Vandersteen 5?

I own a pair that I bought used. They are superb sounding with Audio Research electronics and do not require a powerful amp. But the fact that they are upgradeable is irrelevant. I would have to pay several times what I paid for the 5s to have them upgraded. If you want the 5As it's much cheaper just to buy them used. (I haven't heard the most recent 5a Carbons.) In summary, I have no desire to upgrade and I plan to keep these for a long time.

While the Vandersteen 5 are great speakers, the Krell 400xi is no where close to the musicality of the class A Krell amps. In fact 400xi is a wannabe and highly compromised. Krell wanted an entry level player which doesnt sound harsh and thats all the 400xi is. I am saying all this because you are getting into much higher league with your speakers and this amp has every potential to disappoint you.

I have never heard the Krell and the only time I heard the 5s was at a show and I was underwhelmed. However, Pani makes a very good point. High resolution transducers tend to be very revealing (by definition) of upstream deficiencies. Can you bring the Krell w you for an audition.

Doen't disgard the Krell yet. It has received some excellent reviews and is not suddenly going to sound deficient with the 5s. (I have tried some high-end but not megabucks amps with this speaker. You probably won't have any issues.) In any event, the gentlemen above are correct about trying both the amp and speakers together. But it may be a pain because you need to open up the high pass filters and set them to match the input impedence of the amp. Hopefully your local shop has already set up the subwoofers for the room and is patient.

So where are these Vandys you say? And definitely don't buy them! Just give me the address and I'll handle everything.... :-)

But seriously, these are amazing speakers. I used to have a 7-channel Vandersteen system and can attest to how wonderful a designer Richard Vandersteen is; as a person, OTOH, he's a complete dick, which is why I am a FORMER owner (sold all seven). My main concern would be that if you do run into trouble and have to deal with him you can expect him to get pissy if he feels you are abusing 'his' speakers; shenanigans like that. However, despite my personal dislike for the man, his equipment is top notch and I've even considered buying another used pair. I think that's a testament to how good the equipment is, so I don't think you'll go wrong with the 5's.