I suppose in some system that doesn't play below 100hz (I am thinking an actively biamped system where the CAT handles above 100hz) the CAT would be very nice. Even in a speaker that is relatively easy to drive, the CAT (with a damping factor of 10!) will not reproduce the lower octaves as the SL will. I sold my CAT to a guy that had exactly this setup (CAT driving 100hz and up). I am guessing he is enjoying it. I still would bet that even in that application, the SL would perform better (to most peoples taste)than the CAT. With the current crop of PLC and cables it is easy to push the SL waaaay over the neutral line to euphonic. As previously stated, I have loved and used tubes all my life and like you Bombay have a large collection of the best NOS tubes available. I rolled them all in the CAT JL2/Cat Ult MK2 combo. I disagree with you about a higher wattage tubed amp working well on his Andras. I almost went for a pair of VTL Wotan's
before Jay persuaded me to reconsider. The Andras and Avalons are looking for current not wattage. The VTL's would do the bass a bit better than the CAT (damping factor of 20 vs 10) but nothing like the SL (damping factor > 800!). I didn't realize things weren't wonderful until Jay graciously lugged his Kraft over for me. You never know something is wrong until something right points it out. I was lucky to run into Jay (he called asking about the ability of the CAT JL2 to drive his B&W 802's). I have thanked him for all the help he has given me over the last year or so. He is a great friend and very knowledgeable. I advised Defender1844 to repair or have the CAT repaired and sell it. The SL is perfect for his application. He also wants to use the amp to listen to his TV. His situation requires an amp that is RELIABLE.
Bart