Krell KAV-1500 Vs. KAV-200a

The KAV-1500 has been discontinued, while the KAV-200 is current. You've probably seen pictures, but they're styled differently. The KAV-1500 only had a production run of about 9 months, which is pretty short even for Krell. The local shop here, which likes to talk in superlatives, claims the KAV-200 is MUCH better, but there seem to be a lot of very satisfied owners of the 1500 and you can get it at closeout prices (approx. $5K). If the styling is not an issue (and the new styling is VERY good looking), I'd want to be very convinced that it was worth the extra money for the KAV-200, or get it for not much more than the 1500. I would guess both are excellent performers, though I don't personally own either (I have the KAV-500 and the KAV-250a). -Kirk

I just purchased a new KAV 1500 for just under 5,000.00. It is alot of amp for the money and sounds fine. I have never known Krell to make a bad amp. I have a set of Krell Kas-2s for my music only system, but I have not done a side by side test with the same speakers to see if there is much of a difference. Let me know what you find out. You can find new KAV 1500s on E-bay, but the reserve is usually 4999.00. schange@swbell.net

I also recently purchased the KAV 1500 and couldn't be happier with its power and sound. Although I have not A/B tested the 200a vs. the 1500, but in reading through the descriptions/specifications of the two models on Krell website and other on-line sources, I didn't notice any difference, other than the power output. Furthermore, Krell themselves have made no reference to any improvement in sonic quality of this model over previous models - a point I think they would definitely capitalize on in their marketing literature if there was one, such as their new KCT design for example.