Paul,
Just curious did you hear the RW signature 30 or the new signature 30.2. The 30.2 is a big leap forward vs. the original 30 in many regards. I have also heard the new NuForce amps (Ref 9s). I wont say they were that bad sounding but the RWA is in an entirely different class when it comes to musicality, emotional involvement with the music, black background, and retrieval of fine details. The nuforces are rated at higher power but the RWA seems to play cleaner at higher volumes. The only bad thing about the RW is that they are always backlogged with orders. I had to wait around 5 weeks for mine but it was so worth it!
-Nate