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Mark Levinson No. 20.6 vs. Krell KRS 200 vs. Krell KAS

Hi Everyone:

I am PERHAPS Contemplating Selling My ML No. 20.6's to Purchase a Set of Krell KRS 200's which I have always wanted. I am though Very Satisfied with the Sound of My 20.6's and I am afraid, that although the KRS 200's will undoubtedly improve the Bass Area, that this improvement will come at the expense of Fine Micro-detailing, where I believe, that the 20.'6s are some of the best amps perhaps ever produced.

I am from Europe, so I would like a 220-240V Version of the KRS 200's, Which is also what I have read, gives the best results sound-wise. Regarding though, which Power-Installation I should install, then I would like to ask, that since these Amps have a Power Consumption of 160Watts EACH, what kind of Breakers should I install in my house? I've heard, that if you install too small Breakers, then they will either have the Breakers cut out or they will sound too "Thin" and/or  "Hungered" for more Power. But what are "Too Small" Breakers? Would a Dedicated 20 Amp Breaker for EACH Amp be enough? I could install both 30, 40 or 50 Amp Breakers, but I have to say, that I Very Rarely Hear music at Loud Volumes. I Prefer to sit late at night and hear music at fairly low levels, so the question is, where to stop Breaker-wise? Perhaps both 30 and 40 Amp. Breakers is still Recommendable as well as Wise, but the question is, whether a 50 Amp Breaker for EACH Amp, isn't Overdoing it??? What do you guys say?

What is Your oppinions about this? Have any of you heard both The 20.6's and the KRS 200's either together side by side or with some time-span in between?

Another Question is regarding the KRS 200's in comparison to The KAS's. Some say that The KRS 200's are The Best Pure Class A Amps, Krell has ever made, but how does it compare to the KAS's, which have Sustained Plateau Biasing instead?

Any and Every Comments and Experiences are Very Welcome.

Have a Great Audio Day.

Sincerely Thomas.

128x128ferrari365gtb
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
The breaker should be pretty high in value, as the KRS draw a lot pf juice out of the wall when they are first powered up--the lights at my dealer dimmed when that happened, and I'm sure that a 15 and maybe even 20 amp breaker would have tripped.  After that, since they are class A in operation, I believe that they will draw the same amount of current from the wall throughout operation, whether you listen loudly or not.  As for the other question, I have only heard the KRS (not the KAS), driving Duntech Sovereigns and original Thiel CS5s, and that remains the best sound I ever heard out of either of those speakers.  I felt the earlier Krell, Class A biased amps easily bested the "S" series that followed, the first with the sustained plateau biasing, but never heard the KAS, which I'm sure was a better, more cost-no-object design than the KSA s units.  Hopefully someone can give you more information about the KAS.
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,778 posts
 
I would not buy a used KRS 200 due to the amps age, and you may not be able to get the amp serviced by Krell, also an amp which is quite old usually needs new caps which would be expensive. 

We have a client that has the Krell MRA Master Reference Amplifiers, the $125,000.00 600 lb ultimate statement by Mr. Dagastino and he has a problem with one of the amps and it is very difficult to service it.

On another note, we brought over a T+A HV 3000 A $19,500.00 300 watt Class A/B amplifier and it smoked the $125,000.00 Krell I kid you not!




ferrari365gtb's avatar
ferrari365gtb OP
20 posts
 

Dear rcprince:

Thanks for your knowledge. I BELIEVE that there shouldn't be a problem in getting either 30, 40 or 50 Amp Breakers, but I'm not sure, I'll have to ask the electrician, who built the house, what the maximum Ampage, the installations can take. Regarding the light dimming, when turn on, that is something I already experience, when turrning on my No. 20.6's. Of course we are talking about some serious juice here, but still when you say, that it would probably trigger a 20 Amp Breaker, then it kind of sounds like the KRS doesn't have any circuit to dampen the huge current draw at start-up??? I know my 20.6's do have that, although the lights still do dimm, when turned on, but doesn't the KRS 200 have any such dampening circuitury when turned on???

I don't know either, which is the best, the KRS 200 or The KAS. That's why I really want to know, since again, many have said, that the KRS 200's are the Ultimate Amps, which Krell ever made...

Sincerely Thomas.

gs5556
1,233 posts
 
Check the fuse size on the amplifier. If it is under 16 amps then you can use a 20-amp circuit breaker and that would be plenty. 1600 watts at 220 volts is less than 8-amps so I would be surprised if the amplifier mains fuses are greater than 10-amps each.

I have had my 20.6's for 25 years and I have yet to hear an amp that can make me retire them. 
ferrari365gtb's avatar
ferrari365gtb OP
20 posts
 

Hi audiotroy:

Thanks for your comment. I am not that turned off by, having to recap them. I have just spent $5000USD on Servicing my No. 20.6's at an Authorized Repairshop and from there I got an Certificate of Authenticity and For Correct Service and Repair with Original Parts Authorized from ML Themselves and this has brought me peace of mind as well as a Huge Price Increase if I should decide to sell them. Apart from this, the seller says, that they have both been recapped and so that shouldn't be a problem, but of course, I will run it by my cousin, which has his own repairshop for high end audio, just to be sure.

I Never liked tthe MRA's They are too big and unhandy and are practically unsellable, unless you practically give them away for a price, which is far from thei Original Price. I never understood, why, if Krell Absolutely wanted to make a statement amp, why they didn't just do, what they did with the KAS, with Power-supply and Audio-part Seperate. With the 314 Kilos, which each Monoblock weighs, then at least each part would "ONLY" weigh around 160-170 kilos, which at least is manegable, between 3-4 people, which 314 Kilos, sure as hell ain't.

I don't know much about T+A, other than  they supposedly are german in Origen and High on the hit-list of the german magazine "Audio".

My Ultimate Amps would be a set of Pass Labs XS300's, but they are to far out of reach for me economically and besides, I just always wanted to try out the KRS 200's, but Gotta sell the 20.6's first, which I'm not sure I really wanna do, since they really do sound Amazing...

Sincerely Thomas.

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