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When to recap a late nineties Krell Kav 250 A.

Greetings everyone. I have a Krell 250A which bought used in 1998 and to me it works just fine. The original owner had it for about 2 months.

I have heard that you have to recap the amp at some point, however I can not hear any degradation in sound. I did replace some fuses and failed to see if the caps are swollen or leaking. The amp has always been connected to a Tice Power Conditioner and sometimes I don't listen to it for a weeks or longer. My wife and I travel a bit and I just unplug it. Suggestions?? 

While we are at it, I have heard that Krell may be filing for Bankruptcy and may not be able to get parts or service in case it's needed. Thanks in advance and best regards. 
pivetta
pivetta OP
46 posts
 
Hi Matt. Thanks for your reply. The amp does run hot but it has good ventilation and honestly it does not sound brittle. I must say that it sounds better after two hours of being on. A bit softer and mire liquid. It does not have the buttery or romantic sound of tubes but I would hate to waste money just because it is the thing to do. Best regards. 
unsound
7,336 posts
 
The KAV series was Class AB, and not amongst Krell's most sought after models. Recapping Krell's are rumored to be expensive, make sure it's worth it.
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
If it is working and sounding fine, leave it alone! I have many vintage amps that are still working and have yet to have any caps fail!
pivetta OP
46 posts
 
Thanks to unsound and roberjerma. Krell sent me a quote about a year ago of about $800 plus the shipping cost to their shop in CT from NC which would be about $80. They are fetching about $1200-$1400 in the used market and I feel that I would be wasting money. I may have a local tech here in NC to take a peek inside. 
willemj
1,036 posts
 
That is a pretty hefty price for a simple operation. Component cost is quite low, and for a good service engineer it is not much work. If I remember correctly Quad UK charges a bit over $100 for a similar service to their power amps. Some years ago I had a Quad 303 serviced by a Dutch service engineer for, if I remember correctly, about 200 euro. That included a compete replacement of all caps and all resistors, plus replacing the little red Tungsten light by a red LED for lower noise. So I am sure you can get it done for far less.
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