Krell primer?

I purchased a KSA-150 many years ago new.
I just recently sold it on ebay for well over $1,000.
A few months before I sold it, I called Krell to see if they still serviced the 15ish year old amps. "of course" was the answer.
I really expected them to laugh at me and suggest I buy a new Krell.

The unit went to Krell, got a refurb job...and it came back good as new.

Over the years I've seen dozens of opinions of the old Krell Amps...pretty much love/hate. The KSA-150 was a brute, built like a tank. Pure transistor sound... Very little if any character to the sound in my opinion. I fed it with a tube preamp and was extremely happy. If you're looking for a bit of mellow to be part of the power amps character, you'll probably not like the old KSA's.

If I were to state a few words on it's sound:
dead solid bass
fast
on the dry side
probably zero.zero 2nd harmonic distortion

UPS managed to drop the KSA during shipping and all 4 feet got sheared off! I dismantled the thing for repair. Krell amps are built extremely solid. My new $5,000 amp from another manufacturer, while being well built, is not in the same class as my old KSA.

If you locate an old KSA in good working shape, I can't imagine how you'd be disappointed, unless of course you are looking for it to exhibit a specific sound character.

My KSA got plenty warm, but it drove my Maggie 3.6s fine. On a hot summer day with little air-conditioning I used to worry about it, but it never exhibited anything other than good solid performance.

Good luck

The FPB series of amps were Krells pinnacle of design in regards to musicality. The FPB600 is a classic amp with complete control combined with amazing tone color and texture, rivaling many high powered tube amps, minus the problems. Even up to the 700cx series, the amps are musical, extended and full of color and life. They run hot and need good ventilation, but rarely give you any problems...none of mine ever caused a problem. Dollar for Dollar, they offer a value unsurpassed in the high end used marketplace.

You are better off with old Krell amplifiers than preamps. Generally speaking they are much cheaper to fix. If you purchase any Krell product older than 10 years old you should plan on having it serviced. The old preamps can represent well over a thousand to repair.

The other thing I have noticed with Krell is that younger people seem to like them more than older people. I was a Krell dealer at one time. It is excellent equipment, but does it have the sound you want. Good luck.

The KCT with a FPB300 or higher and the right associated equipment would be wonderful.