Replacements for Dynaudio Floorstanders

Sorry I was going to say, the Hydra's come up for sale pretty often here on the 'gon.

Also if you are using the iMac for a source playing I assume ALAC, or Aiff files? Then using Amarra or Pure Music may also help with musicality..

Not sure what you will end up doing. But as a general rule, choose the speaker you love first, then find the right amp to make them sing. I think the Dynaudio 1.8 is a very fine, first-rate speaker, act accordingly. The Krell is a fine piece of gear too, but if you want a warm sound with it, I think you would need a speaker that is essentially inaccurate to the source and I'm not sure that is the way to go down the road as you build further upon what you have.

Pubul57 I'd have to sort of disagree with your last statement, all speakers are essentially inaccurate to some degree or another. It's a matter of finding the speakers who's inaccuracies most closely agree with ones tastes.

You're right on both points, they are all inaccurate and one
must seek the sound they prefer, but some are more accurate
then others and those that are will not be warm with Krell
because the more accurate the speaker the more it resolves
the characteristics of what proceeds them in the chain. If a
speaker can manage to make Krell sound warm, I would say the
inaccuracy is significant.

Have you ever heard your speakers sound great, in another
system or with another amp where you really liked the sound,
and with the warmth you are looking for? For example, they
would sound quite different (better in my view) with a Pass
XA series amp, or their integrated, just examples of SS amps
with some degree of "warmth". The Dynaudio brand in general
will tend to sound like what proceeds them as they tend to
be more accurate than most and a clearer window to what is
on the "other side" (I think they are very desirable
speakers).

There is also the issue of warmth versus bloom where we use
the same words to mean different things or different things
to say one thing we have in mind. For example, a tube amp
like the Music Reference RM200 (or an older RM9) would
certainly give you bloom, but little of the type of warmth
that I think might be what you did not like about your
testing of tube amps - they do differ quite a bit, tube amps
that is, but what they do provide is the addictive bloom
that tube lovers love - they don't all love warmth (which
can be pejorative depending what one has in mind when using
the word).

Since this is a free-for-all, I will throw my hat in the ring: I think the OP's warmth problem has nothing to do with his speakers. I think it's 50% the Krell and 50% the Benchmark. Changing either or both might solve the problem. Changing the speakers, I fear, will be a frustrating lesson in misdiagnosis.

Of course, I am guessing, like everyone else.

Bryon