Any options for low power class A amps?


Okay, I do most of my music listening at work because of time constraints.  I have a nice desk system that includes some 4" Fostex full range speakers, an Olasonic dac, an Olasonic cd transport, and an integrated Olasonic amp/dac.  I have nothing but good things to say for Olasonic however I would like to add better amplification.  I am looking for a small solid state amplifier that is pure class A in the 5 to 10 watts range.  The only ones that I have found have a higher power rating and are huge or are A/B amps that are biased slightly higher.  I don't know if anyone makes class A amps in this power rating.  If you know of any I would greatly appreciate your help.  I have tried headphone amps that are pure class A that results in an improvement but the impact is not there due to power and impedance matching of speakers in comparison to headphones.  The Fostex drivers I am using are 16 ohms btw.  Thanks.
audioman2015

Showing 9 responses by audioman2015

Lol, I actually just ordered a Zamp from AA about an hour ago because they had it on sale.  I also own the A21 and A23 at home for several years now and am very happy with Parasound.  I was looking for something small because the Olasonic stack I have at work is small and I wanted something I could place next to it.  I could bring an A23 from home that I am not using and place it out of the way but part of my hobby is learning by trying different equipment.  

I looked at some SET amps but I could only find ones made in China. Nothing bad about them and they are a good value but for their equipment to reach the sound quality I am happy with I had to spend a lot of time upgrading components.  I'm not looking to do that this time.  Any recommendations on SET amps?  

I am also looking for small bookshelf speakers 4" drivers for a replacement for the Fostex.  I have been using them for 2 years straight and they sound jaw dropping but I may be ready for a change soon.  
The Berning looks nice but it states that is has a 1 watt output and I am not sure how it will handle a 16 ohm load.  My experience in using headphone amps to drive low power speakers have not been positive but I may be wrong.
Thank you Charles!  They have a US distributer Highend Electronics.  Thank you for suggesting this - it is difficult to find vendors such as this using search engines.


All of this is great stuff and yes it would be a very interesting comparison.  The only thing I regret is having easy demo access to these kinds of components so one can be sure to know what they are purchasing.  

Lancelock, thank you for letting us know that the Micro ZOTL will do fine with high efficiency speakers.
Charles,

Go ahead and list them.  I am always looking to learn or perhaps could be future purchases.

Thanks.
Thank you for all of the recommendations, I have learned a lot.  I really like the idea of the Amp Camp amp from Nelson Pass kit although the power supplies would be replaced by dedicated linear ones.  

I have designed and built small headphone amps in the past but have been thinking about getting into power amplifiers.