"Old" KRELL Help

CDLehner

CDLehner

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Wow; I was kind of surprised...there wasn't a Krell sub-forum, in the Manufacture section. So...I'll post here.

I'm a fan, of class-A; and, of course, I find Mr. Pass' designs to be wholly satisfying. Problem is; they ain't cheap. XA is out of my budget...I need balanced in, so that limits my FW choices (and I'm not so sure, they have quite enough grunt...without pretty efficient speakers. While my PMC Twenty5-23s aren't a difficult load...86.5db, but a pretty stable impedance...I think they need, just slightly more push than say a J2 will give).

Old Krells, have caught my eye recently; a KSA-50S to start. I know nothing, of the old Krells; so I started doing my research. It seems, some hated the KSA-S series; I think mostly because they were KSA owners, trying the new thing...and that adaptive bias circuit, made them psycho-acoustically think, they heard less "slam". Other have said, yes...less slam, but better mids and highs. Some have said, the only KSA-S worth a damn...is the 300; but I just don't need the power, nor the 185 lb. weight.

I thought a 100, might be the sweet spot; but then some have said, the baby 50 is sweeter-sounding. :huh:

Then...there are FPBs, lol.

Anyone here, a Krell aficionado; and can give me a proper run-down, on these older units?
 
I'm not sure I would get the KSA-50S for anything else than collectible / sentimental value right now. It is true it was the sweetest ounding of the entire KSA-S range. The bigger KSA-S models have always made my ears bleed. To my ears, the FPB series was a clear upgrade over the KSA-S - much more natural sounding.

Both KSA-S and FBP series amps are at least 20 years old now and would probably need an expensive recapping.

BTW - what is your budget ? I think you can get a better amp for similar money.
 
The KSA are pretty old, if they haven't already had work, one would be ready for updating. I'm not sure what the pecking order is, most of my friends who had them had the 250's

I'm haven't seen pricing for Coda in sometime, you may want to look at their Class A line. You may even get lucky enough to see one used.

Most of the Pass A/B bias fairly high into Class A. I know a few who like the .5 still due to it being the warmer compared to .8 or original. I've seen some good deals used on the .5 Class A monblocks.
 
CDLehner said:
I'm a fan, of class-A; and, of course, I find Mr. Pass' designs to be wholly satisfying. Problem is; they ain't cheap. XA is out of my budget...I need balanced in, so that limits my FW choices (and I'm not so sure, they have quite enough grunt...without pretty efficient speakers. While my PMC Twenty5-23s aren't a difficult load...86.5db, but a pretty stable impedance...I think they need, just slightly more push than say a J2 will give).
Click to expand...
I would be hesitant to mix Class A and 20+ years old (unless she's really cute :P)
Have you considered a non-Krell like a Belles SA-30?
Speaking of J2s, if you like that type of champagne sound/beer budget pricing, check out a relative unknown, Abacus. Very similar to FW, transconductance amps. The 60-120B would drive those PMCs well. Don't let the low prices and anti-bling "staid" looks fool you, they sound very good. I have a custom Ampino for use with HE horns on occasion. Good luck!

cheers,

AJ
 
Mike said:
Is Krell still in business?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I saw this dated March 8, 2018

"
[h=4]So…Is Krell in Bankruptcy? We Ask the Owner[/h]


Finally, during the storm, we connected with Krell co-founder and current owner Rondi D’Agostino. We asked D’Agostino, is Krell in bankruptcy or planning to file for bankruptcy?
“No, not at all,” said a surprised D’Agostino. “Whoever your source is, don’t use them anymore. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”
In other words, we pressed D’Agostino, you’re saying everything is fine…correct? “Well, it’s not perfect, but we’re not filing for bankruptcy and we’re not going out of business. It’s business as usual…after the storm is over.”
https://www.strata-gee.com/krell-business/
 
CDLehner said:
Wow; I was kind of surprised...there wasn't a Krell sub-forum, in the Manufacture section. So...I'll post here.

I'm a fan, of class-A; and, of course, I find Mr. Pass' designs to be wholly satisfying. Problem is; they ain't cheap. XA is out of my budget...I need balanced in, so that limits my FW choices (and I'm not so sure, they have quite enough grunt...without pretty efficient speakers. While my PMC Twenty5-23s aren't a difficult load...86.5db, but a pretty stable impedance...I think they need, just slightly more push than say a J2 will give).

