2. amps-preamps
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Should I buy a new amplifier; and if so, what?

I have a Mark Levinson 336 amp, Levinson 380S pre-amp, Levinson 390S CD Processor and Thiel 7.2 speakers, with Audience interconnects, cables cords and an Audience AR-6TS2 conditioner. Recently, my amplifier's bad caps blew the drivers in my speakers (including the woofer and crossover circuitry) -- that will probably cost me about $3,000, and the replacement of the caps would cost another $3,000. So, I am contemplating purchasing a new amplifier. Can anyone suggest a good amplifier to consider for my system? Thiel said they have used Krell and Simaudio with the 7.2's with nice results, and probably a few others -- I need to re-contact Thiel's customer service rep. Any suggestions, recommendations from Audiogoners would be appreciated.
gapperis123
roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
$3,000 to replace caps? Brutal.
mechans
3,048 posts
 
Why not listen to what Theil tells you?? However, Krell won't be as warm as ML so you better be ready for a new overall sound. Want all class A how about Pass XA series? Again nothing beats auditioning equipment before you commit.
stevecham
3,340 posts
 
I can confirm that Krell will work fine for Thiels (400cx with CS6) and after ten years with this set up it is quite warm sonically and thermally, but also very revealing. I have no inclination to change amps and, so far, the caps are just fine.
dancer
56 posts
 
Look in to a Krell FPB 400cx. It's a nice sounding amp.
digepix's avatar
digepix
121 posts
 
I always find it interesting the fault protection on expensive amplifiers, there is none apparently. So now you're presented with $6000 repair bill just to get back to square one, no improvement or spend more money on a new amp. If you're left with those choices I would buy a new amp every 5 years just to be safe it might actually save you some money in the long run.
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