MC402 vs FPB 300cx

I think you'll be wow'd. I'd like to get my 300C upgraded to a 400CX...just haven't gotten around to it. I don't want to go "ampless" for any amount of time.

BTW - the 400CX will be slightly bigger/heavier than the 402.

I had an MC-352 before going to a FBP-300C. The MC-352 was the predecessor to the MC-402, and the FPB-300C was the predecessor to the FPB-400CX, so it is bigger than the 300CX that you have.

I loved the 352, and it had loads of bass with my Legacy Focus 20/20s. The Krell too has tons of bass, but it seems a bit tighter to me. The Krell added a lot of detail without loosing the music IMHO - contrary to many Krell "haters" around here. With the Mac, I found myself listening mostly to small Jazz groups, but with the Krell, I found myself listening to all kinds of music, not just small groups. It isn’t nearly as soft sounding, but then I wouldn’t call my Krell hard either.

One nice thing that I noticed about the Mac though, it took little or no time to warm-up. The Krell is a different story. It takes at least 1/2 to really come around for me.

Either one is quite nice, but my preference is with the Krell. Since you have the Mac for demo, you are doing the right thing. Perception is reality here, and only you know what you’ll like. Be aware though, the Krell needs to be warmed up by playing music through it…just being turned on isn’t enough from my experience.

Best of luck!

Where are you located? There's got to be someone with a Krell FPB around. Preferably one bigger than the 300CX.

Like I said above, I never thought the MC-352 was lacking in the bass department and expect no less from the 402. Furthermore, my speakers at that time demanded a ton of current to really get up and go. Both the Mac and Krell fulfill this need in spades. With many speakers, its all about current [amps] not power [watts].

Regarding the whole class A and class A/B issue, all that matters is how the sound reaches your ears. Who care about the circuit design [tongue-in-cheek]? I think a direct comparison is absolutely fair...it's your money and your system after all!

Just a thought - can you try single-ended input vs balanced. This is not from my own experience, but I have heard of others who comment on differences/improvements for some reason [going single-ended of all things!?].

This amp seems to do better with Jazz in my system

This is EXACTLY what I observed when I had the MC-352. I honestly just thought I had lost appreciation for other types of music because all I wanted to listen to was quieter or simpler jazz tracks. They sounded fantastic though.

Then when I got the Krell, Everything I was listening to sounded great, with more detail and emotion, plus I went back to listening to everything else again...almost immediately. It was then that I became suspicious of what was going on.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, I have a FPB-300C (the 400cx predecessor). Keep in mind, even from stand-by status, this amp seems to take about 30 minutes of playing to truly sound it best. As you have found, you can tell it’s working by the heat. You play quietly and it stays coolish-warm. When you turn it up, it gets downright hot…don’t touch your forearm to it when playing loud (from my experience).

Also, I began with the 8TC speaker cables (pre-Krell in my case), and I can tell you from my own experience that there is more "life" in other cables. The 8TC is decent, but your system has surpassed them for sure.

Regarding glare - to be honest, changes in my source have had the most profound effect on anything that could be considered glare. I have an Esoteric DV-50, and I didn't realize how much glare there was until The Upgrade Company worked it over. It is very strange to me how the music can become more extended at the top-end while at the same time having less glare and being easier to listen to, but that is what happened in my case. My description seems contradictory...I know. FWIW, only after the Upgrade Company did the work on my player did I ever notice significant changes with ICs and PCs as well. Before then, changes in those cables were nearly impossible to detect.

As far as speaker cabling; I have heard big changes in different speaker cables, and surprisingly, I have ended up with an all silver cable. I can hear it now from those reading this…eeesh...Krell AND silver...sounds bad right...not at all. These no-longer-available silver speaker cables give the music more body and "roundness/realness" than anything else I tried, and it is the only silver speaker cable I ever tried…I think.

As a suggestion, you might want to try Reality speaker cables. I tried them a few months back and I felt my existing cables were better (and should be for the price); nevertheless, the Reality cables gave a nice warmth and musicality to my system. They are not at all expensive and have a good return policy. Actually, I’d call them a bargain for the money.

Just my 2 cents…maybe it worth less than that.

I would also suggest looking into the Cable Company's demo library. You pay in very little (5%) but get to try all kinds of stuff (PCs, ICs, and speaker cables). They also have a database of experience from other users and their specific gear that might also help speed up the process for you.

I am doing this with PCs. Buying and selling on AudiogoN is a valuable resource for sure...if done right, but this way you know exactly what you’re getting into ahead of time. Plus, that 5% goes towards any purchase you might make.

I haven’t actually done this yet myself, so maybe I am missing something. I have reserved some cables that should become available in the next week or two. You are also limited to their predetermined lengths. I think it is 1.5 meters for PCs and ICs, and 10 feet for speaker cables.

As I mentioned above, with below 2ohm dips, my speakers at the time were very current demanding. The Mac had absolutely no problem at all handling this.

Neither did the Krell for that matter.