JCC3

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2350.00 from online

Summary:
I use a 250a for the mains and a 250a/3 for the center and surounds im a 5.1 system, including the HTS2 preamp and a Jolida JD100 CDP.

Cold NO, precise YES. absilutley accurate once you learn to trust them. Bass slam and speed are unparallaled. HF is wonderful through BW 802s. Presentation soundstage is wide somtimes shockingly so (I have been startled by sounds emmanating from so far afield I couldn't beleive it was the system).

All in all I can't imageine and haven't heard anything under 5 large that comes close.

Strengths:
soundstage, height and width, presence and drama, accurate preentation of subtle low level detail

Weaknesses:
needs dedicated circuit and 20amps min

Hificrazy

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from friend

Summary:
This amp drives the PSB Stratus Golds without compromise. I hear comments on
how krell amps sound cold and sterile but this is simply not true. They do not
sweeten up the sound in any way like some people might prefer. They only
reveal what is in the recording and the fingerprints of other associated equipment.
It is possible to make any equpiment sound bad given the nearly endless
possibilities of system matching. The user must take time to experiement.
After 3 years of ownership I'm still quite pleased with its performance.

Strengths:
Effortless power, abilitiy to drive virtually any loudspeaker, build quality,
resale value

Weaknesses:
Price when new

Similar Products Used:
Sunfire, Parasound

Riki_Stefano

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.60 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1790.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
I use the Krell KAV 250a with Thiel CS 3.6 The Thiel's need an amp that can best control the base without compromising the delicious mids and highs. The KAV 250a is a superb master of base. The base is crisp and fast. The highs are detailed without being harsh. The mids especially voices have the ability to touch the soul. I can listen to the combination at live performance levels for hours without fatigue. I find that the combination has the ability to impact emotions (not something you hear very often about solid state devices). I expect to use the amp for at least 10 years. An amp you must listen to before spending larger amounts of green

Strengths:
more than just powerful.textured mid,extended silky highs,very deep tight bass(excellent control)

Tommy

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1850.00 from friend

Summary:
I recently bought Krell KAV-250A from my friend who is also a definite audiophile. I tested many amps before I bought this unit and for 2.1K, I can tell you that this unit is the best bang for the buck. I put it against medium level amps such as Aragon 8000B, ARC D400II,D250 mkII McCormack and BAT 200,Ayre,Belle and I felt that this unit is superior. A comparable solid state amp to this amp at its time was the Krell KSA 80B. From old reviews, the KAV-250A sounded better. What turned me off with the old Krell KSA was that it was Class A and it always ran like an oven (waste of electricity.)Unlike the KAVs runs cool. I also actually liked the sound of the Krell KAV-250A better than the ML 332. The KAV-250A was not so laid back and had alot more power. Plus the ultimate reason for buying this amp is that it has incredible bass. Extremely tight and controlled. I have not been able to max this amp out w/o going deaf. Top rating from all the top audio magazine when it was in production and definitely a top rating from me.ighly recommended A+++++++++

ChefBum

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from audiogon

Summary:
I decided to trade in the Sunfire 300wpc load invariant power amp and try out this Krell. These have come down in price quite a bit since they were introduced in the 90's and used ones can be had for a relatively reasonable price. So far I'm happy with it. Truth be told, it isn't always easy to hear the improvement over the Sunfire. The Krell does sound and feel quite commanding, however. It drives my Thiel CS22s with what seems like effortless control. Perhaps its presence has resulted in that nth degree of authority.

Strengths:
Things I really like about this amp: 12v dc trigger for auto power on/off, robust build quality, balanced inputs, effortless control.

Weaknesses:
none (though it would be overpriced at the original $3K plus MSRP)

Similar Products Used:
Sunfire load invariant, various 2-channel and multichannel power amps.