Class A and B differences?

Have you been leaving the Pass amp fired up 24 / 7 ? If not, try doing that and see what you think of it. Give it three days of "steady AC burn" before really giving it a good listen. Things may settle even more after that point, but they will be very gradual and take an extended period of time. The 72 hour "settling period" will give you a good idea of what the amp sounds like with the rest of your system. Sean
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Personally, I think that 10%-15% is a pretty good increase in performance, when you are getting up into the higher levels. Remember, you get into that "diminishing returns" area at some point, where you have to pay alot more for each little increase in performance. At the top of the scale, a 15% improvement would be astonishing, and costly.

As far as Class A and Class B are concerned, the quality of implementation is the key, and not always just the A or B classes that may make the difference. A real good Class B design may sound better than an inferior Class A amp. It is generally accepted, though, that well done Class A amps will give the most sonic purity.

I can't comment on your exact comparison, as I have no experience with those amps personally.

And yes, the quality of the speakers and source will have a direct bearing on the sound that you get out of the amp.

I've owned amps that were rated class A up to a certain output and then transitions over to class AB. I can't say I've have heard much of a difference. Basically, class A amps have their output devices on all the time, where as class B devices are on only 1/2 the time. One device handles the positive waveform and another handles the negative. The crossover point is where distortions can occur. Whether it's audible or not depends on the resolution of your entire system. Not to nitpick, but when you mention class B I believe you are refrring to class A/B. Class B amps are very efficient but would not really make a good audio amp.

Jim