While there are others feel that 'Krell is God', or that Classe is some knockoff brand that tries to be high fidelity gear, it's important to note two major issues:1. Krell is ridiculously priced audio gear (Especially the new KAV line). With the exception of the integrated, the cost of this stuff outweighs its performance. I recently heard a krell setup with a pair of Stratus Golds, and it sounded way to bright and over-detailed. It was if it was designed to make the sound 'sound' detailed, when in fact it was edgy and full of treble. Not my cup of tea.

2. Krell is one of those brands that regardless of what you tell people, they still think of it as an "audio standard". Don't get me wrong, I found the integrated to be nice, but there were a few things I didn't like about it. This is why some people turn to Classe. I see this company as very hi-fi, yet not trying to make a 75,000 650 ref amp. The Omega is one hell of a beefy power source, but you see what I'm getting at. The CA200 doesn't try to be a Krell, why should it. If all amps tried to sound like Krell, then audio would be rather boring, right? I found this amp to be one of the smoothest, relaxing ones to date. Sure, I can't really drop 3 large on an amp right now, but the less expensive siblings share alot of common sonic elements, which I can afford.

So the question really is: Do you like the Krell sound or do you like the Classe sound. After all, it is your money, and never let someone influence your purchase just because they say that one brand is better. Me, I love this amp. If I could buy it, I would. It grabs a speaker in a way that many can't, and it's got alot (alot-meaning bucnhes) of detail to satiate those that search for truth from their recordings. Easy choice of 5 speakers.

Concerning Classe products. They are NOT crap!. They hold thier own with the likes of BAT, Krell, and others. The CA-200 is an outstanding product for its price--nobody should take the advice of people who leave immature curse-ladden rants against products they do not understand. I recently purchased a Classe CA-400 after hearing it side by side with a BAT VK500. I LOVED both amps, but for me the Classe had nicer bass, and a darker, warmer sound which I prefer for listening to classical music; Nevertheless, the BAT had unbelievable slam and in your face high-frequency tightness to die for.Classe does not make garbage--Has anyone actually seen the inside of the Krell integrated amp? - It aint all that good folks. To me the Krell stuff seems cold and bright. However, trust your OWN ears.Classe CA-200. An easy 4.5 stars!

For once I agree with Yee Fung.The Krell KAV250a is an overpriced piece of junk.I also love the BAT gear.I just purchased a BAT VK3i pre-amp and am amazed by the sound.The BAT amp definately out performs the Classe' CA200 any and I mean any day of the week.I love the Krell FPB and Krell's older KSA and KST amps.
They have a drive and sense of power that very few can come close to if any.This
is where my love of Krell ends.I hate their pre-amps and especially their digital products.Krell products are initially impressive at first but become extremely ear fatiguing if listened to for more than 20 minutes.The treble is
way too bright and edgy.I also feel that the whole Krell KAV line (excluding
the KAV300i integrated)is absolute crap.I don't like many Classe' products either.They sound muddy and unrefined to me.They don't sound like they should for the money.They should cost half as much as they do.If they did,I would
have no problem with them at all.I owned Classe gear and was quite disappointed
with the performance that I got for the money that I spent.The one piece of Classe gear that looks very impressive is the CAP80.This unit is basically
a CAP100 at a much lower price.This is more like it.This looks like the deal of
the decade.Classe amps and pre-amps do sound good but for the cost they should sound better.I don't think that they sound any better than Acurus gear.Sorry
but I got to call it as i hear it.Love that BAT gear though.I can highly reccomend BAT but not Classe.The Classe'CA200 if priced at $1500 would rate
5 speakers but at $3000 it is only worth 3 speakers.

Lots of power, and a very warm tubelike atmosphere.

Too warm?

This amp has excellent control of the low end, although it is a bit rounded. You may miss some slam in certain things but it's presentation is nevertheless good. You really sense it is in control, and that control clearly extends into the midband.

The midrange is very bloomy and warm, and very tubelike. There's no question this amp puts it's own signature on the sound event, but it's a fairly delicious one. It's different from a CJ midrange, and I'm not sure which I like best. I think the CJ has more musicality, this has more of a bloom. It's like thick honey. Liquid, but not running too fast.

It's built like a tank, weighs a ton, and looks far better in person than it does in most pictures. It is clearly capable of driving just about any load you need it to.

I noticed it wanted to absorb some RF if the cables touched the fins anywhere, but careful placement eliminated that. It does run quite hot as well. But it's good to go and will not be the weak link in your system.

Similar Products Used:

Conrad Johnson, Adcom

I stressed over the purchase of an amplifier for almost 5 months before decideing on the Classe CA-200 for my system. I have now had the CA-200 for 3 months and I feel like I can give this thing an objective review. The system that I used to decide on an this amp is the same that I will give the review on.The system consist's of a Sonic Frontiers Line 2 preamp, Theta Miles CD player, B&W 803 series 2 loudspeakers with Kimber 8tc bire cable and Kimber Hero interconects. The amps I was able to bring home for audition was the Krell FPB-200 Levinson 332 CJ MF-2300, Proceed Power one and the Classe CA-200.
To be honest as I can, if I could have aforded the Levinson 332 it would be in my system, it was by a long shot the best amp of the bunch. So I thought the Krell would be in the same ball park just becouse of its price, and this unit was slightly used so I was getting a great deal on it, but it was not, in my system the Krell was very thin on top and no sence of depth, the bottom end was great but that was about it. I was able to have the Classe and the Krell at the same time and was able to do some side by side comparasons. The Classe was not as strong as the Krell in the very bottom end, however the Classe had a much warmer mid section and a very smoth top end that caused the sound to flow much better than even the CJ. The sound through my speakers was much better controlled by the Classe, it just had a better overall caracter than the Krell or CJ. I was very concerned and labored over this for sometime, because of the great deal I was getting on the FPB-200. The Classe CA-200 is the new updated version (don't no what the old one sounded like)and has by far the best build quality of any of the amps I have seen. This is, in the right system a very good amplifer, that can sonicly compare with the best and build quality it has no equal. Stongly recomended.

