Krell 3250 Amp (1 Viewer)

[Jared Neumann]

RIGHT NOW I AM RUNNING AN ADCOM 7807 AMP
I ORDERED ABOUT 4 WEEKS AGO THE KRELL 3250 FOR MY FRONT THREE CHANNELS DO YOU THINK I WILL NOTICE A CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCE OR DID I MAKE A SILLY FINACIAL DECISION

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

I gotta say... nice toys!

The GFA7807 puts out a tremendous amount of clean power. The GFA7805 was tested to just over 600w into 4 ohm (which your M&K S5000 are). The same guy who did the incredible California Audio Labs CL2500 MCA designed the GFA780x series.

What were you trying to accomplish with the addition of the KAV3250?

 

[Jared Neumann]

I JUST FIGURED THE KRELL FOR THE FRONT THREE CHANNELS WOULD SOUND A LOT BETTER. DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD
OR AM I WASTING MY $$$

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

With my hearing, in a double blind test, I wouldn't be able to hear the difference. I cannot speak for your hearing because it could be way way better.

 

[Chu Gai]

Unless your present Adcom is defective then I fail to see where the sonic improvements will come from. It's an attractive looking amp though.

 

[Ernest Yee]

Eh - you have upgraditis - what can you do?

Hopefully just having something "Krell" will subside that and you can move onto other things.

 

[Shane Martin]

I JUST FIGURED THE KRELL FOR THE FRONT THREE CHANNELS WOULD SOUND A LOT BETTER. DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD
OR AM I WASTING MY $$$

Try it in your home and let us know what you think. We all have different value systems so its unlikely we'll solve that debate for you. I assume your dealer will allow a return right?

 

[Yogi]

For HT you might not see any improvement but for 2 ch music you might see some improvement depending on your other hardware.

 

[Chu Gai]

like the adcom was dynamically challenged in some fashion? hey Yogi, Happy Thanksgiving! I'm a sucker though, just what sort of hardware that would plug into his preamp would result in a sonic difference?

 

[Shane Martin]

I'm a sucker though, just what sort of hardware that would plug into his preamp would result in a sonic difference?

Better cd player/transport.. better external dac...

 

[JeremySt]

The Krell will blow away the Adcom. Ive listened to both quite a bit.

 

[Chu Gai]

well if, and it's a big if, there were a change from a better transport or an external DAC, then why wouldn't the change be the same in both cases Shane? We're dealing here with amps that are fairly similar in power output, noise low enough to be considered inaudible, flat FR, and no funny stuff with high output impedances? Therefore, there must be a compelling electrical characteristic, and that would be?

 

[Jared Neumann]

Actually Ernest I already have a "Krell" piece, my pre is a Showcase and thats what made me order the 3250. I was using the adcom 880 pre then when i hooked up the Krell it was a HUGE difference.

And Jeremy taking your advice should I can the Adcom altogether and do a 3250 and 2 2250's or just go with the 3250.

 

[Yogi]

Happy Thanksgiving to you too Chu. I am not familiar with his other hardware but if his speakers were of high enough resolution then he perhaps might hear a difference in stereo. Electrostats perhaps.

 

[JeremySt]

Comparing the numbers between the Krell and the Adcom may not show a huge difference, thats why I use my ears. The Krell sounds better. I can't quantify it by anything else. It is my personal opinion that the build quality of the Krell far surpasses the Adcom. The circuit topology and purity of a Krell amp is something they have always been known for. Of course, on some speakers, the difference between a big class A amp and an average A/V reciever may be hard to appreciate.

I think Adcom builds great stuff. I have owned their amps before. I had Krell amps after that. I like the Krell amps better.

 

[Chu Gai]

I quite agree that numbers, in and of themselves can be misleading. Now if your evaluations were unsighted, level-matched, time proximate ones, then at least to me, they'd carry a greater degree of meaning. The build quality or overdesign may indeed be greater in a Krell, but that in and of itself does not translate to longevity and the weight and metal thickness game has been played for a long time solely for the purpose of jacking up prices. It does though translate to higher initial costs and higher maintenance costs. After all, Toyota's are considerably more reliable than a Rolls.

Since Jared has apprently ordered the 3250, he is in a position to objectively answer the question if he chooses to enlist the aid of a friend and a multimeter. A little work, yes, but perhaps some knowledge gained.

 

[Brian Fitterman]

A few months back I was having trouble with TV inferance with my Proceed HPA2. This is a very good sounding amp. To get a basline with a different amp I borrowed a KAV2250 from my dealer and borrowed a scope from my friend. It was indeed the HPA 2 causing the issue, but it turned out to be the new WBT binding posts that I put on the amp. Not sure how binding posts casued this, but I put back the factory ones (very simple change, no soldering involved) and the interance went away.

But, while I had the Krell there, I compared the two. When I did the comparason, I never thought there would be any noticable difference...but there was. The Krell's bass was much much better. The other thing I noticed was guitars seemed to sound more realistic. It ened up costing me about $1200 to upgrade, but it was worth it.

So, IMHO, yes the Krell is worth it. As long as you have the rest of the system to support it, I recommend it.

 

[Yogi]

I noticed the exact opposite difference between the Proceed HPA2 and the KAV2250. More solid bass and much more air and better soundstaging on the Proceed compared to the Krell. Another evidence in support of the old adage that music lies in the listener's ear.

Regards,