Old Krell vs new Krell amps...


Hello,
I actually have to choose between differents Krell amps, for roughly the same price :
a pair of Krell Audio Standard (KAS)
a Krell Evo 302
and for half the price a pair of KAS-2 amps

How do they compare, in terms of sound ?
The KAS is a legend, but is it actually still a good choice ? Its fiability is good ? The KAS is really better than the KAS-2 ?
And, what about the new Evo amps ? Are they better than the KAS or the FPB amps ?
My speakers are easy to drive : Tannoy GRF, but I may swap to big TAD or JBL...
I can't compare those amps directly because they are sold in different(and very far from each others) shops.
Thanks a lot for all informations and advices.
Best Regards,
nico_g
I have had the KAS's since they were released. They have been magnificent performers and only a month ago did one of the mono amps go up in smoke. Thus ~20years of conitnuous enjoyment. The amp is at the factory now for repair. I sent the other back about 2 years ago for repair. Otherwise they have been extrememly reliable for such high perfomance.
Fjmcsu, just wondering what speakers you drive with your KAS.
I am considering buying a pair of them and would need some guidance:
They are meant to be really good at driving very low efficiency and/or very low impedance speakers.
At the same time, many people consider the KAS to be fundamentally more musical than many other (and more recent) Krell designs.
The question is whether it's worth going for KAS if you don't have such load issues. I have a pair of JM Lab Utopias. They are not as hard to drive as the famous Apogee speakers (which made the KAS very famous as they were hard to drive with anything else), and they have decent sensitivity. They just need top quality amplification because they are very transparent, to be thightly controlled and some current.
The KAS will most likely drive them across the first 2-3 steps of the 5 stage bias system (ie I will never need more than 125W I think, most of the time even below 50W (Level 2).
Does it make sense to go for the KAS with a pure musicality objective in mind if you don't need all that power?
Moreover, does the KAS perform as well at low power than at higher power? You could argue that on the first couple of bias levels it is so cold that you'd wonder if the various components operate at their nominal temperature...
I currently have a KSA-150 (for ages). It has way enough power for my system and it took me a looong time to consider switching. Do you think I am going to experience a significant sonic improvement by switching to KAS?

Thanks,
I own 2 of the Kas-2 (purchased used 5 years ago). One of them went up in smoke, and I am reluctant to send them back to Krell. They told me (judging from the picture: top of circuit board burned badly), they do not have the replacement circuit board anymore, they can't fix it. I live in California, shipping would be very costly. Now that I hear about yours going up in smoke, I am scared to spend money on them. I love the sound, but Krell is not accommodating me at the least. Can you give me an idea? Attila
Did you ever get your amp fixed and if so by whom? Did Krell ever offer any support? Do you like the amps?
Hi Gentleman!, I am going to be your rescue!, I am a avid krell user, and have been for many years like your selfs, There is a gentleman named steven, He was the service manager at krell for numerous years untill Dan D Agistno departed, Steven trained Ray Muchler, the current service manager there at krell, the name of steven's company is called, The service Department Home,, steven is a specialist of all krell, also all vintage Krell equipment!, go to his web site, read the reviews of customers, Tell him Keith Henry-Audiolabyrinth of Mobile, AL sent you, Steven gurantees all His work, Let me know here if you gentleman talk to Steven, I will be checking back on this thread, I want to know what he tells all of you, I have a totally brand new inside and out Krell 700cx, steven did not do the job, Krell did, I have mods inside that krell claims that my amp is the only one out there like it, part of the mods is caps that were not available in 2005 that are 2014 caps, I talked to Steven before I did this very exspensive job to my amp, I did a three way conversation, my amp was sent to krell for the job to get in stock new cosmetics, steven would had to have ordered them, Steven is Honest!, He told me Ray Muchler that he trained could do the particular job I wanted, and I all my cosmetic new parts would be there, I could get my amp back a little faster, so at the end of the day, Steven is first class!, If I ever need anything else, The Service Department Home and Krell are my only choices, if Krell can't do the job, Steven can!, Cheers.