Power Uber Alles ?

NO I do not think ’Class A’ amplification is above all else.
Class A historically has been good, The number one problem with Class A is the heat generated. If the user buys a small Class A amp, like a Pass 30something. not to big a deal, but then the restriction is on needing a high efficiency speaker to go with the low power.
My take is there is no universal best. Everything has good points, and bad... they all have compromises.Say if you buy your Class A amp, and then have to have the air conditioning running. Does the Class A work better with the noise from the air conditioner?? Or would you be better off with a Class AB amp, or even a Class D amp, and not any air conditioner noise? (Same goes for a big tube amp)
SO if you want my opinion as to what is the ONE. There is none. No one size fits all, No one kind fits all. No ’easy answer’. Which is what seems to be the question. "what is the easy answer’?                        
Also about big power. Back in the 70's, really big power meant not very subtle. Just brute force. That has not been true for years. and The current crop of high powered amps are able to carry a delicate line of music just as well as the best low powered amps. (maybe a 3 watt SET with a 300B might do better, still...?)

My experience doesn't support "power uber alles" which is not to say big watts don't have a place.  I've got a Merrill Taranis, and Hegel H200 which are each spec'd at 200 or more wpc.  I enjoy listening to these driving Totem Forest or Silverline Prelude Plus speakers.  BUT the amp that is bringing the most enjoyment at the present time is a First Watt F7 (25 wpc).  Music sounds great using it to drive the Silverlines or Forests and it easily produces SPLs in the mid 80s and peaks in the upper 90s at 10-12 feet away with no sign of strain in a 19'x21' listening area (albeit, 7' ceilings).  With either speaker, the music's clarity, imaging and stage depth produced with the F7 seems superior to that produced by the other more powerful amplifiers.  

@erik_squires

have you experienced that bigger amps sound better, or is the overall quality of the amp more important.

The answer is yes.

@elizabeth made some good points I agree with,

“Everything has good points, and bad... they all have compromises.......No one size fits all, No one kind fits all. No ’easy answer’.”

My room is about 18 by 30 feet, with the system mainly projecting to an area with dimensions of about 18 by 22 feet. I have tried a bunch of amplifiers (still sort of looking) on speakers of 90 dB and currently 85 dB. What I have learned that works for me,
- Power matters, particularly if you want a dynamic presentation, in a larg’ish room, with moderately efficient speakers, and you don’t like your sound thin or tonally bleached
- The quality of the power matters too, and particularly the power supply - the ability to double power (or close) into halved impedances is one indicator
- Design implementation and quality of components matter too
- Low output impedance is helpful
- High input impedance is nice for flexibility, and critical if using a passive attenuator, but not necessary with most SS preamps
- Adding two high quality subs and removing the low bass burden from the main speakers was a good move for both amplifier performance and particularly for bass performance and flexibility
- There are significant sonic differences between even highly regarded Class AB, Class A, and Class D amplifiers that go beyond the heat issue. IME, Class AB is probably the most flexible for a wide range of music and listening preferences but each of those classes have their own sonic signature and which you like will depend on what you listen to and what sonic attributes are important to you.....sort of back to Elisabeth’s “no one size fits all”

+1 roberjerman / Nice amp!

One thing that is true is what is considered small has changed.. Back in the early days small was 5 watts. Now.. small is 200 watts. LOL