Thanks for the replies.
I'm soon going to be auditioning the Van Alstine 350EXR Ultra (a tube-MOSFET hybrid amp). It has more power than my 3B (rated 160wpc, but Frank Van Alstine told me it's really closer to 200) and is supposed to sound, you know, better and stuff. (It uses tubes to handle voltage and MOSFETs to drive current. Or some such thing.) We will see. Many thanks for all the different recommendations, especially Raquel for tracking down your friend. The observation that the Revels like power is duly noted. Frank told me if the 350 isn't enough I can upgrade to the 550 (250wpc) for the price difference of the two. But I will definitely be keeping the higher powered Brystons in the back of my head, as I like the amps' neutrality and resolution pretty well.
So anybody please feel free to discuss and opine on these Van Alstine products, as I know they are somewhat out of the mainstream (not being sold by audio dealers). They're pretty inexpensive and seem to have the reputation of outperforming far more expensive stuff. Anyway I'm looking forward to trying it out.
