"Warm Sounding" Solid State Amplifiers

I suspect you would like Clayton class A amps.
Another amp you might like, and that fits your budget when purchased used, is the BAT VK-500 that runs in class A/B bias and that uses mosfets in the output stage. I would consider that amp somewhat warm and musical sounding but not in the upper echelon wrt resolution and refinement.

Bombaywalla, at the risk of appearing petty; while Forte might have been a "...down-market brand..." to Threshold, Threshold was Nelson Pass's top line brand, competitive with most anything in it's day before he sold the company and some years later started Pass Labs.

There is NO way anyone here can make a credible recommendation to your post without the following:
(1) Knowing you and your likes/dislikes.
(2) Having intimate knowledge of your system and room.
(3) You should have enough knowledge on your own, by now to have a list of components that you'd be willing to audition before even making a post such as this.
(4) If I were in your position, I would not post here for recommendations. I would rely on my past history of listening/reading/and logic.

I assume that after you've been into this hobby for years...which includes lots of money, lots of time, and a whole lot of lost assets... that you'd be in a position to make this purchase on your own.

If now, you need feedback from people you don't know and will never meet to help you make such a personal decision... well, I don't envy you at all! Good luck!

Slaw,

Can I call you Cole? Anyway, I'm not sure if you've been reading through the rest of this thread but Bombaywalla already left some feedback relatively similar to this and I have addressed it.

I've been at this hobby for the better part of 15 years but perhaps only seriously for the past 5 years or so when my career began to take off. I have more money than some people but by no means am I wealthy. I do agree with you on some points that you make but at the same time I see no reason not to ask others to share their knowledge and experiences over the web to help others make more educated decisions.

Is that not the whole point of a forum? I can guarantee you that they do not exist solely for the purpose of condemning the curiosity and ignorance of perfect strangers to perhaps validate your own. But like you said, I should disregard the feedback of people I have never met. Yourself included.

I would not envy myself if I were to walk into a retailer and have a biased sales person make recommendations to me without having done any homework for myself before hand. I do have a LOT to learn but it would be asinine to suggest that one person knows everything.

Is that not the whole point of a forum?

Bingo!
.