Chinese knock-off headphone amps

Simple rule to adhere to. If it is on ebay or amazon figure 90% is counterfeit knockoff china garbage. Even toilet paper from amazon is fake. Age old rule of thumb you get what you pay for and if it seems to good to be true it is. This is not only my opinion I know many people who work in customs that have confirmed this. I no longer by anything from amazon I go direct don’t care if it cost me shipping.

I have no clue what knockoff amps OP is referring to, since I didn’t even know that Krell made HPA’s. The truth of the matter though, since we’re discussing headphone amps, is that the best, most accurate ones on the market ARE made in China. Most of the best ones use THX Achromatic chipsets as their base, for example the SMSL SH-9 that I use, but there are plenty of great modes that don’t (Topping A90)

Would I be throwing my money away by purchasing one?

Probably.  Why would you want to support fraudulent businesses when there are great legit amps available from the likes of Singxer, Gustard, and others?  C’mon man.