The "charactor" of pure Class A?

One of the primary things that all class A amps seem to have in common is a sense of authority. They just seem to carry more weight or body in the music.

There are so many variables in amplifier design that going beyond that simple statement gets tricky :)

Not familiar with Clayton...but pure class a amps do not switch power classifications( such as a/b amps)...run hot...as they give you all they have all the time...and are much truer to retaining an original square wave signal...however...since most general low-level listening doesnt require gobs of power or head room...class a/b amps operate in class a more than one would think....or that is my very limited understanding...sure others will chime in...happy holidays....

Phasecorrect:
Yes many A/B amps still operate in class A up to the first 1 to 3 watts, and if you've ever watched an amplifier with power meters while the music plays you are usually amazed at how much of the time the meter hangs around 1 to 5 or so watts. It's the 20 db peaks that get us...
Not all "class A" amps are PURE class A, also. I had a 50 watt per channel class A Forte model 1a which I think is a good amp and sort of has the classic class A sound, also had the original Music Fidelity A1 25 watts per channel, the sound was a bit on the rich, warm full sound, not at all harsh, strident, thin, or analytical. I believe that is the sort of thing most would agree is the "Class A experience". I would imagine an extremely expensive pure class A amp like the big old Thresholds, Levinsons, Benini, Krell, etc. would give a better representation than my Forte 1a.