chess, I thought that you did not like a hot-running amp.
A pure Class A amp will surely run VERY hot, even without any input signal. They will constantly consume up to 100W per channel of electricity, depending on the power rating and design details. Actually, the power consumption does not change much as the power output increases in a Class A amp.
Yes, in theory, a Class A amp provides the lowest open-loop distortion and no crossover switching distortion (which happens in Class AB and particularly Class B amps whenever the signal swing crosses zero). However, with a generous amont of negative feedback used in today's amps, I doubt that anybody can actually hear the difference.
In a related topic, I am curious about the current status of debate between the bipolar versus FET power stage. Does anybody have anything to say?
