Ideally an amplifier should be an output stage that instantly tracks and responds to its input stage.
Amps do vary in technology and it’s implementation to achieve this. Some could have a relatively simple design and others a massively over engineered design.
Although it’s design could go some way to explain why they can all end up sounding different.
Listeners may prefer a telepathic lightning fast response while others might prefer a slightly buffered response that’s not so seat of the pants and more a relaxed jacuzzi.
Like most things in life I prefer somewhere in the middle 
Once the budget for purchase and running costs is set, for me it’s 1. Sound, 2. Sound and 3. Sound. Perhaps looks comes in at 4 and I do admit the Atom on my office desk looks sweet, but in general I’m not that bothered by appearance of electronics in a corner of the lounge. Speakers are a different matter of course.
Roger
I Am not saying Naim is wrong, is different for sure. And almost no other brand uses DIN, why not balanced instead. When having more than one brand in the home and had invested in more or less good cables, having to invest again in cables because a specific brand uses a different kind of interface is a quirk to me.
The quirks of Naim I can live with it, I already live with it and most important the sound is interesting.
But in less than a year I have had issues with my NDX 2 and Uniti Atom HE, maybe bad luck.
I disagree: appearance is not a consideration at all - amps can be hidden if appearance is not liked.
To answer the OP: Clean, distortion-free sound with an even response across the whole of the audio spectrum. Low background noise (critical with horn loaded speakers). Very fast rise time (response to peaks), the faster the better. Peak power capability (unless I were to be using with horn loaded speakers) of at least 500W (or 500VA) into 4 ohms. Power into 4 ohms close to double power into 8 ohms (ideally exactly double, and double again into 2 ohms). Low output impedance especially at the bass end of the audio spectrum - the lower the better.
All those things can be assessed by measurement and in my opinion should be stated for all amps, but sadly is not. With that info, and awareness of demands of speakers and the different significance of each parameter in relation to speaker requirements etc, shortlisting may be simplified - but then it has to sound good - and that requires an audition, into the intended speakers (some speakers of course are much less demanding of an amp than others). Of course you can always simply ignore specs, and simply audition, using some other means of shortlisting (recommendations, reviews, cost, weight, appearance, etc, but it may take a lot more auditioning to find the best for you).
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Some manufacturers tried to achieve this (most notably Harman Kardon) by increasing the HF bandwidth to 350kHz or more, however the result just wasn’t all that good sonically. One reason for this is that by increasing the bandwidth, problems with non-ideal transient behaviour become much more problematic. One source of this comes from issues arising out of effects of interaction of the fast forward gain-bandwidth product and the phase shifts in the feedback loop.
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The choice to use DIN connectors is backed by very good engineering principles and practice.
When designing my own equipment I used DIN for signal connections and Cannon ‘D’ connectors for power (in the same way that Naim use Burndy connectors).
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I suspect most of us have our systems in the living room, or other family room. Most don’t have a dedicated room and I suspect most aren’t easily able to hide equipment out of sight, especially if it’s large. It’s absolutely essential to me that the equipment looks nice. It doesn’t have to be in any way fancy or flashy, just well designed and discreet. This is one of the great strengths of the Naim Classic range. It looks like a quality product, isn’t covered in flashing lights, unnecessary writing or silly shiny bits. People who don’t know about hifi don’t even notice it, which is perfect.
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I disagree strongly with your first sentence. I think that most, probably all, Forum Members care strongly about the appearance of all their system components. The days of hiding away audio gear in cupboards are long gone.
I don’t think that hifi manufacturers today would even try to sell ugly gear, no matter how good it sounded.
You haven’t seen the results of some of FR’s internet trawls… 
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The looks ara important to me, and also I need that my wife at least do not bother me constantly saying that I have too much ugly gear, when she saw the Naim NDX 2 she liked the look, then the Atom HE she loved, now the supernait came in and pure silence, nothing negative. And only for that looks are very important, for her and for me also.
So in the last five years the looks of my gear is a point of concern. I have two systems in the living room, and the home cinema had to be discreet and acceptable to her, too many speakers on the living room.
To be honest there’s hardly an ugly Naim box.
Taste vary but my bet 3-series and Nap 120 to be at the buttom lookswise.
Soundwise is another matter, they vary a lot.
Naim were one of the amp-makers that offered the very best support and service options.
This is extremely important and I simply don’t understand why some brands ignore this.
Peter Walker of Quad once described an ideal amplifier as being ‘a straight line with gain’.
I’m not qualified to say whether this is correct or not, but others here may have a view.
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That looks remarkably like an NAP500 which has maxed out on steroids. Has Roy George been moonlighting?
To be honest the chrome bumper amps looked like something very simple but effective. To me they still sound amazing even in a very simple system. I’ve yet to hear the classic amps and of course SL2 at their best, which I expect to be wonderful in the right room with a good supply
I guess that’s the skinned cat.
But there’s many ways…
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Thanks for the many posts!
I’d gladly reply to each of you, but it’d take too long, sorry.
As a general idea, I know that ‘ideally’ an amplifier should be something like what Peter Walker said, but haven’t we - and hasn’t the history of HiFi - moved beyond that?
What I mean is, it’s perhaps useless to assume that an amp should be a perfect gain stage without any alterations when analogue sources - cartridge, tonearm, phono stage - and loudspeakers are not and will never be; so my original question aimed at revealing the singles’ own preferences, taking for granted that yes, ideally everything should be perfectly true to the source but also knowing that any source of (reproduced) music is not faithful to any live event - and there is no real need for it to be, isn’t it?
Once I was all for clarity and detail, for a rhythmic rendition of the musical tempo; now - getting older perhaps - I tend to appreciate the artifacts of HiFi: smoothness, 3D imaging, a sort of fine sonic cinema.
I was just curious to know about others…
Thanks to all.
H.
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Imagine the feet are paws, and it’s aiming at you inside a tunnel. Angry.
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Not necessarily incorrect, but idealistic, unreal, unachievable. All components will add some colour of their own.