The following review compares the 2x more expensive Boulder 866 integrated with the KRELL K-300i.
Boulder 866 integrated amplifier | Stereophile.com
Boulder 866 integrated amplifier | Stereophile.com
Krell K-300i (with its optional DAC) vs. McIntosh MA7200 (with DA1) vs. ? (including DAC)
The following review compares the 2x more expensive Boulder 866 integrated with the KRELL K-300i. Boulder 866 integrated amplifier | Stereophile.com |
Thanks for that @yyzsantabarbara . I'm looking at both of those right now. I was supposed to audition the Boulder this past Saturday but the dealer told me after I showed up that he couldn't get to it as he had too much stuff in his shop. I drove an hour and a half and left after 20 minutes. And some of these old, full of themself dealers wonder why people do so much online shopping. |
@oldaudiophile To your question on speaker placement, when I demoed the SF Olympica Nova V, they had the speakers pulled out in front of the gear too. I asked the dealer about placement and he suggested that against the wall will be fine, and may amp the bass a bit (I’m okay with this). As for toeing in / out, etc, my speakers won’t come in for a few weeks, so we’ll see, but I most likely will have them near the wall facing straight out into the living room. I’ll report back once I have the system set up. |
@oldaudiophile I hope all is well. A little more active over here compared to the Stereophile forum. I might focus on improving your DAC. You can keep using the Marantz as a transport, but stepping forward with a better DAC will have a big impact. That being said, a better amp can have a positive impact. Mc and Krell are great. I don't listen to either one frequently. A buddy had the Krell and sold it but kept a Krell Power Amp driving a pair of Focal Arias. It is very good sounding gear. I have preferences for a few other brands. If you are looking for clean, clear, accurate and powerful, Hegel is awesome. If you are looking for something that is more musical and engaging while still delivering a lot of power, I love AVM. You are between the 390 and 590 from Hegel but they have very good internal DACs. You would get excellent amplification AND a DAC upgrade with either. The AVM A5.2 is a nice unit and would leave you room to upgrade your DA converter at existing budget. Read the review from Gary Beard over at Positive Feedback. Or the A6.2 Master Edition is right on budget. There is a recent review from Herb Reichert in stereophile. Both would be brilliant with your current speakers and would work well with speakers would be natural progressions from the Revels like higher end Revels or Perlisten, etc.... |
as usual, scott (@verdantaudio) provides solid, specific advice my only add to his comments is that the h390/590 in the hegel int amp line provide an excellent degree of ’musicality’ to how they present the music, noticeably moreso than the lower models (h190 and down) in their stepladder which are quite as scott describes (i have no affiliation to hegel, other than having had or currently have their h390, 590, 160, 190, 90, rost, h20) while the onboard dacs are very good, the analog amp sections are truly among the very best in powerful solid state |