To me the first few watts of class A are the most important. That is where 85%+ of your listening will exist. Only on big crescendos and heavy bass lines will you require more watts. The extra wattage is for headroom when needed. IMO, class A watts are sweet, natural and musical. I could expand further but that would take several paragraphs and I am sure other members will have plenty to say more eloquently than I. I know that I prefer Class A and I own the CODA CSX with 20 watts of class A. 330wpc @8 ohm/660 @4ohm. I real stunner in silver!!!
Class A into Class AB
What is the goal of a designer who makes intergrated amps that have class A for x amount of watts before it goes into class AB? Are there any examples of this being implemented well? I get this feeling that it’s kind of just a marketing thing...where people think they are getting some quality class A without the very high price tag. I was particularly looking at the CODA CSiB amps where you have three choices of how much of your first watts are class A. I have since found a few other respectable brands that implement this as well. I have yet to come across anyone who has heard much of difference between AB amps and one’s that’s state "first X amount of watts..." Class A/AB. Anyone have any experience with these kind of integrated amplifiers? Just looking for a little bit of understanding as I’m trying to upgrade my amplifier.