I think the thing that strikes me the most in this discussion of heat coming from an amp is the incredible inefficiency. Of course, Krell is not alone in this regard most Pure Class A designs will have the same problem within their respective wattage and current output. I, for one, really never gave it much thought regarding the energy usage for my beloved musical enjoyment hobby. But taken to its extreme, of inefficient design in amplication and speaker systems and some desires to rumble a buildings foundation, hi-end audio, and worse, Home Theatre, it is an incredible energy usage. This is particularily important when you think why we are meddling in the Middle-East. Oil! Our foreign policy is largely driven by Corporate economic considerations (cheap resources and cheap labor). Corporations and, unfortunately, the government (one could argue they are one in the same) try to convince us, quite effectively, that a measure of the person is how much they consume or how they have positioned themselves to consume rather than how they serve their fellow humans, animals, and the planet. Couple hundred years ago Andrew Jackson called this "Manifest Destiny" as he forced Indians to march in the dead of winter from their indigenous homes so we could have a better life at the Indian's expense rather than learning how to co-exist. Sustainability was not an issue then and it is not really today. Having a big short term party at every one else's expense the world over is a goal rather than a cause for grave concern (in light of recent tragic events). I love music delivered via hi-end audio. So knowing these things can really be boiled down to a series of mass balance equations, in terms of the big picture, I have become more energy aware and compensated in other parts of my life including chucking the idea of a Ford Expedition like "automobile", riding my bike when practical, getting local grown vegetables instead of having them trucked across the country, telecommuting whenever I can, raising the building temps in summer and cooler in winter, doing more near-field listening of my stereo so the volume does not have to be up as high, paying more attention to speaker efficiencies and simple room acoustic treatments, doing more things by hand like dishes and hanging laundary out to dry (remember the days before remote control and the related "Wall Worts" that suck power for the convenience of "instant on", this reminds of that old song that goes something like "in the year 2525 we wouldn't need our hands and we wouldn't need our...."), checking CDs out of the library, and so on and so forth. Krell and others companies make great equipment and we should be able to enjoy it! I think we still can morally if we are aware of and act in accordance of the big picture. This world is in this for the long run and so should all of us. I am seriously thinking about looking into the Bel Canto Digital Amp offerings because they are widely reported to sound great and are nearly 95% energy efficient (versus 10% of many Class A designs). The long term security of our great nation depends on understanding the big picture and this is something we can all influence by how we live our lives, no matter how hard Daddy Corporation tells us what a life is. Sorry to run on like this but the big picture is what more of us Americans have begun to think more about this past month and this is my small contribution.
