Primare I30 vs Krell KAV 400xi


I'm trying to decide between these two amps to power my Spendor S8e and Rega Apollo cd.
Has anyone experienced these amps good or bad?
Thanks in advance for your input.

AB
andrewboettcher
Darrell - Krell KAV-400xi has a strongly compromised power supply (750VA transformer - while proclaming 400Wpc/4ohms) and cooling devices...

Take a look the John Atkinson's measurments in Stereophile...

http://stereophile.com/integratedamps/205krell/index4.html

It seems quite poorly designed integrated.

Soundwise, I've been present at session where old Sansui Alpha 707 clearly overperformed the KAV-400xi (Dynaudio Contour 1.3Mk2 speakers, Rotel RCD-971 CDP).

As for a weight, I would always prefere 32 kilos and 100Wpc versus 16 kilos and 200Wpc. Matter of philosophy... In this particular case, lack of KAV-400xi weight indicates at least two facts, already mentioned: smallish transformer and undersized cooling devices...
Seems to be at least some truth to this arguement.... as I have heard the Krell runs rather warm and needs good ventilation.
I do want an amp that will live longer than its warranty.
interesting view.
AB
I have both Krell 400xi and Primare I30 smaller brother, the I21 at home.

All I can say that Krell is in a totally different league than Primare.

It is true that it runs VERY hot, but the same can be said about many audiophile amps - Lamm, Pass and the big Krells.