Difference between Forte 4 and 4A amp ?

I have owned a forte 1a since 1991 and it sounds great for the money.. I would love to get a 100+ watt Threshold but wonder how much different or better it would sound for the thousands $ more.. I am not familier with the model 4 or 4a but would stay away from the 3. Only other amp I would consider for the price range is an Eagle.

Xiekitchen, out of curiosity, what don't you like about the 3 or feel that it should be avoided ? You can lay it on the line with me... : )

As to Elizabeth's comments, all of the Forte' amps run hot and sound best after being left on all the time. I find this true of most amps that run Class A or rich Class A/B. You can't stuff these into enclosed racks since the heatsinks are on the sides and they do run so warm. Sean
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All this glowing talk of the Forte amps leaves me a little perplexed as I purchased a Model 6 new in 11/91, replacing a Heath amp, and although it was better than the Heath, I struggled through the 90's with a system I didn't like. I was using a Forte Model 2 preamp and I used several different speakers trying to be pleased with my system (Mirage M3's, Linn Keildh's, Linn AV5140's). In 8/97 I replaced the Forte 6 with a Meridian 557 and found a huge improvement and was much happier with my system and felt I wasted a lot of years, and money, sticking with the Forte.

Brian :

I've had a couple of Forte 6's as well and can understand your experience. I found both of them pleasant but a bit bland and uninvolving compared to the 4. The 4 was considerably more open & punchy. They look identical except that the 4 ran MUCH warmer being more deeply class A biased. This correlates well my general experience of class A versus class A/B operated SS amps. Those deeply biased into class A just seem more involving and open, especially at lower listening levels.