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D'agostino amplifiers: where's the beef?

So I've owned two of the classic monster Krell amplifiers from the distant past, the KSA 50 and later the KSA 250.  Both great amplifiers in their time and both collectible for those interested in that kind of stuff.  I'm generally a fan of D'agostino as a consequence.

I'm currently shopping for a new solid state amplifier to pair with potentially new speakers (Wilson or YG or Von Schweikert or Magico or Joseph - long story for another day).

 So recently while auditioning at my local dealer the system was powered by the current D'agostino M400 mono amplifiers.  While the sound was good I couldn't help but notice how TINY the $65K amplifiers were sitting on stands near the speakers.  OK they had nice metal work and were shiny but I couldn't help wonder WHY are these things so expensive?!  Later at home photo's of the insides of these amps on Google led me to wonder even more!!  The power supplies and interior construction in these things are nothing like the monster supplies and parts in the classic Krell's

Plus while the Krell's were expensive in their day (with great sound) the current D'agostino's have absurd pricing, far exceeding inflation.  

Are people spending this kind of money for fancy heat sinks?  Really?

I'd rather have an old Krell and a new Porsche Boxster or C8 Corvette for the same money.

Any one else have similar impressions?
bobbydd
pophaudio
75 posts
 
+1 to mg012
Lastly, of course it boils down to whether you can afford the equipment in the first place.   Buy the best you can afford and enjoy it.  


But make sure it is not Yamaha , denon , or other toys 😉
andrei_nz
192 posts
 
Lastly, of course it boils down to whether you can afford the equipment in the first place.
So is it first or last?
french_fries
815 posts
 
I HAVE followed the changes over the years at Krell and one simple fact remains like it or not: I have seen more cosmetic redesigns of their equipment than just about anyone else, sound quality aside.  I even owned an FPB300 Amp and it threw a big 3D stage and was very clean sounding, well made, and had a classic design without a lot of neato
meters or other things I didn't want or need. Plus the amp never gave me any trouble at all. But I upgraded to Rowland-12 mono blocks which sounded a bit "smoother", looked all shiny etc. but they had defective switch-mode power supplies. After sending them back twice Jeff redesigned the power supplies altogether for free of course.It was a bad experience. Krell in the meanwhile kept changing their look over and over again. When the D'Agostino gear came out I hated it immediately because I knew a lot of money went into the external design, which does not make it a better product. I can't tell anyone else what to buy, but solid-state amps should deliver the best sound possible for the money. Even Pass labs had Aleph amps which were Plain-Jane but sounded great to most people that heard them. But Now I don't need a meter on the front- just an LED and a power switch. Of course they have a well earned reputation for sound. But if you need a meter a Pioneer receiver will offer plenty of moving needles, and blinking colored lights as well. 
cakyol's avatar
cakyol
940 posts
 
Consider a Pass labs class A amp and never look back. The only unfortunate side effect would be that your A/C bill may shoot up in the summer but very few others come close. 
erik_squires
15,630 posts
 
If you listen to Pass, Luxman, Ayre and D'Agostino you'll definitely come away with a strong preference. :-)

I have to say that if you strongly like Pass, you'll probably dislike the others and vice versa.  In the case of Pass, speaker matching is really important so don't try to listen in the store to speakers different than your own.

Best,
E
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