Replacement for KSA-50

I'd keep an eye on e-bay. They show up from time to time there. After securing one, you might want to send it to Thiel for inspection. A bit of needed maintenance on the Theil eq's is not unheard of. Thiel tends to be very generous about doing such things. Using an off the shelf eq might work, but then you'll have many more switches in the signal path, most of which have nothing to do with your intended purpose. I think Thiel was originally suggesting that one could use some of the after market eq's such as the JP Labs Golden Flutes that were being marketed during the time that Thiel was making the 3.5's. Those can be quite difficult to find now. Before Thiel ran out of replacements eq's, I believe they were charging $600 for a replacement. Comparable quality in a cheap multi use off the rack eq would seem like a rather dubious effort in my opinion, especially considering your previously posted concerns.

Something for you to think about..... An amp with the age of yours and one that runs hot like yours will need the power supply caps replaced. This can be done by any competent repair shop or DIY guy. I have done this on severals amps. Understand it is time for this in your amp.

You may want to be proactive and do this maintance on both channels so they match. If you plan to keep this wonderful amp, then think of it as preventative maintanence much like your cars 105k scheduled maintence.

I see no reason you MUST send it to Krell. This can be done by a skilled local person if your luckily enough to have a shop near you. They can replace caps known to cause issues. May cost you far less also.

But first have it tested of course...

The Krell KSA-50 is a great amp also runs hot. It is a good ides to replace the four original 40000uF/75V filter capacitos with 47000uF/100V caps. I recommend either Nichicon 47000uF/100V or Epcos 47000uF/100V caps. Nichicon is made in Japan. Epcos is made in China. Also Cornell Dubilier 47000uF/75V caps made in USA will also work. Total cost $375.

Thanks for this tip! I will keep this in mind . Will this replacement do any SQ improvements or does it just make the amp less hot?

Thanks,