Recommendation for Class-A integrated amp

Went to demo and buy the luxman s and was left wanting.   Bought the Esoteric F03 with a milks discount but way over my initial budget.  Have no interest in resale as it has been the most enjoyable amp I’ve owned

CODA vs Krell vs PASS - one opinion:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/new-stereo-times-review-on-coda-csib-integrated-amplifier

+1 @arafiq

OP: All three contenders on your list are excellent amplifiers in their own right

OP: it's more a matter of personal sonic and feature preferences rather than one performing better than another.

Coda Csib is not a class A integrated, which is what the OP is looking for.

Class A integrated amps operate in class A over their entire spec’d power band, not over some small fraction of it.

Coda is a class A/B biased to operate in class A over some small number of watts (6, 12, or 18 depending on configuration I think, but don’t quote me on that). Nothing wrong with that, but don’t call it a class A amp, because it is not

i too was wondering about the wisdom of all the conversation about the 400 wpc class a/b coda when the op is seeking advice on a 20 to 40 wpc class a unit...

... i guess if you have a favorite hammer all in the world is just a bed of nails...  🤷

@tom8999,

Not familiar with Krell K300i, but I will look into how they work in Class-A region.



@ tennisdoc56,

Interesting suggestion.  I will have to check out the Esoteric F03 too.



@kennyc,

OP: it's more a matter of personal sonic and feature preferences rather than one performing better than another.

Agreed, I am looking for suggestions that I may have missed, so I can go demo them.