Classic Integrated Question: Krell or Classe?

@jsbach

i didn’t know you had owned a bad sounding krell before... now you know what they say about life and making the same mistake twice, right??? :)

on the q about xlr’s... it is a bit complicated... normally, with properly implemented balanced outputs and circuitty, the voltage swing will be double of a single ended one ...

...however ... many pieces and manufacturers will provide an xlr connection on their gear -- but only as a convenience... the circuitry is not balanced, and thus only one of the two hot pins are powered relative to the ground center pin... so you have in this case a single ended voltage swing carried in a balanced connector

so bottom line is it depends on the gear... hope this helps

Update: picked up a classe cap-150 and it sounded really good—when it worked. It kept cutting out on the r channel and after some research, found out this is a common problem with this particular model. Didn’t want to fool with it, so it was returned for a refund. 
Just recently picked up a creek destiny integrated and so far it sounds very nice. I prefer the preamp in passive mode as I feel it provides an even more open and wider sound. I sold my Rotel 991 and have an Arcam irdac on the way to use with both my iPhone (Amazon music) and to use with a Cambridge cxc transport for cd playback. 
The only other integrated I’m curious about is the Ayre ax7e. I’m curious how that would compare to the destiny? 
As for cabling, I’m using mogami speaker cable and interconnects via jerry at 10 audio. What are others using with this combo that compliment the destiny’s neutral sound and the Vandersteen’s well-mannered sound? 

@jsbach1685 

try a belles aria or a hegel

they are very very good

Im a Classe fan!  I had a CA-150 and CA-200.  Great amps.  
The Ayre Ax-7e was one I was strongly considering lately but someone contacted me and offered me a Belles Aria for a fair price in the color I wanted, silver, so I went for it.  The pairing with my Schiit Gumby and Fritz Carrera BE’s is heavenly 😁

I had some 2ce’s mkii not sigs, so I’m slightly familiar with those... I think the Belles Aria would pair well.  The Ayre looks like a really nice one too so I’m not sure you can go wrong with either.  
With all this in mind, I do think I still preferred my Classe CA-200 and lightspeed attenuator best.

jsbach1685
AYRE is a sonic match for Vandy speakers. The Creek Destiny is  no slouch. Those two integratedd amps are close in power output. It is come down to a matter of taste. Consider an AYRE AX-5 for even more power output to drive those Vandy 2CE Signature loudspeakers.

Happy Listening!