I went for the upgrade from EVO 402 to the 402e. I was interested just for the electricity savings but also received a memo from KRell describing all the changes. I spoke to Patrick in service and he said that there would be a noticeable audio improvement. I have some experience with audio improvements and knew that there are degrees of improvements that are perceptible but not really significant. The cost of this upgrade is NOT insignificant but I went ahead and dropped off my amp at KRell.
I got it back in less than a week. It is quite nice that I live about 45 minutes from KRell and it is easy for me to make the trip. I went home, plugged in the amp to the system. I didn't even let it warm up.
The difference was so immediately apparent and really, honestly a HUGE improvement. I recommend it highly. In all ways the sound is better. Echo is more defined, the decay seems more realistic and shorter, less sound reproduction but more music, if that makes sense. The overall sound is more open and relaxed. There is less artifact--no system is perfect--and it is easier to listen to music. And the real treat was that it was easier to listen at low volumes and stay completely involved in the music. It would be difficult to isolate all the usual adjectives: highs, bass, sound stage, etc., but it is a much bigger and better improvement than I ever expected. It was more than worth the money. I was toying with monobloc amps which would have required me to do a whole system restructuring. This solved the problem. I am happy.
I got it back in less than a week. It is quite nice that I live about 45 minutes from KRell and it is easy for me to make the trip. I went home, plugged in the amp to the system. I didn't even let it warm up.
The difference was so immediately apparent and really, honestly a HUGE improvement. I recommend it highly. In all ways the sound is better. Echo is more defined, the decay seems more realistic and shorter, less sound reproduction but more music, if that makes sense. The overall sound is more open and relaxed. There is less artifact--no system is perfect--and it is easier to listen to music. And the real treat was that it was easier to listen at low volumes and stay completely involved in the music. It would be difficult to isolate all the usual adjectives: highs, bass, sound stage, etc., but it is a much bigger and better improvement than I ever expected. It was more than worth the money. I was toying with monobloc amps which would have required me to do a whole system restructuring. This solved the problem. I am happy.