Help me understand the current amp market

I’d say there is fair amount of "free riders" - make fancy box, put few Asian parts inside and I give you 100% - someone will hear improvement to their sample music. C’mon, there are amps with huge distortions built on 50 years old tech but people like them.

I have seen pictures of inside of a phono stage by a VERY well known and praised manufacturer. Literally 3x3 inch board in 40" wide case. Costs several kilobucks. For an empty box. Compare to Pass Labs XP - full of parts.

So yes, look who is in charge. Pass, BAT, Denafrips are run by engineers. They literally make gear THEY listen to. Watch out for former big names now owned by a cost-cutting corporate drones putting $5 switching power supplies into $$$$ gear.

Frankly, chasing the newest tech pales in comparison to chasing sonics that you subsequently enjoy.  Unlike high tech computers where parts can be interchangeable between manufacturers, high-tech audio deals with proprietary circuit designs and quality parts.  Even proprietary transformers make a significant sonic difference.

That being said, perhaps check out Mola Mola offerings like the Makua preamp, Kaluga mono amps, or the Kula integrated.  After reading this very positive review here, I was surprised at the very deep long resume of experience and expertise of the designer. Cutting edge for sure with great sonics to match.

@8th-note Power amps that double their power with halving their impedance do NOT have to be hot and heavy. My Class A Westminster Labs REIs are small, 35 lbs., top case runs at room temperature except for the small indented metal screen, goes from 100 watts at 8 ohms to 800 watts at 1 ohm and costs $33,900 a pair. They replaced 125 watt Class A/B voltage regulated tube monoblocks and EAR Class A 70 watt tube amps (after 50 years with only tube amps). ASR recommendations are for inexpensive gear. Amir does not promote the best/better gear which is relatively expensive but not uber expensive like Westminster Labs. 

@zlone I am keeping a tube pre-amp for the added warmth to the REIs which are just plain neutral and pass-through upstream source and component sound. Funny thing, the manufacturer/distributor of the Saunders Magatech who sold the company and is the sole non-Asian distributor for Westminister Labs products is the same Garry Leeds of Hear This.

fleshler, thanks for your positive comments about the WestminsterLab Reis. The Sanders Magtech amplifier is superb, especially if high power is required. The Magtech was originally designed for use with electrostatics, given their need for high voltage on the rails (63v), yet it proved excellent for power-hungry speakers and sounded better than the standard model, given its novel regulated power supply. These amplifiers are highly recommended for high-power applications and offer that performance and build quality at an impressively low price.  

For accuracy, Roger Sanders and I were partners in Innersound, a company preceding Sanders Sound Systems. After Innersound, Roger founded SSS and was the sole owner at the time of our last conversation a few years back. 

PS We offer in-home evaluations for parties with a genuine interest in Westminsterlab Rei Class A monos in locals where there is no local dealer. Thanks again.    

@jyaki:  We too listen LOUD a lot, I'm talking concert-level loud.   Having tried both tube and solid state pre-amps, we now only use tube pre-amps, with solid state amplifier(s).   And, FWIW, we have also resigned ourselves that the best pre/amp synergy (and true experience of "house" sound) is the pre and amp are made by the same company, and preferably both units are at the same rank in the given manufacturer's product line.