Try the Yamaha AS2000. I have owned two of the 3 integrateds you are considering: The Simaudio I-5 and the Musical Fidelity A5.
On the Simaudio, I wanted to like this one, but ultimately gave up after numerous match-ups with various cables and even speakers of the expensive kind. It's all very subjective of course, but I found its sound somewhat lifeless with exagerated ''dry'' bass with a good thump factor but little actual definition. On acoustic bass, I like to hear (and feel) the strings, not just the ''thump''. I know a lot of folks like this integrated, and the build quality is ok for the price.
I did prefer the Musical Fidelity A5 when compared to the I-5. It has more authority, but, as in a previous MF A-300 I used to own, there is a certain brightness to the sound that I could not live with - But if you have less-dynamic speakers (like some B&W's) you could have a good match. But pair the A5 with highly revealing speakers - and listener fatigue comes in big time - it did for me.
I cannot speak for Krell, never owned Krell, and probably never will - it just doesn't call me.
NOW - if you don't mind being laughed at and snobbed at by your ''audiophile'' friends, I would suggest you give the amazing Yamaha AS 2000 a listen.
In my book, and for a LOT less money, it betters both the Simaudio I-5 (that's an easy one) and Musical Fidelity A5 in sound, and smokes them in features. It's not even close on the feature count. Don't let the fact that it has tone controls fool you - they work in a very subtle way and are of the microprocessor kind - suddenly with those, 50% of my cd collection became listenable again.
Do a search for this amplifier and read up on it - it is a very nice package, beautifully built, and sounds stunning, and not just for the price. It is the least expensive of my components in my system - it can be partnered with much higher priced gear - tha's how good it is.
One last suggestion, but in a totally different direction of course - The Naim Nait is of course another proverbial no-brainer, but that's a different story altogether!
Good luck!
On the Simaudio, I wanted to like this one, but ultimately gave up after numerous match-ups with various cables and even speakers of the expensive kind. It's all very subjective of course, but I found its sound somewhat lifeless with exagerated ''dry'' bass with a good thump factor but little actual definition. On acoustic bass, I like to hear (and feel) the strings, not just the ''thump''. I know a lot of folks like this integrated, and the build quality is ok for the price.
I did prefer the Musical Fidelity A5 when compared to the I-5. It has more authority, but, as in a previous MF A-300 I used to own, there is a certain brightness to the sound that I could not live with - But if you have less-dynamic speakers (like some B&W's) you could have a good match. But pair the A5 with highly revealing speakers - and listener fatigue comes in big time - it did for me.
I cannot speak for Krell, never owned Krell, and probably never will - it just doesn't call me.
NOW - if you don't mind being laughed at and snobbed at by your ''audiophile'' friends, I would suggest you give the amazing Yamaha AS 2000 a listen.
In my book, and for a LOT less money, it betters both the Simaudio I-5 (that's an easy one) and Musical Fidelity A5 in sound, and smokes them in features. It's not even close on the feature count. Don't let the fact that it has tone controls fool you - they work in a very subtle way and are of the microprocessor kind - suddenly with those, 50% of my cd collection became listenable again.
Do a search for this amplifier and read up on it - it is a very nice package, beautifully built, and sounds stunning, and not just for the price. It is the least expensive of my components in my system - it can be partnered with much higher priced gear - tha's how good it is.
One last suggestion, but in a totally different direction of course - The Naim Nait is of course another proverbial no-brainer, but that's a different story altogether!
Good luck!