Krell KSA 200 stereo amplifier

Hello ,
IMO if you are selecting 8 ohm speakers , the Krell would not be my choice. They excel with low efficiency low impedance speakers..

regards,

Thank you for your experience and responses to this thread...I am looking to mate a KSA 200-S and KRC-3 preamp w/ totem model 1's or mani-2's if I can find a good used pair...seems like buying a used amplifier would be "safer" than buying a used speaker, I dunno, I really want the mani-2's but 4k for brand new is way too much for my budget, I have heard the little ksa 50-S drive model 1's and the sound was very good, I was really surprised, so I know that the krell/totem synergy very much appeals to me....some say the totems are bass and treble heightened to elucidate a dynamic presentation, i.e., colored...and to be fair I do understand what they are referring to, I have noticed this when attending the totem rooms at the NY shows, but still they are damn imopressive at their price range. You have to go alot higher to find something serious that rivals or exceeds them, as near as I can tell. I have always been blown away by a minimoinitor on a targe R-4 stand that throws sucha huge open and deep soundstage w/ tight, fast bass, and yet it dissappears as only minimonitors do...I have an older brother who is wealthy as helll (got me into this in the first place!) and he has owned some of the best floorstanders, Kharma, Theil, some pretty nie stuff, I dont care, I have always felt like a floorstander always sounds like there are two speakers sitting ther makeing the music and for me the "illusion" experince is gone, at least for me

The bad on this krell, is the weight...too heavy, but in sound matters its great, it is Rated at 200w/ch in 8 ohms, 400w/ch into 4 ohms, 1600w/ch into 1 ohm.

KSA is good for speakers with speakers where they have hard load demands or big swings in impedance (I sold B&W and though the 803 was a 90db speaker needed current as it went below 4 though nominally rated at 8 ohm.So if it's and easy speaker save money with A/B 300 but if you want Krell Class A power then KSA is choice.Both have same Krell grip on bass like few amps do but Class designs are way better,more heat and of course more money.I have a 300S but no speaker that needs power.KSA was only series in Krell that could go stable constant in 1 ohm load (for @,400 wpc!) and some said it would go into 2 ohm.Great for Apogees or other notorious current suckers (like say Vandersteen Quattro or Sonus Faber but is bad match for Maggies.Big Bryston is best match their.Good for a 4 to 6 ohm 84-89 load.
Chazz

You should take a look at the current thread on Krell KMA 160 amplifiers, the sonic signature is fairly similar as the KSA 200 is from the same generation of Krells and the power output is pretty much the same. I used an ARC SP11 MkII with my Krell KSA 80 (smaller sibling of the 200) years ago and drove Duntech Princesses, they worked fine together. This generation of Krells excelled at driving difficult loads, particularly Apogee speakers, and I always felt they sounded excellent with all the Duntech models of the time as well, including the big Sovereigns.

I think you will find that time has marched on and something like the Krell S 300i will actually sound considerably better and likely to be cheaper. In addition it is an integrated thus saving cost of line stage. It puts out close to 400 watts at 4 ohms so should be enough for most usages. The 200 will put out more into 2 ohm loads so if you have very low impedance speakers this might be a factor. Martin Colloms, who has tested both, gives the 200 a rating of 19.5 and the 300 one of 45 so if he is even close the S 300i would be the better buy.