Its really all about your hearing
Some people hear differences in amps that others don't. Also the room acoustics, source material, setup, etc all change the perception and performance as well. But for my 2 cents when I listened to a few Rotel amps, different power ratings, on a few different speakers, B&W and Krell, the Rotel amps seemed to be straining on very clean and dynamic music. An A/B test with other amps showed this very clearly. I wasn't pushing the amps i listened to at all either, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 volume if that. I could hear imperfections like the Rotel just wasn't up to the task. The Carver equipment I have heard didn't have that problem. All the Carver equipment I have listened to was stuff made while Mr. Carver still owned Carver also. I can't qualify this in a technical fashion. There are other issues out there for and against almost anything but this is one of the issues with amps that always gets my attention. I seem to hear it very fast when this problem occures.
If those are the two you are looking at I would say the Carver. But that is just me. I would definately get a few more opinions first.