Hegel H390 vs Krell Vanguard digital integrates amps

@luckrainbow63 I tested the AMT3SE using XLR to the KRELL K-300i vs the USB on the KRELL. Both of them were streaming using Fibre with the only difference being slightly different USB cables to the DAC and the Linear Power Supply were not the same. The last 2 factors are not that big because I have flipped them around in other tests and I did not notice a difference.

The AMT3SE was preferred by me over the USB on the internal KRELL DAC. It was not a huge difference but enough that I will always use the AMT3SE with the KRELL from now on. I am wasting the internal DAC since I am now only using it for HDMI sources. Maybe also TOSLINK with YouTube but those are not sources I care about for the best sound. I guess the internal DAC will be a good backup DAC if anything goes bad with the AMT3SE.

The AMT3SE with the 2 Class A amps that I had in house has been magic.

@yyzsantabarbara I just order Krell k3000i from Illinois (Chicago) and will arrived on next Wednesday.and I will test. Krell internal dac to see how good they’re.if not then I will followed yours path way to buy AMT2SE. @yyzsantabarbara in 1 to 10 scales.how many scale you gave Krell internal vs AMT2SE? I have no good source like AMT2SE to compare them.But I will compare them with Helge H390 and McIntosh MA252 amps.I appreciated you for good efforts to test them and provide very detailed each Item you have own.

@luckyrainbow63 Problem with asking me is I may influence your decision. You could very well be happy with the internal DAC on the KRELL and not have the reaction I had.

With the tests I did will the 3 DACs and 3 streamers I came to some conclusions about the 3 DACs I have in the office.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/check-in-how-quickly-are-streamers-and-servers-evolving/post?...

To summarize, the DAC3B and the AMT3SE while different in tone both had zero fatigue for me and were wonderful sounding. The DAC3B with both the KRELL and Benchmark stack. The AMT3SE with the KRELL. I likely will re-visit the AMT3SE with the Benchmark stack but my first test with that was not that positive. The AMT3SE may have not been properly broken-in with the pairing with the BM stack. I did that some time back.

The KRELL internal DAC had a slight bit of fatigue for me, even with my best USB streamer. I am very sensitive to this so it may not apply to others. I was a little disappointed in this result. If I did not have these 2 other great DACs I would likely be happy with the internal KRELL DAC. However, since I have these "better" DACs I will use those 2 over the internal KRELL DAC in all cases except watching video for the audio signal via the HDMI.

Congrats on the KRELL and please post your thoughts on it.

One thing that I do not have is an EtherREGEN for the cleanup of Ethernet signal. A somewhat controversial device but the RJ45 steamer of the KRELL is theoretically an ideal candidate for that device.

@luckyrainbow63 I did some more test tonight with the DAC3B vs the AMT3SE on the Benchmark stack. The AMT3SE does not match perfectly sonically with the BM stack with respect to the gain (or some other connectivity issue). The sound is lower than the DAC3B which required me to increase the volume to match the DAC3B. In all instances of music I listened to I preferred the DAC3B with the BM stack. The AMT3SE sounded a little veiled on the BM stack.

On the KRELL, the AMT3SE sounded great and had nice synergy with that unit. However, I am going to spend the next month listening to the internal DAC on the KRELL with my best streamer. The internal DAC may need more hours of burn-in so I want to make sure I have not rushed to judgement on this DAC.

If the internal DAC steps up in quality in the next month then the AMT3SE will go for sale. If the internal DAC is deemed good enough I should consider the EtherREGEN to try the RJ45 network streaming and free up one of my fibre streamers for my downstairs..