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D'agostino amplifiers: where's the beef?

So I've owned two of the classic monster Krell amplifiers from the distant past, the KSA 50 and later the KSA 250.  Both great amplifiers in their time and both collectible for those interested in that kind of stuff.  I'm generally a fan of D'agostino as a consequence.

I'm currently shopping for a new solid state amplifier to pair with potentially new speakers (Wilson or YG or Von Schweikert or Magico or Joseph - long story for another day).

 So recently while auditioning at my local dealer the system was powered by the current D'agostino M400 mono amplifiers.  While the sound was good I couldn't help but notice how TINY the $65K amplifiers were sitting on stands near the speakers.  OK they had nice metal work and were shiny but I couldn't help wonder WHY are these things so expensive?!  Later at home photo's of the insides of these amps on Google led me to wonder even more!!  The power supplies and interior construction in these things are nothing like the monster supplies and parts in the classic Krell's

Plus while the Krell's were expensive in their day (with great sound) the current D'agostino's have absurd pricing, far exceeding inflation.  

Are people spending this kind of money for fancy heat sinks?  Really?

I'd rather have an old Krell and a new Porsche Boxster or C8 Corvette for the same money.

Any one else have similar impressions?
bobbydd
cakyol's avatar
cakyol
940 posts
 
Consider a Pass labs class A amp and never look back. The only unfortunate side effect would be that your A/C bill may shoot up in the summer but very few others come close. 
erik_squires
16,784 posts
 
If you listen to Pass, Luxman, Ayre and D'Agostino you'll definitely come away with a strong preference. :-)

I have to say that if you strongly like Pass, you'll probably dislike the others and vice versa.  In the case of Pass, speaker matching is really important so don't try to listen in the store to speakers different than your own.

Best,
E
nyaudio98
420 posts
 
This is a topic that csn last for a longggg time....obviously we as humans are. We as humans  are much about what looks good. For the money....What sound good or better?? 
wolf_garcia
6,793 posts
 
Most SS gear has a relatively low design bar and I do like the D'Agostino esthetic. I also like simple tube amps as they also often have a "steam punk" vibe like the adorable Dennis Had Firebottle HO I currently prefer. The only reason D'Ag charges what they do is because they can...performance is relative and I seriously doubt these things would make me happier than my Had amp which is a hand assembled masterpiece at a tiny fraction of the cost of a D'Ag.
decathlon1991
222 posts
 
The question of the day is how does it stack up to tube amplifiers. Example;
- Audio Research Reference 250SE
- Audio Research Reference M160
- VTL Wotan
- Cary Audio CAD805 AR or RS
- Jadis various monoblock 
- McIntosh MC2301 or MC901 (Hybrid)
etc.
That’s the test of the day or what you may prefer in sound. I remembered a Stereophile article with Cary Audio CAD805 AE compared to Krell KSA-300S.
check it out. You can focus on specs or how it sound in your listening environment. The choice is yours.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/cary-audio-design-cad-805-monoblock-power-amplifier-sam-tellig-a...
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