Fellow Audiophiles, don't think less of Classe' just because they don't have the prestige or overprice their products like Krell and Mark Levinson do. This 200 watt Classe'for $3000 beat the pants off the $6000 Krell FPB 200 and the Levinson No.331 for $5000. The Classe's midrange and highs were so much sweeter and smooth than the above two. The Classe' didn't have quite as much bass as the Krell or quite the transparency as the Levinson, but overall I'd take the Classe' in a heartbeat, regardless of price. Build quality and looks of all three are excellent, so the Classe' gives nothing up there. A terrific amp for a bright speaker, but it might not appeal to you hard-core rock fans.

Krell is God,Classe'sucks period.There is no way that a Classe amp sounds betterthan a Krell amplifier.These people who have wasted their money on Classe have
been fooled by the most evil of all salesmen....The Classe Salesman.........
Classe makes well bulit but horrible sounding amps.They don't even stand a chance compared to a Krell.Classe's digital products are even worse they sound
dirty and unrefined compared to the best.If you are one of the unlucky few
who have been ripped off upon purchasing Classe, I feel sorry for you.Krell
makes a far superior amplifier than Classe.Classe is not even in the same league
as Krell.Classe is a very ordinary amp in the solid state realm.Classe tries
to mix the sound of solid state with the sound of tubes.They fail at this miserably.Most tube amps (Audio Research,Conrad Johnson,B.A.T.,VAC,Cary,and
Sonic Frontiers) blow the doors off of-----ANY------Classe design.Do yourself a
favor any dealer that sells Classe stay the hell away.They will lie,cheat,
and steal you're money.They are sharks with big fins.Probobly the most evil of
all Classe dealers is either Lyric in N.Y.C. or Overture in Delaware.On another
note if you are interested in Krell,stay the hell away from Sound by Singer in
N.Y.C. Andy Singer is a fat piece of shit that is so full of himself,he probobly
eats his own shit.That's right,to hell with New York City.Stay faaaaaaaar away
from any dealer in the New York City area.This includes any dealer within 100
miles from that condemed hellhole.I will also state that if you are interested
in Mark Levinson products,don't buy the new ones.The old Mark Levinson designs
are far superior to the new ones.Before the Mark Levinson name was a corperation
Mark Levinson(the man)was and still is with Cello,absolutely concerned with
accurate sound reproduction.Cello products are nothing short of exceptional.It
is just too bad that some greedy,money hungry coorperation had to come in to
steal and disgrace such a highly regarded name such as Mark Levinson.I get the
feeling that the same fate is going to happen to Sonic Frontiers as well.A big
coorperation has now gotten involved with S.F.They hopefully won't fall for a
big coorperation's hostile takeover.All of this aside, I will state that you should never even consider purchasing a Classe product unless you want to throw
you're moey in the trash.If you like a smooth,sweet top end go for a high quality TUBE amp from one of the aftermentioned tube manufactures(Audio Research,B.A.T.,Conrad Johnson,VAC,Cary or Sonic Frontiers).The cost of replacement tubes aside will make you much happier in the long run.Classe tries
to get it right but they just don't.

What is it about Krell that fascinates people so much? I just recently purchased a BAT after a fairly extensive search of power amps. The Krellsimpressed me the least. The KAV250a is simply a piece of junk. The FPB 200 is very good, but outperformed by 4 other much less expensive amps that I auditioned. The Classe CA200 was one of them.

The Classe has a more natural mid and smoother highs than the FPB200. The only advantage the Krell had was slightly better bass power and definition. Neither of these 2 amps are however competive to the BAT that I bought.

Considering the low price of the Classe, and its all around musical , I rate it a 4.5

I've had the CA-200 for about a month after upgrading from a Bryston 3B NRB. The rest of the system consists of an ARC LS3B (running in balanced mode), an older CAL Icon Mk II, and SOTA Comet table w/a Bryston BP-1 phono stage. Thiel 3.6s are the speakers being driven by the Classe '200. VERY impressive amp. The build quality is obvious and the sound is superb for the money. This amp can easily compete with other units costing twice as much. It has plenty of bottom and the midrange and highs are full, smooth, and sweet!! There is a real sense of rhythm and pace with good jazz pieces and the amp has enough reserve for classical music with a heavy dynamic range. The Classe works well with the Thiels and drives them to the max, if needed. The bigger Thiel speakers are usually notoriously difficult to drive with lesser amps but the Classe handles them easily. The 200W power rating is on the conservative side and it does "double down" to 400W into 4 ohms. I picked the Classe CA-200 over a Bryston 4B ST because it is a bit smoother, more musical, and a little sweeter on top. Good value for the money when compared to other solid state power amps that are clearly overpriced (Krell, ARC, Levinson etc.)

It is disappointing to read reviews from the likes of Goodwrench from The Gas Station. Instead of reviewing a specific product -CA200 - this man wasted the whole page to defame and condamn ALL Classe products. I really believe this guy doesn't even own a Classe CA200 but what business does he have then in trying to knock down a brand name that is well established in the Hi Fi community and for what purpose? This man is either insane or maybe his sister was once raped by Classe!