Krell or Plinius?

Dkzzzz you obviously don't what your talking about.

400xi is very synergistic with Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand, or other Vienna Acoustics speakers for that matter. It is one of those combinations 'that work'.

However, if you want to have best of both worlds (400xi and Plinius) I would suggest geting the new Krell S300i.

I have also wondered about a comparism between these two. There, however, so many Krell amps for sale, more than any other amp. No sure why.

I heard a Krell integrated powering some Vienna Acoustics Beethovens a few years ago and was surprised at how good the combination sounded, far better than I would have expected (I was not a fan of that Krell integrated) and something I could easily see enjoying for hours. I agree with Elberoth2, I believe it is a combination that just "works", for whatever reason. Plinius is a fine brand, but have not heard the combination so I can't comment.

I have had the Plinius 8200 MKii (quite similar to the 9200) and Musical Fidelity a3.2 and a308 integrateds. The Plinius was one of the better amps I have had, although the phono stage was lacking. I have also owned a pair of VA Haydn Grands, yet not paired with either the Plinius or MF.I have also heard the MF a5 and Krell KAV 400xi. If you felt the MF a5.5 was a bit too warm you may very well feel the Plinius warmer yet. I heard the Krell paired to Dynaudio Focus 140's. As Chazzbo stated it had a good grip on the bass. I did not feel the sound being noticeably metallic, possibly due to the soft dome tweeter of the Dyns. If I recall correctly the VA Mozart Grands has a soft dome tweeter also. Both the Krell and Plinius amps you are interested in will have a good resale value if by chance you are not pleased with what you hear. You should end up with a fine sounding system with either of these amps.