Krell KST 100 amplifiers

I had one once, a grey one so it was one of the later versions. Very impressive bass, but a quite colored amp overall. Have you ever seen the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or any other Technicolor movie of that era, where the colors are brighter than in real life, so much so that it is distracting and annoying? That's kind of the way Krells sound to me, at least as close as I can describe it. They have an "impressive" sound with great "jump factor", but it gets tiresome because it's not natural. Lest you think I like my sound soft and rounded off, nothing could be further from the truth. I value true dynamics more than most listeners on my personal list of priorities.

The other issue, perhaps more serious, is that it was hands down the least reliable amp I've ever owned. I had to ship it across the country and back TWICE in the short time I owned it (less than a year, if I recall) due to major power-supply malfunctions (the kind that can kill speakers when they let go, although mine survived). As you can imagine, this can get expensive. Perhaps I just got a lemon, I will never know, but this kind of behavior is simply unacceptable in an amp of this power level and price.

Sorry to be so discouraging, but I think you can do much better. Consider McCormack or Marsh or Bryston ST or Ayre in this price range, they aren't perfect but they're a lot closer IMO.

I to have martin logan and a kst 100.I found the bright logan and the smooth krell to be a good match.Unlike the other review we have read.Mine has been reliable.

If you want an old amp, get a Classe 15. It's bass was the equal of the KSA 250 and it's treble was slightly behind in performance to the Krell. Hint: the KST was class B whlle the other two were class A.

I have a KST 100/KSL driving a pair of NHT 2.9s. It is a nice combination. The KSL/KST100 pair seem to be sensitive to badly recorded program material. Prior to this, I've had Classe(100) and conrad johnson - MV75, MV125 and PV8. All in all, I prefer the Krell solution.
The Classe was just not to my taste, lacking in sheer authority and just too colored sounding. The cj stuff: Well let's just say that the champagne finish on the faceplates belies cj's interpretation of music. Not a bad thing at all, just not for me.
I've also had a Krell KSA 250 driving a pair of Apogee Duetta Signatures. The KSA250/Duetta combination did not seem to be as sensitive to bad material. I think this is due to its exemplary midrange and treble presentation.
All in all, the KST100 is a good compromise if space is tight.

I had a Krell KST 100 for over 20 years driving a number of different Martin-Logan electrostatics (I worked for a dealer that carried both) including Sequel II, Quest, Quest Z, ReQuest (my favorite), SL3, Aerius i, Aeon, and the notorious CLS. The amp was dead nuts reliable the whole time, never a burp, fart, buzz, hum or repair.  The amp was advertised as being 50 watts pure Class A into 8 ohms (moving into Class A/B beyond that) and I believed it as it ran hotter than a Mac MC275 and pulled 6.5 amperes from the wall at idle. Working at a dealer allowed me to bring home other amps to play with including a Mac MC300, a big Nakamichi PA7, Adcom GFA 565, Conrad-Johnson MF2500 (solid state mosfet), C-J Premier 11A (tube), and the aforementioned Mac MC275 Gordon Gow edition, as well as others I can’t remember.  The 90’s, you know…. That being said, I never found the amp to be “colored” in any noticeable way on a variety of speakers that certainly could be considered very high resolution and very demanding loads. Except — for the KSA 100’s  talent for bringing out the best bass depth and control each speaker had to offer is what set it apart.  Even on the prickly CLS, it was the only amp that could draw true bass out of them - and more sheer volume - while maintaining a clean, sweet, and extended treble and reducing the CLS propensity for glare at higher volumes.  I’m really sorry I sold that amp when I moved to smaller quarters.