Someone familiar with older KSA Krell amps


Someone familiar with older Krell amps...KSA 50-S I owned one of these many years agao, mated it with a Kell KRC-3 preamp....sound was fabulous, sounded like a tube amp, warm and smooth had alot of detail, people said it had no bass, yet it did in my system...this is the only amp of this series I have owned. Question: want to buy a used KSA amp now provided it is in good shape, cosmeitcally attractive, etc. etc. but I am looking to drive more difficult speaker loads, i.e., totme mani'2...are the larger Krell KSA 100-s, and then the KSA 200-s, can I expect the same sound I liked so much in the 50-S to be in these larger amps, only in a more powerful package?? Or are they different animals entirely wach with different characteristics, I believe that the 100-s should have enough power to drive the mani'2 but I dont know...I am sure the 200-s would have more than enough , but am I crazy to get such a large heavy Krell to drive these speakers when a 100 would probably do? I guess I have a feeling that the larger 200-s would have virtues of its own to be sure, but it might not have that warm tublike sound I enjoyed so much from the 50_S. Was hoping someone who has experience with these amps might help me... I am trying to decide between the 100-s and 200-s , I know I like the Krell KSA sound mated with a KRC-3 preamp, just dont knwo which is a better match for mani 2' with a 4 ohm, 84 db sensitivity load,,not sure if a 200-s is way overkill, or actually the better choice, and if it would have a warm like sound or be different sounding from the smaller Krell
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Showing 1 response by thesoundhouse

I have owned several of the Krell amps over the years. The best one I have owned was a KSA 80B and the second best was a KAV 2250. The 2250 had better bass than the KSA 80B but the midrange on the KSA 80B is magical. The other Krell amps that I have owned were A; FPB 600(It sucked), KSA 200S(It sucked), and a pair of FPB 750M Mono Blocks (Powerful sounded good but not great) I found the KAV 2250 stereo 2 channel sounded better than my big mono blocks when one of the monos went back to Krell for repair and the local Krell dealer gave me a KAV 2250 loaner. I now own Pass Labs X350.5 and it sounds better than any of the Krells I have ever owned.