Krell EVO 302 or 302e

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.

I have had some tubeamps over(ayon audio)recently and have had levinson and graaf gm 200 and some others .
The opinion that i have of krell ( i have the evo 400 monos )is that they are clean ,,...clean and in control/ dynamic, it takes a while to get used to because they dont have a sound and therefore no character and its hard to like something that way.

I upgraded my Krell Evo 600's to 600e's. I also own a 300e. I have owned a couple of S275's, and have a new 400e on order. All of these amps, including the S275 are great sounding amps. All of the Krell Evo amps are absolutely superb amps, just stunning. The music these amps reproduce sounds incredibly alive and beautiful, especially when paired with a Krell Evo pre-amp. If you are going to spend the money on an EVO amp, it makes sense to match it with a Krell Evo pre-amp; it makes a huge difference, especially with cast mmf cables. The evo e series improves the sound incrementally over the prior generation. Krell Evo audio equipment is among the very best available. I have never compared Krell evo to the Pass amp. I would expect the Pass to be a bit darker (like the older Krell's), the Krell Evo will probably sound faster more vibrant and life-like. It would be an interesting comparison. I would be curious to hear how you feel they compare. Maybe your dealer would give you a loaner to try out. Go for the E series (but match it with a Krell Evo pre-amp).