Krell KSA-100 MK2

[Bigman80]

It was a sad day when i sold my Beard amps. Best amps i have ever owned. I had a Krell FPB300 and it simply wasn't as good. The Beards pissed all over it. I got divorced and moved into a small gaff so had to sell them. My Avondale Voyagers that i use now are also a better amp than the Krell. All subjective i suppose. But hey, done the Krell thing and never again. A friend at the time had the same amp and his went pop. It was away for months and he could have bought a small hatchback for what the repairs cost him.

Can I ask what was good about the Beard?

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[Primalsea]

Can I ask what was good about the Beard?

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If you look after them they can be quite smooth and with a tidy presentation, sometimes even a bit fluffy. Left to their own devices they can become quite rough and grating.

[Bigman80]

If you look after them they can be quite smooth and with a tidy presentation, sometimes even a bit fluffy. Left to their own devices they can become quite rough and grating.

Hmm, high maintenance isn't the best.

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[Bksabath]

Hi Oliver
Just seen the tread

Krell? for you? this really surprise me


I borrowed the 400 ??? W Krell integrated at the same time when I first built the F5 about 8 / 9 years ago
There was no contest I tried and tried to find any thing good whit the Krell as I wanted one from the day I firs saw the SiFI movie...

It may have been that particular model but it certainly it put off me from wanting a Krell and reading FiFi magazines

As you know I am building same F5's for friends...
You are welcome to pop around and have a listen to my F5

PM for you

[Primalsea]

Hmm, high maintenance isn't the best.

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Sorry, that was a joke - about beards, not Beards.

[Bigman80]

Sorry, that was a joke - about beards, not Beards.

Ha, I'm tired and missed it. Now I get it it's very good.

Also, I have a beard, not a Beard.

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[Dickchy]

[QUOTE=Bigman80;1006486]Marco?

Well Oliver sounds like Marco when you get to my age.

[Bigman80]

[QUOTE=Dickchy;1006515]

Marco?

Well Oliver sounds like Marco when you get to my age.

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[jandl100]

Almost all of that advice was terrible.

1) if it goes wrong it won't cost any more to fix than any other amp
2) It's designed to run hot
2) it won't run hot into very efficient speakers in any case
4) It doesn't matter how sensitive the speakers are, it won't be a 'mismatch'

Totally wrong on all counts.
- well, OK it is designed to run hot, but that doesn't mean that components won't wear out because of it.

I've had a few Krells, including the KSA-100's baby brother, the KSA50.

They all need a difficult load to get their teeth into to sound decent.
Otherwise they just tend to fall asleep and not bother.
98dB speakers is a mismatch made in helll imho.

[Macca]

Re hot running:

Beginning with the Krell Audio Standard amplifier, Krell employed a technology called Sustained Plateau Bias. The KAS tracked the musical signal in relation to the amplifier's bias. The bias level was set in several discrete plateaus, so that when the musical signal required a higher bias level to remain in class-A operation, the amplifier would elevate the bias to that plateau long enough to produce the signal needed before ramping back down to a lower bias point. This kept the amplifier operating in class A no matter what the signal requirements, but it reduced the amount of wasted energy.


Also you all may have noticed that class AB and class B amps can also run hot, especially if they are designed for form over function. Function means lots of heatsinking, if the heatsinking is getting warm that means the inside of the amp isn't. I mean that is the whole point of heatsinking isn't it?


I've never understood all the hand-wringing over 'What if it goes wrong.' If you bought a classic car and it developed a fault would you just take it down the breakers? No, you just get it fixed. Because it's a classic and a keeper.

Like an old school car the KSA100 is a workshop build, there's nothing in it that will fail that any EE couldn't sort out. So you might have to replace a capacitor one day. Big deal. And no different from any other amp you could buy, except really modern stuff like that NAD someone here had fail recently, 7 years old and the boards are no longer made. And that cost a few grand.