from a Krell SS- FPB 600 to What Tube Amp ?


I have been a Krell listener for 15 years, from the KSA-150 to the FPB 300 ,to now the FPB 600. I love the Power in Class A, and the great Bass that the Krell offers. But I think I maybe missing out here on some great tube amps. I think it is time to give a reasonable audition to some Tube Amps. IF I could please get some experienced answers , that would be much appreciated, like someone who has gone threw this transition . I know all the names of the best tube amps, but getting someone who has experienced this is very valuable to me. My budget is $5K- $8K used prefered, $$lower also works.

My System:

Meitner-EMM Labs DCC2 + Phillips cdp D.O.M ( Truly Amazing )
Kubala Emotion cables, all cables (***** Truly Amazing )
Walker Velociter ( Great Stuff )
Infinity MTS Preludes, 6 Ohms (also need to change)
Townshend Super Tweeters ( Great Stuff )
Krell FPB-600
macallan25

Showing 3 responses by rcupka

Rkuryl: I've only tried the Emotive Series. My dealer has told me the other Series are price/performance leaders. I'd
highly recommend finding a dealer that will let you take a "test drive".
Macallam25: I agree with EssentialAudio that before making a move on an amp you need to settle on speakers. That being said, I made it a point to find a speaker that matched well to my Joule Grand Marquis OTL's because IMO these amps were "keepers" after going thru a lot of gear.

Rkuryl:On the Kubala-Sosna cables, don't think twice about getting them. They are superb and I agree with everything Macallan25 has in his post. I've owned Transparent Refrence MM, Valhalla's and many of the other "super cables" and the the KS Emotive cables are the best I've used. They have the transparency of the Valhalla's with the bottom end weight of Transparent withouty the muddiness.

Best of luck.
Pcook15: First and foremost, I highly recommend you audition both the Kubala and Transparent cables before making a decision.

That being said, I replaced all of my Transparent Reference XL cables (the new ones with the curved networks) with Kubala Emotion. I really doubted the Kubala's would be better but they outperformed (to my ears)the Transparent by a significant margin. I've used them with a solid state/Wilson WP7 system as well as a tube/Kharma 3.2 system and they integrate wonderfully.

The best part is they are quite a bit less expensive than the Reference XL's.

Best of Luck,

Bob