Class A, yes. It is warmer and seems to have tons of power despite the modest rating. SET…no. Certainly not my 300B I have sitting right next to it. I have not really heard anything that can replicate a SET. Even the First Watt stuff falls a hair short despite its relative brilliance.
What will be interesting is when I do a compare between the AGD and my reference KT88 monos on a speaker with proper impedance for the monos. That will expose flaws/shortcomings.
The shock was more from a prior experience. I dropped an NAD C298 into my system and it was a push vs the amp in my integrated. I enjoyed that amp immensely and understood completely how it got an A rating. The AGD was obviously better than my two integrated amps. Not saying it is flawless by any stretch, but it is very, very good. When you consider size, energy efficient and price, it is a fascinating amp.