Krell amplifier with Hales speakers?

I used a Krell KAV 250a amp with Hales Concept 3's and found the sound a little too aggressive and bright. I had much better success using Balanced Audio Technology VK 200 with the Concept 3's. In fact, I still use the BAT with my Hales Transcendence 5's (similar sound to Revelations). If you decide to go with Krell I would avoid the KAV line and go with a FPB.

I guess that I wasn't aware that the Hales speakers are so hard to drive. THey do tend to sound on the bright side, but they are pretty good in the lower region. I have about 4000 dollars total for preamp and amplifier in my budget. I don't think that I will be able to find any fpb amplifiers at a price to leave enough for a good preamp.

These speakers are not inherently bright. Your electronics are not able to drive them properly and your speaker is telling you that very clearly.

I've got a Krell Ksa-250 driving Apogee Duetta Signatures, If you are thinking of the Ksa-150 then this is a better amp for a few hundred more. The Ksa-250's sound is a hair towards the softer side of neutral ( I've not listened to your speakers ) but do know that they drop below 4ohms at around 50hz-200hz region.

The Ksa-250 is a monster amp, this brings to the table a few problems for some people.

1. 145lb.
2. Needs 20amp circut
3. Class A to around 50 watts so runs on the warm side
4. you need one that has been serviced in the last few years, shipping on this amp is big $$$..I know because I had mine serviced about 1.5 years ago.

That said, this is a very good sounding amp and IMO sounds as good as the small FPB's..the main reason I still have mine. These can be found at around $2,200 with resent service if you take your time looking.

Dave

Bfuehrer, you are smart to be looking for a powerfull separate amplifier for your great speakers. I agree with Kevinkwann in that a system with Hales does not have to be bright, but I wouldn't claim that Hales tweeters are not bright. They are quite correctably bright.

Also Hales are no SO hard to drive. If they were, your integrated would not still be working. They are, however, a deep well for wattage and benefit from a fairly stable amp. The impedance and phase are plotted in the archived review section of Stereophile's website.

There are not so many suitable amps in your price range that you cannot investigate most of them. One I think you should consider is the Classe CA-300. I'm not claiming its categorically the best amp for the money, but it gets along with Hales very well, without brightness. Another high power amp company that springs to mind (that I have no experience with) is McCormack.

As far as preamps you can do better than Krell.