Krell KSA-200 Amplifiers

Krell KSA-200 Amplifiers 

DESCRIPTION

200 Watts (1987-1992)

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-3 of 3  
[Nov 03, 2015]
marc andre
AudioPhile

great amplifier, I use it to drive my front speaker, Danaudio studio monitors with Dynaudio drivers, in a 5.1 surround set up,very nice balance sound, image like crazy,bass is fenomenal, it is tight and deeeep.very quiet,as quiet as if it was off, not even a his . mine is a early version I think because it is rca only . no xlr. my speaker are 4 ohm and amp don t run too hot, it can drive any load and she thrive driving difficult load. for sound accuracy it is very accurate, you can ear the sound with great dynamics , you can almost feel the sound decay from start to finish of every note from delicate to explosive , I don t see why all that bashing, maybe if your speaker sound bright, those amp are very reveiling, and lot s of details, I try them with small 2 way and for sure you cannot get all the satisfaction out of small monitor , because you need big speaker to get the full dynamics this amp can give you. and like krell says don t judge on their first 15 minute , they need warm up time, after 1 or 2 ours of use, they are blooming, you don t want to turn it off.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Aug 30, 2007]
jim1961
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Power!!! Rated at 200w/ch in 8 ohms, 400w/ch into 4 ohms, 1600w/ch into 1 ohm. I dont believe a speaker exists this amp cant drive.

Sound stage is incredibly deep and wide.

Weakness:

Compared to the KSA 150/250, it has a bit of a gritty nature to it. I dont mean dirty, but lacks a silky smooth quality inherent in the later generation KSA amplifiers.

Power bill. Drawing 18-20 amps at idle, it will cost you every month.

Room Heating. The monster heat sinks get hot and stay hot due to the class A operation. In the summer, you will find yourself cranking the AC for sure.

Grounding. Mine had a tendency to hum. The Krell guys helped me minimize the problem through better grounding. But I still had a minute buzz going on.

While I enjoyed this amp very much, quite a bit of what you pay for most users wont ever need. How many 1 or 2 ohm speakers exist? Granted, some speakers have very challenging impedance curves, and this amp will shine for those speakers.

I felt the tonal character was a little cool. Those looking for a warm sounding amp would be better with something else. Krell people will tell you it is simply neutral.

At 120 lbs, you better have help when you need to move it. It does come equipped with both front and rear handles though.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
3
[Jan 01, 2001]
michael williams
Audiophile

Strength:

smooth midrange,incredibly deep bottom end teamed with massive power reserve

Weakness:

runs hot due to full time class A bias physical size and weight.

I have used this massive power amp for 10 years without a hint of trouble. I'm an audiophile and have used many power amps going back to 1973 when I built my first dynakit, a stereo 410. I used that amp with mods for years without finding anything better. I use a balanced krell pre amp to drive the ksa 200 which drives a pair of huge VMPS super towers R. the sound of the ksa 200 is powerful but surprisingly delicate in the highs and midrange. what surprised me most about this amp was it's ability to run the VMPS's to a legit 120 db level without a hardening of the sound or muddying the bass. all manufacturers hype aside this is indicative of huge power reserves. the transformer is the size of a volley ball and the capacitors as big as beer cans. this leads to the only drawback to this amp, it is huge and weighs 125 lbs and runs hot enough to heat up a small room. the ksa 200 was only made for a short time before krell redesigned the case and heat sinks [ a good idea] and called it a ksa 250. the power output of the two amps are identicle,about 325 wpc into 8 ohms,650 into 4ohms. my VMPS's are 4 ohm speakers and the krell will pick them up and through them across the room, all 160 lbs apiece. all BS aside, I've yet to hear a better amp. if you ever get a chance to buy a ksa 200 or 250, snap it up and consider yourself lucky. very highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

Macintosh 7270

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-3 of 3  

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