Any SS class A experience to share?

Well Viggen, you are right about one thing, the bass on the SR17's is utterly amazing, and I'd never believe it was possible to get that kind of bass from such small enclosures if I weren't hearing it with my own ears. As far as your comparing it to the SR-11, I'd have to say that I doubt very much that comparing the two would be fare. The SR17 uses two Dynaudio drivers and has a claimed range down to 38hz (though I'd say 40 was more accurate). The SR-17's are the top of the same manufacturers monitor line while the SR-11's are one from the bottom and almost half the price. If this were two different manufacturers I'd say that didn't matter at all, but for the same manufacturer to outdo their top-of-the-line monitor speaker with their bottom-of-the-line monitor would be pretty self-defeating. I could see that if time had passed and technology had progressed, but this is the same current crop of speakers we're talking about. I cannot comment by direct experience of the SR11, but the two reviews I could find were mixed. My general understanding of Silverline products, and direct experience with the SR17, is that Alan Yun puts out some fabulous products at bargain prices, so I have no doubt that the SR11 is a fine performer in it's class. As far as imaging goes, again, my experience of the SR17's is STELLAR in that department as well. They are absolutely one of the most transparent speakers I have ever heard. We're talking Casper the Friendly Ghost here!! Soundstage is wide and deep and precise (even more so with tubes). I'd not heard anything in my research that would support your comparison of the Aleph 3 vs Aleph 5 either, but again, I have not heard the two side-by-side.

Yup, it's pointless to refute any points being brought up currently since neither of us has directly compared the two aleph amps and the two silverline speakers.

I will attempt to contact alan yun just because I too am curious to what one is getting for the extra $1000 besides larger cabinet, larger dynaudio drivers, and a slightly different cross-over between the 11 and 17.

Regarding the differences between the alephs, I've talked to people who has owned both amps including the guy who sold me my aleph 3.

I have decided to upgrade to the VAC Avatar Super. This is a new, and extensive upgrade. See http://www.vac-amps.com/avatar_super.htm if you'd like to know more about this integrated. In the end, I did not want to put up with the heat of class A's or the expense of seperates - yet, anyway.

Thanks, everyone, for your advice and suggestions. I'll be sure to post my impressions of this unit once it burns in.

It's hard to go wrong with tubes Dudley! Looking forward to your post burn-in evaluation!

Viggen; Alan Yun should be easy to reach and I've found him to be very responsive. Your original comments on the similarity of the SR17 to the SR11 strikes me as something that might have been in the SR11 review on the Silverline site the compares the SR11 to the SR15. Regardless, if you are interested in researching the SR17 I still have my list of URL's for reviews for the SR17 from my own research:

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/masz07.htm
http://www.soundstagelive.com/cgi-bin/recaudiohard.pl?read=20
http://www.audioreview.com/PRD_120554_1594crx.aspx
http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/speakers/messages/82753.html
http://www.silverlineaudio.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=37

As to the Aleph question, I take heresay with a healthy grain of salt, and a big-ass bag of salt if someone is trying to sell me something. That's not to say the folks you spoke to are necessarily off-base. I'd guess you probably agree, with all the buying/selling and testing gear in your own space with your own ears that you've done recently. If you can afford the time and expense of doing that kind of extensive auditioning, there is no better way to evaluate a component than that IMO!

I don't know why you would find it hard to believe that the SR17 and SR11 have more similarities than dissimilarities.

This conversation falls under the category of "slippery slope."