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Amazingly Close to Krell Sound

Hi,
A few years ago, I sold my Krell KSA 80B to my brother in law. 80 lbs was nothing to a tree climber with his own landscaping business. Well, diabetes has caused huge health problems in the last few years and he's asking me to help him.
He loves the Krell sound. But he has absolutely no energy to move his amp. Each time his health fails further (recently lost a toe) he has to get help moving his amp. (moved from his own home to a large one floor apt. then from there to a floor in his brother's home) Folks don't mind doing it, but that's not what he wants. We've read about the KSA 50 being warmer, and that appeals to him, and he likes the KSA 80b's sound. Here's what we were wondering:
1. ...of the Krell owners, what is the closest company to the Krell sound? PASS? Spectral? Who?
2. How much do the KAV amps different from the KSA amps if there is no answer to #1 as any other amp being close?
3. I'm going to have to sell his KSA80, I'll send it back to Krell for their stamp of approval, and sell it here and have it shipped from there. So what can I get him for about $800 that will be 40lbs and sound as absolutely close as possible.
I'm sure you folks can help me. Krell experience a must for this one.
Yes, I know system dependancy is important, but we'll leave that as a constant, "you've had Krell, you've loved Krell" and go from there.
he's had yamaha NS500's Ns 1000's, VanderStein 3's, and is now running some I built for him with Vifa aluminum dome (like the Vanders) and Dynaudio 7's, polyprope caps with teflon bipass caps and silver clad 6 9's copper wire. Now that he's going with smaller woofers, that tight solid bass is a must. He's running a Krell KAV 250CD and a McIntosh tube FM Tunor, into a Krell PAM-5 pre.
Okay, another post for more help on this, so we can stay on topic. Help... I really want to help him.
Thanks
spiro
nolitan
865 posts
 
i put my hands on those DNA 0.5 or DNA 1. I have krells before and while they are good, i find them a tiny grainy. The mccormack is smoother and tube like with details.
spiro OP
115 posts
 
Okay, thank you all.
So will the McCormack or Aargon have the bass? Or are they similar there with different musicality?
What about those PS Audio amps? Are they of the same league as the McCormack and Aragon?
jsolo
6 posts
 
Why not a Krell integrated amp? A KAV 300i can be had for about $1000.00,& it has as close to a Krell sound as you can get & weighs About 30 lbs.
glenn_garza
61 posts
 
I have had an Aragon 8008BB for many years driving my not too efficient (and full range) Mirage M3si. If the bass gets to the amp, and you provide it enough juice (no crappy AC filters), the bass will certainly come out. And it will be extended, but more importantly, well controlled. However, there are aspects to the 8008 that should be identified, based on the original post.

Either model of the Aragon 8008 weighs a lot more than 40 LBS. I beleieve the ST comes in at around 65LBS, while the BB is around 75 LBS (extra transformer). In addition, and depending on speaker, I did not find the Aragon's sound quite the same as some Krell amps. As an example, driving a pair of Thiel 3.6 or 7's, the Aragon definitley added some grain and an electronic edge to piano compared to an FPB 200. In fact, it was quite bad on the 7's. I cannot say what the Krell 80B sounded like to me as I never heard it.

The sonic differences, while still there, were less audible on other speakers such as Wilson or the Mirage. I could not afford the Krell, so bought the Aragon. It served me well for many years. Properly matched and setup, it has been musical, detailed, and sounded pretty good most of the time. I enjoyed rock, blues, jazz, etc., with this in my system, and it boogied pretty darned well.

Other than the weight, I do not know that you can get one in good condition for $800.00.
phd
1,283 posts
 
I beleive the McCormacks will have better bass than the Aragons although both are very good amps in their own way. I know one reviewer compared the DNA-1 very favorably to a Krell amp but admittingly gave the Krell amp the final nod for having state of the art bass. The McCormacks presentation is more forward sounding where as the Aragons sound is more layed back but both portray a very large soundstage. You know it just comes down to what characteristics are most important to you. I could easily recommend either one.
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