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First foray into Class A amp -- recommendations

Thinking of checking out a Class A(or quasi) amp just to see if the sound is really better than a nice Class A/B amp. I want to buy a used amp and my budget is $2500-3000. My current class A/B amp is a McCormack DNA-1 Deluxe, rev. A.

I've been looking at a lot of amps here on A'gon and what I have come up with so far is the Krell KSA-200S, which, from what I read in reviews, operates largely in Class A into 8 ohm loads up to 200 wpc.

Considering that my McCormack is a pretty decent amp, do you expect that the Krell would offer a significant upgrade in my priority areas of bass slam and control, mid range transparency, and natural high frequencies? I also welcome any other suggestions or ideas. Thanks!
mtrot
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
@Mtrot, you might look into CODA amps since you are using Legacy speakers. Bill Duddleston is a big fan of CODA, in fact, he had them design and manufacture his Legacy line of amps and preamps. CODA also designed and built amps for Innersound. CODA is an offshoot of Threshold too, started by three former Threshold engineers.

I own a CODA Model 11 amp, a 100 wpc pure Class A design that weighs in at about 85 pounds. These can be had for under $2K on the used market. Currently I am using a tube amp, but I will hold onto the CODA amp because I don't think it can be beat for the $$$, and it makes for a nice change of pace. Do a little research and check out CODA Technologies.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I would judge an amp by how good it sounds. Who cares what type of design it is?
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,826 posts
 
I'm not as well versed as most here but I have a Burson integrated that's a Class A/B desing which operates in Class A (or so I was told) up to near it's maximum rating and there is something special about that Class A sound that is bequiling.

Having rather efficeint speakers, I've never had to run it full out and never exceeded 1/3 full volume to have as loud as I needed so maybe that explains why it was always so bewitching to listen to.

The upside to all of this is that it never got really hot.

All the best,
Nonoise
lrjetpilot
1 posts
 
I am looking at Accuphase Class A amps which have recently seen upgrades to their Amps A-36 and A-70 with 30 watts and 65 watts into 8 ohms respectively. Double that into 4 ohms and quadruple that into 1 ohm.

Does anyone have experience with Accuphase for the question here?
soix
9,456 posts
 
I think you're making a mistake getting another amp if you're also looking at getting new speakers sometime soon. I'd figure out the speakers first and then figure out which class A amp you want to play with. It may turn out that 30 class A Watts are more than enough depending on your speaker choice. That said, if I'm you I'd be very tempted to try the Pass XA 30.5 on sale here as it seems like it could drive your current speakers, and if you need more power in the future you could likely sell it for little loss. Best of luck.
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