTANT consideration:

The role of the amp is to drive your speaker.  You need to know the sensitivity AND the impedance lows all the way from 20 Hz to 20 kHz