Should I buy a Class A Amp.


I would Love to buy a Class A Amp. I have a Sony Tan-80ES Amp right now and I have had it for 19 yrs. To me it sounds Great but I am curious about Class A Amps. Do they really sound better? I am looking at a Krell KSA 200 Amp right now for $2000.00. It is older then my Sony. Is this too much for such an old Amp? Would Love to hear members thoughts on this.  

Blessings, ..........Don.
donplatt
What a great thread has been created.  I need to make more friends like this. :)

The other thing, one not often mentioned, is that if your ears can't tell a difference, don't spend the money. Stereo equipment, like cars, rarely ages well. It's not worth spending $20 for a "better" amplifier if you can't hear the difference. OF course, reliability, size, power all matter too.  I just meant that no matter what the consensus may be of a particular piece of gear, spend your money for you, not others. :) That $20 could better be spent on a new LP.

Best,

Erik
I'm with czarivey...if you live in the Sakha region of Russia and you're at 20 degrees below freezing and hope to accomplish the dual task of listening to music while preventing hypothermia, buy yourself a nice Class A amp.   They make wonderful space heaters in the winter.    Otherwise, no thanks.  I personally went Class D and never looked back.    440wpc and you couldn't melt a slice of cheese on it.  Great sound + energy efficiency = happy times.
Why would class A operation make an amp slower? Is it inherent in the design? I don't understand these things.
Another question is is the full class A amp a simpler design that just has to be executed well to make sense?
FWIW...Class A: This amp technology can best be described by saying it analyzes and amplifies the full 360 degree cycles (positive to negative) of the incoming audio waveforms in absolute real time. To be able to do that, it’s pretty much running at full power all the time. Whether the music you’re listening to is soft, loud or anywhere in between, the amp is using all of its available energy 100% of the time to reproduce it.

N