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Big Krells Have Vanished From The Used Market

Once upon a time several years ago, you could always find several of the big Krells for sale on Audiogon.  I'm talking the 500-750 wpc big irons.  Now since Krell no longer makes anything bigger than 500 wpc, anyone with the 600, 700, 900 wpc amps are holding on to them because there's nothing new by Krell to replace them with.
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tubejunkie64's avatar
tubejunkie64
10 posts
 
audiolabyrinth4,242 posts04-28-2017 6:01pmWow!, Ridiculous!, I have a modified krell fpb 700cx,  never runs hot because you have to use a single pole 30 amp breaker!, anyone who has a big krell that runs hot does not know what there doing!, as far as class d amp's,  listened to many,  still do not own one,  and yes, I'm holding on to mine for sound reasons,  my unit sounds a lot better than the stock 700cx 😉
Um... The 30 amp breaker has nothing to do with the operating temperature of the amp. Class A amps run hot because they're single ended, ie: output is always on. So, the heat is the result of the current running through the amp. It wouldn't matter if you had a 100 amp breaker (and hopefully the appropriate guage wire in the wall), the amp will still only use what it's going to draw. I'm assuming you've changed the wire to handle the 30 amp current?

rvito
55 posts
 
I have owned several Krell Amps over the years and have never had an issue with any. My Fpb400cx Amps work wonderfully with my IRS Betas.
68pete
990 posts
 
I like my older Mark Levinson 335 amp
frankgarufi
4 posts
 

I had  a pair of MDA-300 amps that I bought new around 1990.  They ran very warm, but never too hot to touch.  They were recapped by Krell in 2005 and again in late 2016.  They delivered very good sound and for over 25 years, I saw no need for any  amplifier change.  Following the latest recap, I decided that the resale value of my  amps was at its max and I explored replacements. 

I considered PS Audio BHK Signature monoblocks but didn't like the tubes; I liked the long Bryston warranty, but there were no local dealers for an audition; The Macintosh MC-475 sounded very nice at my local dealer but they seemed reluctant to  let me borrow their demo for a weekend audition in my system, so it was scratched from my list.

I brought my local  Krell dealer's DUO-300 home for a weekend trial.  It delivered wonderful midrange and didn't exhibit the occasional higher frequency harshness that older Krell amps can  have.  Unfortunately the Duo-300 bottom end wasn't as fast and solid as the old amps. I spoke to my dealer and to Krell.  They made a pair of Solo 575's available for me to try in my system.  These new amps delivered the taught bottom end that the old amps delivered with a bigger midrange and the smooth high frequencies that I wanted.  After 3 or 4 hours driving my Legacy Focus SE's as loud as I want them, the top of the new amps is not even warm to the touch and the fans do not appear to  be running. The Solo 575's cost more than I had wanted to spend, but I bought them.  It's been a few weeks, and I am still happy with this decision.

Hopefully the new amps will provide me with many years of reliable service.  The new owner of my older amps has told me how pleased he is with them.  I believe that he will also get many years of reliable service from them.

Later this year, I may bring home an Illusion II  preamp to see how it compares to my recently  recapped KRC-3.  I'll be very surprised if it offers enough improvement to justify the cost. 

herndonb
124 posts
 
<Krell dealer disclaimer>
Those who miss big Krells haven't heard the Solo 575 mono.  frankgarufi is correct.  The Solo 575 monos deliver it all, detail, speed, precision from top to bottom, and an enormous soundstage.  When the Solo 575 monos became available, I compared them extensively to my demo pair of EV900e mono blocks.  Yes the Solo 575s are half the price, and almost a third the weight, but they were immediately less harsh, less smeared, and the bass was much tighter and less "one-notey".  The soundstage doubled in width and 50% in depth too.  The Solo 575 mono is the best sounding Krell amp to date.  Those who haven't heard them are in for a treat.  They deliver over 600W into 8 ohms and over 900W into 4 ohms.  While they don't double their output at every halving of impedance, they sound SO much better.  Give them a listen.  :-)    
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