Krell EVO 302 or 302e

More power is an advantage even with un-power hungry speakers.

I have heard the Krell Evo 402 directly A-B'd to the 402e and the improvement with the 'e' model was immediately evident to all in the room, more open and cleaner, smoother and more natural top end, a significant improvement. FWIW from several long conversations with Dan and Brett D'Agostino the more power the amps have in the Evo line the better they sound, before leaving/getting kicked out of Krell, Dan was working on a two chassis 1,800 Watt Evo amp....

When you buy Krell, go big!

I have tried both brands. Both brands sound good but if you like your XA 30.5 you will not like the sound of the Krell. The Krell sound is a bit dry for my taste. I have a Pass Labs X350.5 and did have a Krell EVO 302 and 402 in my home for evaluation before buying my X350.5. I also owned a XA30.5 for for 5 months that used for a speaker project and liked it better than the Krell amps. The delicate detail, smoothness, sound presentation, wide open soundstage and tonal balance was all better with the Pass Labs. Both brands have different design philosophies. Krell amps have very complicated circuit and power supply designs. The Pass Labs use very simple and straight to the point circuit and power supply designs. I find myself turning up the volume on the Krell amps to get the detail and then other problems would occur and then I want to turn it down because now my ears are fatigued. It is a vicious cycle with the volume control. The Krells sound good for 5 to ten minute demos and then I am done listening. The newer big Krells are Class A/B. Class A is different kind of power. It is much more rich, open then class A/B. 30 Watts of Class A is the equivelant of 90Watts of Class A/B in most cases depending on design, input impedance, and headroom. I will upgrade to the Pass Labs XA160.5 mono blocks sometime this comming summer.

Well so many people so many opinions. I have the Pass XP20 and XA160.5 driving my Wilson Sasha. Recently I upgraded to Krell EVO600 mono blocks + Krell EVO222 using cast cable. The Krell sounded better on the Wilson in every aspect, more detail, more air, more open, bass control better. The most detail was however the speed. The Krell was faster and more dynamic.

On the Wilson speakers I preferred the Krell setup. On other speakers the choise may of course be a diffent one.

My audio friends all had the same opinion. On the Wilson the Krell was a better match.

Peter

I just this past Friday picked up my Krell EVO 402 which was upgraded at Krell to the 402e spec amp. New faceplate, new box, etc. They told me that it would need a week or so of break-in to sound the way it should sound.

The change in sound quality was apparent from the moment it was plugged in. I forgot immediately all the cursing I had done moving that heavy amp back into the system. It is an amazing upgrade in sound quality. Much more than I ever expected.

The sound? Instrumental parts are more clear, the sound presentation is fuller and warmer. The echo on tracks (both concert hall echo and studio recording echo) is shorter, more accurate, less ring. There is a more open presentation of the overall sound, but especially more open and relaxed in the top end. Dynamics are more apparent but also more relaxed; if that sounds confusing then let me say that everything sounds more like music than before.

It is a huge upgrade in sound quality for the money. Krell did the upgrade in a week and it is worth every penny--and I have only been listening for 24 hours. I am eager to see what develops after a week.