Krell vs Levinson vs Pass vs Rowland

I heard a rumor the 300 series Levinson amps are getting another upgrade soon. If so a "current" 334 owner will have to get the factory mod to "latest" status. This will be I believe $2000.00? I think that's what it cost the first time for the 333... Ask your dealer!

I'd go with Pass. Just my opinion...

Daniel

I own a krell fpb 200c I actually have it for sale on this site. Its a great amp in every way. But in my system I like the levinson better. It may be because I use a levinson 39 and I had a levinson 335 and sold it and bought the krell 200c. The levinson is more open and airy sounding compared to all above mentioned. They are all great amps. But your surrounding equipment will be the deciding factor. Also if your buying a krell it MUST be the cast version. There is a big diffrence between the fpb 200 and the fpb 200c and If anyone tells you diffrent they are lying to you to make a sale. Good luck

One more nomination for Pass or Rowland. I would lean towards Rowland, but not by too much. Levinson and Krell need to play catch-up.

I think I should clarify my system: The speakers I am running are power hungry Platinum Solos-these will not change. I have a temporary preamp (classe cp-35) which I intend on replacing with a tubed preamp such as a hovland hp-100, or sonic frontiers line 3. I also have a temporary cd player which I will replace probably with a levinson 39.

What I am doing is building my system from the speakers, then to the amp, then preamp and source. I want to make sure my amp will run well with tubed preamp, and I will tweak the system with cables etc to add warmth etc. I just want to make sure I have the best amp for those listed attributes. I feel I can always add warmth with tweaks. Thanks!!

First let me state that I am a Pass dealer so there is already a preconceived bias since that is the line I chose to carry.

I have had all the amps that you are considering in house. They all have strengths and all of them work fine with tube
preamps. In the Reference room in our showroom we use the X 600's and the X 250 with either a First Sound Paramount or a Red Rose signature preamp. We of course also have tube mono blocks in the room.

My opinion would be Rowland or Pass but realize you will pay more for Rowland because they start at a higher price to begin with. There have been a few threads that the Rowland amps maybe a touch more musical than the Pass. I would use the term a touch more delicate and because of that I personally find that with the tube preamps that I have in house that the Pass is a better match than the Rowland. Now with different tube preamps that may not be the case I can only offer what I have heard.

The best thing of any of these lines is that any of these amps should last you as long as you desire to keep them. Which in the audiophile world is usually not very long!

Good luck.