Krell, Classe or Bryston?

I disagree with Leafs about the quality of sound that you get from a Krell amp. I own both a Bryston 4BST and a Krell KSA 200S. There is no doubt that the Krell has more drive capability for low impedance loads. That said I find that the Bryston 4BST sound as good (not better) with my speakers which are 6 ohm nominal. As far as cost there is no doubt that the Bryston is a much more cost effective approach. That combined with a 20 year fully tranferable warranty makes Bryston a best buy IMHO.

Rgd I agree the Bryston mono s would be a good buy and I well may go that route when I have my maggies. However SGR did not state a budget and I found when you're at this level of sound quality it takes some serious bucks to make the upgrade worthwile.I dont think its ureasonable to have to double the cost to make the next step up . It really depends what you can afford. I have also heard SimAudios monoblocks marketed as I think a W10 . They are very tight and if you ever got them broken in they provide a hugh surplus of current. chers steve

the classe' s are the smoothest, most musical of the group, IMO. they'd be my choice if i couldn't afford accuphase or boulder. a big problem with the krell gear, among many, is how quickly it becomes obsolete through the intro. of ever more models, nos., styles & names. hasn't been true of the classe or bryston. BTW, there is a huge difference between the lower end classe (much more like bryston) and the upper-range models like the cam and omega.

Best I've heard 3.6r's sound has been with Levinson 336 or the big Plinius in Class "A" mode. I've got 4 friends with these maggies and they all ended up with one of these amps or the other. Runner up: Hafler 9500/9505. Short money maggie solution not many folks are aware of. Great synergy between Hafler and Magnepan. Good Luck!

Cornfedboy is right about the stinging depreciation that you will experience buying a new high end amp. Krell's propensity to add new models has to hurt the resale value of the older models. This can be a plus if you are a buyer. You should be able to find a good deal on one of the KSA series if that is what you decide to get. You might want to go to a few dealers to demo the different amps suggested by the members. Buying makes a lot of sense from a value standpoint, but you are stuck with what you buy.