Old thread, new comment adding another name.
The first 30 watts output from the Ypsilon Phaeton are class A, and through my YG Hailey's it sounds pretty darn great: rich, transparent, smooth (with bloom in all of the right places), and deeply controlled bass. The Phaeton is a hybrid design: tubes in the pre and SS in the amp.
My choices are narrowed down to the Phaeton and the DarTZeel CTH-8550. The 8550 is absolutely beautiful in the mid-range and treble but can be perceived as being a bit lighter in bass response, but I think there is plenty of bottom-end with my Hailey's. Plus, I really like the gold/red color scheme, but of course YMMV on this aspect. And, nowhere in the DarTZeel web site literature does it state if any portion of the 8550's output is class A, but it sure sounds like it!
Not sure where to pull the trigger.
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