Dream amps within my reach....

Well guys, I’ve been trawling through the second hand hifi lists (thanks for the links) and it seems that amps I used to read and dream about (Krell, Audio Research etc.) are now well within reach!

Some of the early Krells – KSA50, KSA100 are about for £900-£1100 and are very tempting – certainly no need to worry about speaker loads with these beasties.

Are these a bit too old though and would I be better looking at, for example, a more recent and more modest Krell offering such as the highly regarded KAV300i integrated (again available at around a grand)?

One advantage of an integrated is that I wouldn’t be limited to the Quad 99-CDP (with it’s ability to connect straight to a power amp) and could instead look at something like an ex-dem Classe CDP-10.

Another option is the aforementioned Audio Research – the likes of the VT60 (50 watts) or D130 (130 watts). Both of these are available used for under a grand.

Any thoughts on the above would be most appreciated, especially on the Krell integrated that I’m being strangely drawn towards.

Matt.

p.s. I just knew this was going to happen – aiming to keep the budget to £2K and then realising what an awesome system £3K will get.

 

Interesting. Well I know several folks may pile in with negative comments regards Krell and in general they may be quite correct, but specifically the KAV300i, I feel, is perhaps a bit of an exception. I bought one in excellent condition for £960, I find it can be a little bright occasionally (recording dependent) but generally I like its forward sound, bass control is good, imaging and detail are both well presented and it does go loud. It drives my Kef's well and I have been pleased with it.

I think for the money it is a strong contender as a solid state integrated amp which is both flexible and powerful, and likely to hold its value pretty well.

I though 960 was a decent price but I have seen a couple go for under 900 and I know of one which has been for sale for a while and may be a good candidate to grab a bargain (PM me if you want details as I wouldnt want someone else to steal you opp).

 

There was a thread here (which seems to have vanished) where a bunch of lads (Isaac, WM and others IIRC) got together and compared the NAD S300 and one of the Krell integrateds (KAV-300?) - it was something of a tie as I recall.

OK, NAD is hardly an aspirational manufacturer like you might have dreamed about, but the S300 is a rather different beast to their norm (and allegedly based on a £3k+ Gryphon integrated).

 

Yes I'd definitely try and find that thread (try searching on mini bakeoff IIRC). From various sources the NAD S300 should definitely be considered (am yet to hear one) as a contender on the same page as the Krell 300i in terms of both price and performance the Krell RRP of 2750 should be compared against the Gryphon integrated @ £3K RRP as the S300 seems to be all but the Gryphon rebadged. How are you getting on with your S300 Pete?

A candidate on my list to track down for demo/tryout is the Gryphon Callisto 2200, but that weighs in a bit more expensively.

 

Thread here:

https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=4328

 

Get a good KSA50/100 @ £900'ish.......forget the dissing the old stuff gets on here
these are still {real} worldclass amps........much better than the latter KAV as well

 

Matt, Greg is right the Krell is bright and forward, you will either love it hate it, I went for the Quad 909. Also I have the Quad 99 and for me the digital inputs and sound made it unbeatable. Dominic

 

Very well, thank you . I have very little (read: no) experience with expensive amps though, so I haven't a lot of grounds for comparison - but it's very good. And FWIW I think my system now is better than the Quad 99CDP / 909 / 22L demo I heard...