Sala Massimo wrote:
So? You've obviously had a lot of enjoyment from the A1. Forget the
specs for a minute; do you still enjoy the sound that it makes? If
so, why bother whether it is class A up to full power? It's all just
numbers - it's your ears that have to be satisfied at the end of the
day!

Mick, I agree with you until the time the A1 volume pot broke.
It sounded good and I was very satisfied.
I never stressed the ampli, I used it in a "religious" way, always
wired to my Celestion 5 speakers.
Now I discover it is not a single failure, other users complain about
a bad design. I am very upset.

I stop trusting Musical Fidelity.
I purchased the A1 for its sound AND for its quality (hi-fi products
claims).
A1 design quality is worse than many consumer products... so I am
wondering about sound quality... it is really a thorn in my side.

But superficial build quality and engineering quality are two separate
things... Look at the new Ferrari Enzo - reports of trim bits falling off
in the first few hundred km but the core mechanicals are still well
engineered. Closer to the topic, the knobs on my Cyrus 2 lost all their
paint within a couple of years but 15 years on the amp still sounds great