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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
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Getting a Class A amp doesn't guarantee any type of specific sound. Also, its very hard to isolate what portion of an amps sound quality is due to it being Class A, or some other factors. I know my answer won't be very popular because I'm not giving you recommendations on specific models that you can act upon right away, but if you do some listening, you'll probably find it to be truthful.
mtrot OP
804 posts
 
Hey, thanks for all the advice. Got to hear the Krell FPB 300cx yesterday, as well as a set of Pass XA-100.5, on the same speakers. With respect to authentic sound of instruments and voices, and a sense of depth and placement of the soundstage, it seemed to me Pass was clearly superior. Now, the Krell seemed a bit more dynamic, with more solid attack on percussive transients. I want the dynamics, but, dang, that true sound of the Pass is impressive. As I was told, however, the Pass SHOULD sound better, as you are talking about an $18,000 set of amps.
mitch2
4,008 posts
 
Getting a Class A amp doesn't guarantee any type of specific sound. Also, its very hard to isolate what portion of an amps sound quality is due to it being Class A, or some other factors. I know my answer won't be very popular because I'm not giving you recommendations on specific models that you can act upon right away, but if you do some listening, you'll probably find it to be truthful.
+1, Zd542 - I have found this to be exactly true, and based on his post above, the OP is finding this out too. The other lesson he will learn relates to the statement,
the Pass SHOULD sound better, as you are talking about an $18,000 set of amps.
Price and performance do not always correlate.

To Mtrot, if you want to run single-ended lines into balanced only amps, call Jensen or Lundahl transformers and purchase a set of input transformers for only a few hundred dollars. Assuming your amp's input impedance is sufficiently high, the transformers do a great job of single-ended to balanced conversion while also cutting down on noise.
phusis's avatar
phusis
1,211 posts
 
Melbguy --

Mtrot, I wouldn't get too hung up on Class A biasing to be honest, it is mostly marketing bs.

If the "marketing bs" regards how marketing itself misuses the term 'Class-A amplification' in its pure form (i.e.: disguised as high bias Class-A/B designs), Class-A in its strict sense is hardly to blame, nor is its sonic potential fully explored. By the same token marketing would have had its influence into making us fancy high power ratings, which in all practicality seems mutually exclusive with (true) Class-A designs.

Let's not forget what we're really fighting here: misleading marketing.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"09-12-14: Melbguy1
Mtrot, I wouldn't get too hung up on Class A biasing to be honest, it is mostly marketing bs."

Class A actually means something. Its an actual feature of the product. I wouldn't call it BS. Getting hung up in marketing, BS or not, is a choice. Sometimes learning about audio and selecting the right products is hard. And that's just the way it goes. But if you take the time to figure out what is right for you, and purchase accordingly, you'll be far happier in the end. If you don't, it never ends. lol.
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