Krell Amps and Pre-amps

The earlier Krell amps were too dry and too analytical to my taste. The later ones are much better but they also cost a lot.

If you really want mono blocks, I think a better idea is to buy two high quality two-channel amp in vertical passive biamp configuration. For example, two two-channel Theta Dreadnaughts will give you a total of 400w with an over-killed 2200w power supply on each side, for a total cost of about $7000.

I owned a Krell KSA 100 and KAV150a and have recently gotten into Mcintosh. After getting my MC2125, I sold the Krells and wished I had done so long ago! The Krells were just too bright and dead. The McIntosh are so much more refined and musical that I practically cannot believe it. I just bought a MC7100 that is many times better than the KSA100 and makes me appreciate music, and not a collection of sounds. I will never go back to Krell now so IMO, Krell does not justify its cost to me any more.

Maybe I should start another thread on this but, has anyone had a chance to hear or heard how the new PS Audio line is? It looks interesting to me because I also plug my entire Krell system into the P1200/P600 power plants and never could go back. Maybe thats why my Krell sounds sweet to me because I have a good dedicated room with accoustic treatments and the power plants. PS Audio has a nice selection of multi chanel amps and even reference monos. They aren't supposed to require the power draw also that most amps require. Does anybody think they will sound good?

I have always liked PS Audio, they aren't flashy but they do a great job. I haven't heard their recent amps but I have great respect for their P plants. But one comment here: Any amp (or other component) that really needs a P plant is showing you that it doesn't have a good enough power supply section to start with, and this is unfortunately very common (although very good for PS Audio's sales!). In other words, the designer skimped on transformer size/quality and/or power supply filtering, so now you need a separate and expensive unit just to improve on the performance of the original power supply. It's vastly more cost-effective (and space-saving, and energy-saving) to do it right in the first place than it is to have to add an expensive power conditioner. Hence my preference for amps which are designed with high-quality, properly filtered power supplies in the first place, e.g., Ayre. The power supply is perhaps the most important part of a power amp, and it gets way too little attention by most manufacturers, probably mainly because it is also the most expensive part to do right.

As a former amp builder and now power supply designer, I agree 110% with Karls above. If you need power conditioners, you need to find better amps. Go for McIntosh and the others that design good power supplies from the start.