Primare I30 vs Krell KAV 400xi

Zormi,

Are you really judging equipment based on weight rather than the actual sound quality of the units?

Andrew,

The Krell has a very healthy 200wpc. It has a clean sound with very authoratative bass. I'm not really a Krell fan, but this is one piece I would own.

I haven't heard the Primare, so I can't offer any comparisons?

Darrell

Darrell - Krell KAV-400xi has a strongly compromised power supply (750VA transformer - while proclaming 400Wpc/4ohms) and cooling devices...

Take a look the John Atkinson's measurments in Stereophile...

http://stereophile.com/integratedamps/205krell/index4.html

It seems quite poorly designed integrated.

Soundwise, I've been present at session where old Sansui Alpha 707 clearly overperformed the KAV-400xi (Dynaudio Contour 1.3Mk2 speakers, Rotel RCD-971 CDP).

As for a weight, I would always prefere 32 kilos and 100Wpc versus 16 kilos and 200Wpc. Matter of philosophy... In this particular case, lack of KAV-400xi weight indicates at least two facts, already mentioned: smallish transformer and undersized cooling devices...

Seems to be at least some truth to this arguement.... as I have heard the Krell runs rather warm and needs good ventilation.
I do want an amp that will live longer than its warranty.
interesting view.
AB

I have both Krell 400xi and Primare I30 smaller brother, the I21 at home.

All I can say that Krell is in a totally different league than Primare.

It is true that it runs VERY hot, but the same can be said about many audiophile amps - Lamm, Pass and the big Krells.

Yes but the primare i30 is in a different league to its smaller brother