Pure Class-A Amp under $2000 (USED)

I recently sold my Classe Audio DR-8 power amplifier ("Pure Class A", hence the name) built in Canada and designed by David Reich. It served me very, very well with Vancdersteen 2c models and most recently with Magnapan LRS. I replaced it with a Schiit Vidar (not class-A). I am still considering the wisdom of the new v. old amplifier but class-A was very satisfying for me for a very long time.

No one is mentioning Plinius SA 100 ? This amp can even powered my Andra Eggleston and it’ redefine Class A category per Stereophile review.

Classe Audio real class A amplifiers are : 

DR-2, DR3, DR3-B (25 Watt - 65lbs.)

DR3-VHC (45Watt - 99lbs)

Hello 8586,

How are you.

You wrote, " I think the wattage range between 30-60WPC for Class-A is powerful and popular".                                                                                                                                   I have no idea what "popular",  has to do with the price of tea in China when it comes to anything, let alone amps. Best to look at the spec data on your Venere's.                   

Sensitivity: 88dB. Nominal Impedance: 6 ohms. Suggested amplification: 50W-200W. These are relatively inefficient/power hungry speakers, that will inevitably "clip" an under powered amplifier. The maker recommends 50-200W. I'm not saying I'm 100% correct on this, but in the name of safety a good rule of thumb is to add 50+200=250, divided by 2 = 125watts. Although they "do" over lap, do not confuse power with volume/dB, think more along the lines of authority as well as head room.

Therefore if you're bent on a pure Class A amp, take heed from (pwerahera) suggestion concerning the Krell KSA 150 and 250, or (jeffseight's) suggestion on a Threshold. Someone wrote that these amps might be overbearing. You did say that a different Pre-amp was in the cards. For approx $2G's, a good tube Pre-amp (VTL Ultimate, ARC-SP8, Audible Illusions Modulus, or an Ampex 402) will get a tiger amp to purr. If tubes aren't your thing, a Classe' Audio DR5 is a good SS alternative that blends well with a pure Class A amplifier.

Enjoy the music.

I’m not saying I’m 100% correct on this, but in the name of safety a good rule of thumb is to add 50+200=250, divided by 2 = 125watts.

@thehorn You’re likely not correct on this. Understand that you’re conveying general guidelines, but general guidelines are just that and don’t apply in all situations, and this is one of them. For one, the OP is looking for a Class A amp, which out of the box affects how many Watts are required as they mostly double power into 4 Ohms and given their more robust power supplies can provide plenty of headroom even above that. Then, there’s the speaker specs. Using stated specs can be indicative but not always determinative. Case in point, here are JA’s actual measurements of the Venere 2.5 whose stated specs are near identical to the 2.0…
“The Sonus Faber’s voltage sensitivity is specified as 89dB/2.83V/m; my estimate was a little lower than that, at 87.7dB(B)/2.83V/m. The impedance is specified as 6 ohms; the Venere 2.5’s impedance magnitude and electrical phase, plotted against frequency, are shown in fig.1. There is quite a large variation of impedance with frequency, the magnitude remaining below 6 ohms for most of the midrange and bass but staying above 9 ohms for the entire treble region. Though there is a minimum value of 3.45 ohms at 111Hz, the phase angle is extreme only when the magnitude is high. The Venere 2.5 will not be hard to drive.”

Further, I had the 2.5 in my system and will attest they were not hard to drive at all, and my 100Wpc Class A/B amp drove them to very loud levels without even nearly breaking a sweat. And I’d have actually NO reservation saying a 50Wpc Class A amp would be more than sufficient to drive the Venere 2.5, which is why I recommended the Clayton S50 would be a great choice here. I’d even say something like the Pass XA30 @ 30Wpc would be perfectly fine because, as Pass amps are conservatively rated, it’d have more than enough juice to drive the 2.0. Point being, using top-level, basic specs without looking further under the hood can lead to misleading conclusions despite whatever good intentions were involved.