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Krell showcase or other 5 channel amp

I own a Parasound 1205A and am looking for something that would be an upgrade. I want an amp with balanced inputs and need it to be in black (which seems to cut down your choices in high end amps these days). I am wondering if the Showcase would really be an improvement over what I have. I am somewhat suspicious of these newer Krells (as compared to, say, the Krell TAS which looks like a real Krell!). Would I be getting just the name or a real sonic improvement?

I have B&W803N's, and would get a Classe, but they seem very rare on the used market. The Dreadnaught seems like a great idea, but perhaps a bit more expensive. Any other suggestions?
diw
diw OP
33 posts
 
There are a couple of Proceed Amp 5's around. When I was a 2 channel guy, I had a Levinson 23.5 which was my all time favorite amp.

How do the Proceed's stack up against the other amps we are discussing? Is buying an amp that old a good idea?
asin
26 posts
 
I owned Proceed AMP-5. It was an excellent amps, the sound is more lively and open than equivalent Krell KAV series but never compare it to showcase.
ckoffend
684 posts
 
If you are primarily a music lover, don't get a multi-channel amp. If I understand correctly, the Parasound is a multi-channel amp? If so, keep it for your HT and get a good 2-channel amp (Krell FPB or go back to the ML 23.5 - which is a great amp) or tons of others. Even at a used price of $1,000 a decent 2-channel amp is going to blow the Showcase out of the water and also the Dreadnaught II which I owned for 2 weeks and sold because it was useless in terms of performance in 2-channel mode!

FWIW I tried to go the 5-7 channel amp route with Krell KAV 1500, Dreadnaught II, Conrad Johnson, and none did it for me in 2 channel. I now run a Krell FPB and a Proceed 3 channel for center and surrounds - but HT is a very low priority for me. Previously I ran a ML 331.5 with the Proceed which was a pretty good balance for HT.
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