Krell FPB 200, comments?


The upgrade bug is starting to cause an itch. Any and all comments regarding the aforementioned amp or any Krell amp
(KSA-300s for example) would be greatly appreciated. Oh, the amp will end up being paired with a Thiel 3.6, ML aerius or Maggie 2.7 at various times. CD is Wadia 850 and pre- is ARC LS-2b. Current amp is Classe CA200. Thanks in advance for any input.
jcatral14
I have a FPB-200 Krell amp using an ecd-1 dac as part of my digital front end.This combo is nothing short of sensational!!! Brightness is non-existent unless a badly recorded cd is the culprit.My speakers are B&W Nautilus 804.I am very happy with this combo.Any brightness issues are definitely source related.
I would echo Nrchy's comments - I own the FPB 200c and it runs very warm to hot, but I believe it runs cooler than previous Krells. It's definitely not bright in my system / room either - it drives a pair of Dynaudio Confidence 3's. My room is not bright in character to begin with (no windows, w2w carpeting), so it may be a case, as others have suggested, of it being more the room than the amp.

I upgraded from the Krell KAV-250a, so you'd expect it to be better, and it is. If you have difficult load to drive, it's a beautiful amp.
Had the fpb 200 for about a year driving Dunlavys, I tried out a Pass x-350 and couldnt believe what I had been missing out on for a year. There is no comparison.
I came at this from the angle of looking for a good amp that would match my Thiel CS3.6's. My local Thiel dealer heavily recommends Krell (pretty much any model) with the CS3.6, and claims that Thiel themselves include Krell on their list of recommended amps for use with their speakers.

My short list of amps for my CS3.6's includes Krell and McCormack (easier on the pocketbook). What did you end up doing? I'd love to hear how things turned out.

Tom.