Old Krells, have caught my eye recently; a KSA-50S to start. I know nothing, of the old Krells; so I started doing my research. It seems, some hated the KSA-S series; I think mostly because they were KSA owners, trying the new thing...and that adaptive bias circuit, made them psycho-acoustically think, they heard less "slam". Other have said, yes...less slam, but better mids and highs. Some have said, the only KSA-S worth a damn...is the 300; but I just don't need the power, nor the 185 lb. weight.

I thought a 100, might be the sweet spot; but then some have said, the baby 50 is sweeter-sounding. :huh:

Then...there are FPBs, lol.

Anyone here, a Krell aficionado; and can give me a proper run-down, on these older units?
Click to expand...


I would recommend the FPB CX series , much better refinement and sound than the KSA plateau bias series ..


Regards
 
CDLehner said:
Wow; I was kind of surprised...there wasn't a Krell sub-forum, in the Manufacture section. So...I'll post here.

I'm a fan, of class-A; and, of course, I find Mr. Pass' designs to be wholly satisfying. Problem is; they ain't cheap. XA is out of my budget...I need balanced in, so that limits my FW choices (and I'm not so sure, they have quite enough grunt...without pretty efficient speakers. While my PMC Twenty5-23s aren't a difficult load...86.5db, but a pretty stable impedance...I think they need, just slightly more push than say a J2 will give).

Old Krells, have caught my eye recently; a KSA-50S to start. I know nothing, of the old Krells; so I started doing my research. It seems, some hated the KSA-S series; I think mostly because they were KSA owners, trying the new thing...and that adaptive bias circuit, made them psycho-acoustically think, they heard less "slam". Other have said, yes...less slam, but better mids and highs. Some have said, the only KSA-S worth a damn...is the 300; but I just don't need the power, nor the 185 lb. weight.

I thought a 100, might be the sweet spot; but then some have said, the baby 50 is sweeter-sounding. :huh:

Then...there are FPBs, lol.

Anyone here, a Krell aficionado; and can give me a proper run-down, on these older units?
Click to expand...

I say go for it. You'll get a lot of 'opinions' but from who and how far back to they go with Krell? My first 'super amp' was a Krell KSA-50 mkII I bought new in '87. from there it progressed up the line to the fin-cooled era culminating with MDA-500s (ca 1992 or so). if it were me, Id look for a KSA-80b (balanced input) Its a sweet amp id put up against anything made today. I would have kept it but it was shy on power running my then, Apogee Duetta Sigs. The 50S was a nice amp, I never owned one but heard it in dealer demos. I also think it was the first of the plateau biased series of amps (High Bias A/B).
 
I'd contact Reno Hi-fi which has some demo and used Pass XA30.8 units and see if you can get a deal.
 
The articles indicate Keigan was president of Krell up until late 2015, now Rondi is for the last two years and seems she is in control. I wonder if that means the investment company that made the foolish error of ousting Dan is out of the picture?

I wonder if Krell ever received the cash infusion Rondi was talking about in the article. Could be a coincidence, this is the first year I saw Krell at Axpona and I'm almost certain I saw mention of them in Munich.

Either way it's a crowded market and will be an uphill battle for Krell. It would be interesting to know if any original designers/engineers still worked there. I don't know his name, one of the engineers now works at Levinson.
 
puroagave said:
I say go for it. You'll get a lot of 'opinions' but from who and how far back to they go with Krell? My first 'super amp' was a Krell KSA-50 mkII I bought new in '87. from there it progressed up the line to the fin-cooled era culminating with MDA-500s (ca 1992 or so). if it were me, Id look for a KSA-80b (balanced input) Its a sweet amp id put up against anything made today. I would have kept it but it was shy on power running my then, Apogee Duetta Sigs. The 50S was a nice amp, I never owned one but heard it in dealer demos. I also think it was the first of the plateau biased series of amps (High Bias A/B).
Click to expand...

Pretty far back , to the early bad ones and then the later good sounding ones. All the early ones had to be modified, good platform and drive but so so sonics. We eventually built our own amps to Drive apps ...

What about Brent offerings from Bully Sound , no takers ....?
 
a.wayne said:
Pretty far back , to the early bad ones and then the later good sounding ones. All the early ones had to be modified, good platform and drive but so so sonics. We eventually built our own amps to Drive apps ...

What about Brent offerings from Bully Sound , no takers ....?
Click to expand...

Brent passed away.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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