Krell FPB 600 or 400cx?

I've sent my amp to Krell twice using Southern Freight once for an upgrade to 700cx and another for a checkup a year ago. The shipping was about 125.00 from GA. If there was a design flaw in the 600 I never experienced it but maybe the upgrade fixed it. I have owned the FPB 600, 600C and 700cx.

Hey Sound, send us a picture of that planter. Yeah, I thought so.

I have owned Krell equipment for many years. I currently have two Krell Evo 600e's and 2 S-275's and the Evo 707 processor. The amps and the processor are superb. I have never had a problem with Krell amps. I have had a few quirky functional issues with the Evo 707, but Krell has been incredibly responsive and it now functions perfectly. The Evo 707 sounds so good it was worth the minor inconvenience while they ironed out a few minor issues with HDMI handshakes. I love the build quality and the performance of my Krell equipment. The 600 model is the generation before the 600c. It does not have cast capability. I owned the 450MCX (extended frequency range)a few years ago and loved them. I have A-B'd Krell's mono to stereo amps and easily noticed an improvement in 3-dimensional sound staging and instrument seperation (air) with the mono blocks. I felt the MCX (450 MCX)generation high frequency reproduction was brighter (in a good way) and more pristine than the earlier generations (which tend to be a bit on the dark side). The 450 MCX also did a better job on transients. If you can find a pair of reasonably priced 450 MCX (monoblocks) in excellent condition, you should buy them. They will perform better than the two pieces you are considering. They are great sounding amps. If you do not match up with equally high end pre-amp, you are wasting your money.

and 2 S-275's

Matjet.

I started a previous thread looking for info on the S-150 and the S-275. I now have my sights set on the S-275. I cannot find any reviews...what is your take on this amp? I would run it in stereo (I assume since you have two you're running them in mono...?).

Anyway, this is the only relatively powerful Krell within my budget and I would love to hear about it from someone with experience...

Thank you.

_Ben

I am using two Krell Evo 600E monblocks for R/L channels with music and home theater. The Evo 600e is a stunning amp. I use two Krell S275 amps for home theater only. One S275 amp is used to bi-amp my center channel speaker (my processor has 2 center channel outs) and the second S275 for the two surround channels. The S275 replaced my Krell 3X250 amp. I use cast for the 600E's, balanced connections for the S275's. The S275 is a much better amp than the 3X250 Krell. Since I don't use them for music, I don't have a feeling for their ability to create a 3 dimensional sound stage, dynamics, tight bass, transients, speed as I do with the Evo600e's. I have had no problems with the S275's, I like them very much. They are dead quiet and they provide more power than I need. They probably perform much better than the small Krell 150 monoblocks, which recieved very positive reviews. They are compact in all dimensions except for depth and weigh 50lbs each. The S275 is very nice, but it is not in the same class as the evo amps. If you plan to use the amps for music only and you don't want to pay the cash for a new Krell EVO e series amp, I advise looking for two Krell 450 mcx or 650 mcx monoblocks. I owned the 450 mcx's and loved them. They are great, extended frequency range amps (fast, detailed, 3 dimensional sound stage, great instrument seperation, nice highs, great tight detailed bass). They will not fit into a rack as well as the S275. You should be able to pick them up for a great price if you can find them. But keep in mind, you need a very good preamp and/or processor with the high end amps to get them to sound their best. I think the pre-amp/processor is every bit as important as the amp, if not more important. Hope this helps. Good luck.