krell amps what price?

i have the chance of a krell ksa 100 power amp,and a krell pam 7 pre amp,what price should i pay for these/what do they sell for ?

 

Not sure about the value of the Pam pre - i've seen the (allegedly) better KRC-3 for around £1200 and the better KRC HR for around £1600.

The KSA100 seems to fetch between £1100 and £1700 depending on the condition etc.
My local dealer had an immaculate KSA100 up for £1200 - I was very tempted

 

You may find Rotel prices much more attractive... same basic circuit (this is classified information... so, be careful) and without any of the Krell's nastyties... someone have to do it right.

 

Contentious comments there BD, do you have insider information? Mind you, they say the devil's in the detail.

 

I'd give em' a miss, I STILL have a 50 and 100, great doorstops, and even better wall-paper strippers plus amazing room heaters, Rotels are less harsh on the ears and don't need a small ransome to run.
One of the most over rated pieces of equipment of all time, yet still people pay mad cash for these things.
Though there's nowt so funny as folk, never tried the pre though.

 

Mmm,begs the question - why keep them then?
Is this some sort of conspiracy where WM + the ever-strange BD run down Krell gear until almost worthless,buy up all the stock then make a killing on Ebay?

 

Dev,

I shall not reveal my information source identity or it can void warranty of opened equipment...

Yes... I wish I could know God's thoughts...

 

Legzr1,

No conspriacy, I've had them for a good couple of years, having a concience and being a clean living sorta of a guy and all, I thought only right and proper I should not inflict them on the general public at large.
I also take a point of never buying and selling on ebay

 

I admire your motives in keeping them.
My admiration is such that i offer to uphold your fine tradition by taking them off your hands for £25 a piece.
Please PM your reply.

 

Legzr1,
I would be hard pushed to accquire such a substanical door stop as a replacement for £25 (and thats honestly what there doing too, along with the mana which sits under the snap on tool box)
Only thing I would consider for an exchange would be a trivista intergrated, with its glowing feet I wouldn't trip over it in the dark

 

LOL!!!

 

Hi Bateman,
Have you listened to the new integrated 400xi?
Smooth Dynamic clean fluid and fast.
Very musical, excellent soundstage great PRAT bags of power.
As in all things synergy is key so depends how it works with your kit.

Curt

 

Bateman,
I'd also draw your attention to the integrated KAV-300i (not to be confused with the 300il).

Good bass control, lots of detail, great soundstage, plenty of power and great value on the used market around £900 to £980 for a mint example.

Many folks seem to agree that the 300il should be avoided.
G

 

I was wondering if you would manage to get a MF-bashing in there somewhere - congrats !!!

Curts suggestion of the 400 is a canny one.
The only problem I can see is that the original poster may have a chance of picking up the Pam / KSA for a resonable amount.

 

As others have said,you should be looking at a minimum of about £1100 give or take a bit for an adequate example,and upwards of that for a good one.

Things to look out for include damaged or poor mains switches,damaged speaker binding posts,and clogged or poorly functioning fans.

The latter are absolutely essential on KSA/KMA series Krells,and only went out with the appearance of the KSA80 and KSA250.
The fans should come on rapidly,and virtually silently,and can easily be checked for operation by placing a hand under the heatsink intakes under the amps,and checking for airflow.
Due to their positioning,and high airflow,they are prone to getting clogged with dust,but are easy to maintain with a vacuum cleaner(!),remembering that if you open one of these,the power supply capacitors can easily KILL.

Other than that,virtually bulletproof,and I've owned KSA 100's and currently a set of KMA 100s.

Good luck!

 

Fascinating.....whilst I wouldn't ask you where you obtained this "classified" information,I'd be very interested to see how you can say a Class A/B Rotel circuit with it's attendant power supply is basically the same circuit as a pure Class A circuit with a somewhat tougher power supply,other than in the broadest general terms,by which every amplifier may be labelled basically the same.

 

Hmmm,...interesting debate! The way see it (and always have on issue slike these), is that people often assign certain likes and dislikes to brands. It's exactly the same with the history between Ford and GM vehicle owners, particularly in the USA where the best muscle car debate has gone on for years in these two camps.
Like many manufactures, Krell have built some truly wonderful pieces of audio equipment, but also some that defy the big-Buck price tag (LAT speakers as an example).
The starting message in this thread referenced the old KSA 100 power amplifier. I have owned one of these and in my mind is THE best class A amplifier I have ever heard but that will always be relative to all those I have outside my own listening domain at shows, in other peoples systems and at stores.
It's interesting that the KSA 100 is also recognised as one of the best amplifiers Krell ever built appearing in Stereophile's all time list of ground breaking components.
It does make me smile at how some people are very opinionated and generally tar a whole product line on the basis of being familiar with only a very small part of the product line.
One thing I will say is that having dealt with the people at Krell USA (I lived in the USA for a number of years and had them service my equipment), they are some of the nicest and most helpful I have ever met in the industry and that's regardless of whether you have bought their equipment new or older second-hand items on ebay!
I can think of several other manufacturers that are nothing short of stuck-up with their heads so far up their own rear passage that I would never turn over any cash to them no matter hw good their product is.
In short, making a recommendation on a single item will always be very risky as there are so many other links in the chain to consider, but if it is of any help here is the system I had in the USA using the Krell:

Source:
Michell GyroDec Export with QC power supply
Rega RB900 rewired and re-worked by Origin Live
Ortofon MC 3000 MK II cartridge
Meridian 206b CD player
Meridian alpha-sigma DAC

Amplification:
Krell KSA 100 (re-wored by Krell with internal component upgrades)
Krell KSP-7 pre-amp (re-worked by Krell up to reference standard)

Speakers:
Von Schweikert VR 4.5 Silver Anniversaries

Cables:
Straightwire flex 4 bi-wire
Cable Talk Broadcast 2 interconnects

Mains:
Power cables by Transfiguration
Chang Lightspeed mains conditioning

This system really did everything right for me, it took a while getting to this level as I tried various amplification and speakers but it's gone now and at least I have fond memories.

 

Ear! Ear! Listening ear :jig:

 

Legzr,

Wholy unfair sir , I was merely pointing out the M/F ability to illuminate itself as an advantage over the Krell
The Ksa100 and Kav400il are 2 completely different kettles of fish, and sound apart as far away from each other as salt and pepper are.
Not withstanding the fact the 400 is an interegrated
As has been mentioned synergy is a key issue with Krell, find it and it works, though be prepared for a long process of emilination.

 

I wish power supply wattage could make a difference, other than giving the necessary rated watts...

If is that so why pay mad cash for something that doesn't even sound good?