Krell KAV-2250 power, against HALO JC-1

OK, thanks to my wife one more way of looking at this amp compared to the FPB amps. When we first moved into this house about a year ago we did not get all the wiring done right away. That being said, plugging the FPB amps into a (new) 15 amp circuit in the house showed some problems right away. First the amps would sometimes not turn on, when I spoke to Dan D'Agostino about this he said simply "you have a power supply problem" and I new he was right. The FPB amps sounded strained on that small circuit. When I hooked up the 2250 temporarily, it did pretty well until I had some new 220V 30Amp runs installed. Although the 2250 also sounds better both on 220 Volts and a 30amp circuit, it sounded pretty damn good on the original wiring. I think if you rent or live in an apartment there is a very good chance a 2250 would sound and work better for you than the FPB amps in that situation. Plus the 2250 does not run that hot compared to the FPB amps at all.

I think the KAV 2250 is worthy of pairing with higher end preamps. I think it is an exceptional amp, you can pick one up used for about $2000 and I don't think there is anything in that price class that comes close. I have mine paired with a KRC-3 but I think a KRC-HR would be better, it's definitely good enough for the very best you have. I've also been curious what it would sound like with a Sonic Frontiers Pre 3?

It does not run all that hot for a Krell and is very comfortable to live with. I think this and the FPB 350M series amps are my favorite. I love the FPB 750MCX I also have but this KAV 2250 is so easy to deal with and has exceptional sound, very close to the FPB 750MCX amps. At normal listening levels you can easly hear it is something special and it is one of the best amps I've ever heard at low late night listening levels. It's so funny seeing people hear this for the first time with the B&W 801N speakers, they think of the amp as smaller and weaker and think of the speakers as bright and sloppy with the 15" woofers but together they are very musical and have a very dynamic, effortless sound. The mid-range is a little more predominant with this over my other Krell amps, but I don't want to exaggerate that, it is very subtle like a McIntosh in that respect. The bass is tremendous and very deep & TIGHT, it almost kind of shows off with the big B&W's on bass below 25 hertz, it can easily pressurize the room and you feel the big tight waves of bass filling the room and yet it starts and stops so quick. With this combo it's a physical thing you physically feel the notes from the midrange down, in your body, the couch and anything you touch in the room just like a live concert. Trebble and detail are far and away superior to my 300I (Krell Integrated) or Bryston 4BSST, more detail than any McIntosh. I feel like the imaging is somewhere between my FPB 300 stereo amp and the Mono FPB amps, up to it's power limit I don't know if I could blindly tell the difference between it and a Stereo FPB amp? The KAV 2250 is so good it should be the cheapest thing in the system, I really mean that. I think this amp was Dan's gift to the masses, bridged you have a 1000 watt amp into 8 ohms and 2000 into 4, it's a bargain if there is one in high end audio today. I use mine with all Silver Kimber Cables and in Balanced hook-up, it's just too good to use with Copper Cables. The only thing I don't like is the speaker connectors, they are the Euro plastic ones and are not as easy to work with.

The other thing to consider if you have the budget, the amp sounds better with 220V power on a 20amp circuit. On 115V it can blow a 15amp circuit breaker! The available Power makes a big difference. when you first plug it in expect it to take awhile to charge that big capacitor bank, mine took like 8 hours before it really started to sound good and strong.

Long winded here but I hope this helps and is accurate enough for you. If your on a budget, this is a wonderful amp, buy it and spend more on a preamp, source equipment and speakers you won't be disappointed. It does not sound like a tube amp but when you play SACD's and 192khtz X 24 bit files it can easily keep up with anything out there. It always sounds better than anyone expects it too, it sounds BIG and expensive.

a good friend has had a KAV-2250 in his system for many years. pairs them with Krell resolution II speakers and it sounds great. good control, detail and everything else that matters. doubt i'd ever think of comparing it to adcom anything as it's clearly steps above.

i have no experience with the JC-1's so i can't comment.

can't see why you couldn't match the 2250 with another pre. it might take some trial and error but i think a good none krell match could be found.

Well, a long time ago...

In December 2008 I became a proud owner of a pair of Krell Evo-400 monoblocks (will be upgraded to new Evo-400e very soon). Never had opportunity to see or listen to the now discontinued KAV-2250.

I know a guy from neighboring town who own a pair of Halo JC-1. We have swaped blocks a few times, and I can say much cheaper JC-1 is not slouch at all and performs pretty well in A/B vs superiorly classed Krell Evos... Overall Krell Evo-400 emerged a bit better (definition, musicality, but JC-1 proved more sparkling), but for money JC-1 is still value hard to beat.

No Long Paragraphs here from me. Straight to it -- Rob says it all.
Nice Wording!
scoutdog

I'm sorry but I cannot agree with Keis. I have and have had several high end amps, I have a KAV2250 and FPB750MCX amps. The KAV2250 is very powerful, clean and neutral, it is a very well engineered and solid amp. Pure class A all the way to the output transistors and a significant class A/AB Bias there too. 2000VA transformer and a huge capacitor bank, good clean layout and substantial wiring, its really honestly all there: adcom? Get real! These latest KAV amps pack a ton of detail, honestly they are very impressive sounding. The JC1 is a great amp but a Pass or FPB will show it up, but I dont think the JC1 does anything wrong at all. I can say the KAV2250 sounds much better than my Bryston 4B SST, Far better in every way! Better than the ML too, just look at the engineering and layout, the parts quality, the Class A biasing, Fully Balanced drivers.

I have my KAV 2250 hooked up to the little system with B&W 801N speakers that are not easy to drive and control, the KAV 2250 is exceptionally good with this tough speaker. I don't know, I guess if you are using something like Proac Tablettes it would be hard to tell the difference? Maybe?

Rob

I hate to sound snobbish but all the KAV line are not even in the same class as the FBP or other audiophile amps such as the JC-1. Don't get me wrong, if you are interested in home theater the KAV is great stuff (over priced in my opinion) but for a music only stereo system I'd consider other brands. Yes I've heard it....I'd buy Adcom first.

I don't know about Kav-280p,but I own Primare P30 and is a very,very good stereo preamp.Nice build and an analog sound,plus has a pass thru HT.Very hapy with the sound.Great math with Primare A 30.2.