Krell 400xi vs NAD M3 vs Music Fidelity A5 vs Naim

I just bought a Cyrus 8vs2 to replace my old McIntosh MA 6200. Great sounding amp...

Check out the Simaudio Moon Evolution i-7 and Gamut DI 150. Much better than the Krell.

While I do believe hearing is subjective I have too question a few people posting within this thread.

If you think the Krell 400xi is mechanical sounding then I would suggest your source isn't up too snuff. Perhaps a change in source or interconnects would fair better results. I find the Krell faithfully neutral, if anything it's more warm and open then cold and analytical.

I find it hard to believe somebody would mention a SimAudio i-7 or Gamut piece within this thread as both units are many more times the price of all the integrated amplifiers mentioned within this thread and therefore should sound better. The question is how much better. 3-4 times better? I doubt it.

The Krell 400xi is a true music loves amplifier which hides nothing and requires a superior source. I find a constant resentment towards the product because it has sold in such large quantities in a hobby populated by flavors of the month from exotic one off brands.

Based on your musical selection and associated speakers I would suggest the NAD, Musical Fidelity and Krell. All would provide you with great sound for the price and with the money saved from 'cheaping' out with these amplifiers you could save yourself $5k and buy a few hundred of your favorite CD's or LP's. Think real hard about that last statement before doing anything else with your money.

At a recent audio get-together, we heard the Krell 400xi, the Marantz PM11-S1 (had only about 5 hours o it) and a YBA integrated, sorry, don't remember the model. The Marantz and YBA are quite a bit more expensive than the Krell.
The Krell sounded downright strange. Very mechanical and shouty, like you were putting your hands up along side your mouth and speaking. The bass seemed to be doing good things, but not noticably better than the other two.
There was unanimous agreement about this among the dozen or so people I spoke to. Very easy to hear.
YBA was very smooth, Marantz had more life in the treble but again was far from broken in.

Mfsoa,

What you didn't mention was who's unit you listened too, what associated equipment was used and the media you listened too. Perhaps the integrated was broken?