Best sounding Krell ?

Wireless200,
I tend to think you're right. I've obviously built a system around my amp that sounds good to me. This may not be the prescribed way to assemble a system but it's the way mine has evolved. I am afraid if I spend big bucks on one of these newer "smoother" amps I'm going to feel like the life's been sucked out of the system and spend even more trying to recapture it. My speakers are Vandersteen 5As which I really feel do benefit from a shot in the arm of strong juice.

Hi Stevechan,
I've been following the discussion. As I stated earlier I went ahead and purchased a Plinius SA 50. This is a very good amplifier. The truth is there's a lot of good equipment out there and it all boils down to personal preference. Myself, I have come to the realization that I do like tubes better than SS even though I will listen and even purchase a SS piece of equipment ( like I just did ) because sometimes the lower frequencies leave something to be desired from tube amps. Going back to the thread, I've only owned one piece of Krell equipment, the very nice Krc 3. The Krc 3 is one of the most underrated preamps out there. I sold it because I like to try new equipment and to see how well it meshes with what I have at the moment. At the time I owned the Krc 3 I had it paired to the BAT VK 200 and I have to tell you, that was one of the best combos I ever had. To close, I would like to try a Krell amp, hence the thread, but i'm only interested in the FPB and later generation. The earlier Krell does not interest me for a reason I cannot explain.

Audiofiel:

I have had a Bel Canto S300. It was nice sounding, nothing really that special. I opened her up and saw a standard ICEPower ASC200 module. Sold the S300, bought two ICEpower ASC200 modules on ebay for $69 each. So lets get this "Value" thingy right. I built my own $2500 Bel Canto S300 for less than $250. They put it in a nice chassis and made a monster profit. This is most likely your best selling Bel Canto - admit this.

Now Bel canto make some very nice stuff on the higher end (their valve amps are excellent - so I have heard).

Now the Krell. I built a KSA-50 amp and my Magnepan MGIIIa have never sounded better. Ever. Now Krell didn't slap in a pre-manufactured module and call it their own. The Krell KSA50 is not a terribly complicated amp, but it work some special magic as far as I am concerned.

Bottom line is I think you should give Krell a little more credit. I fail to believe they are a has been as you indicate.

They put it in a nice chassis and made a monster profit. This is most likely your best selling Bel Canto - admit this.

Yes and No. Much as I don't want to jump in and defend high priced items.

The reality is that the packaging on most audio gear is the most costly part. Machining nice knobs - a brushed steel fascia with neat details and curves all add significant cost. Veneer and wood work finish is the most expensive part of any audiophile type speaker. This gear is meant to be looked at by a proud owner - and everyone knows the placebo effect - if it looks great then one will be predisposed to expect it to sound great.

For example, in a Benchmark DAC1 the front fascia and knob are more expensive individually than the selected critical components that make the sound.

Bel Canto products look really nice - a very high quality finish - they also probably sell less volumes than cheaper products and that is probably why they cost so much.

It isn't always "monster profits" - high quality furniture with high quality finish costs money even if a chair is still a chair when you sit on it.

>>I think you should give Krell a little more credit<<

Well Biff, I talk to dozens of customers every week and very few, if any, serious audiophiles still ride a dinosaur to work.

Yabba dabba do.