This is an excellent amp for the money. I purchased mine used on Ebay for about $100 and couldn't be happier with the sound quality. | concrete driveways christchurch

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To get it proper repaird I had to buy the longlife version of the capstan motor for 600 dgld. Moreover: the 2 realmotors were to exchange also due to slow spooling of the reels. It would have cost me 2400 dutchguilders to get it properly fixed! Spring Hill Truck Repair

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I de-moth balled this amp a few weeks ago as I have been going through my vintage mid 90s gear. I recently purchased a Citation 7.1 to add to my collection of Krell, Procced Amp 2 and the Citation. All 3 amps shine in their unique way, but after listening to the KAV 250 again, I'd had forgotten how good this amp really sounds. At least in my system, this amp actually has more detail, transparency and bass slam than the KSA 100s I used to own. Granted I'm using a Krell Showcase Processor and prior to that a Proceed PAV with the 100s, but the differences in sound is almost startling. I would love to find another 100s and compare now as I'm going strictly on memory between the two. Regardless for around 1200.00 you can pick one of these 250a's up and you won't be disappointed.

Associated Equipment used:

Krell Showcase for 2 channel stereo
Wadia 850 as a transport
Krell KAV 250a
Proceed Amp 2
Citation 7.1 in bridge mode
PS Audio DirectWave DAC
Eggleston Andra III speakers
PS Audio AC power cables
PS Audio Powerplant AC filter
Transparent Musiclink Plus cabling

I use this amplifier in combination with a Vincent SA-T8 tube preamplifier and a pair of Infinity Renaissance 90 and bought it for 1200 Euro in 2013. After using a pair of Rotel RB 980 as mono blocks this amp was the next step.

This amp does everything better than the Rotel monos.

250 Watts per Channel at 8 Ohm with a 2k Watt transformer should be enough power to drive almost any speaker. Especially my Renaissance 90.

A powerful precise amp with a great soundstage. Deep precise bass and nice mids and highs. In my opinion it is a great combination with a tube preamp and planar mid and highs.
The tube preamp was a great improvement over the direct connection to the Oppo 105 player.

I think it could be also a good amp to drive Martin Logan or Magnepan speakers. Compared with other Krell amps this seems to be an underrated product because it's not a class a amp and it hasn't got the dimensions of the big Krell amps.

But: maybe this is the most advantage of this amp: it's quite small, so it fits into a normal rack and it has all the things we love about Krell amps. Strongly recommended for people who need a real powerful and stable high end amp.

Fantastic Item. I have used severeal amps over the last nearly 20 yrs. i bought it because had a kav 500i in use for a couple of years and always loved this fast, precise and natural sound. only lacking of the 500i was resolution due to the preamp built in - nevertheless a fantastic integrated. the kav 250a is the same kind of amp, only gives it freedom to the preamp. with my levinson 380s the result is just stunning. the kav 250a is one of the quickest amps on the market. combines strength, precision, natural sound and control with ability to detail. detail embedded into the whole. very homogenic. power cord and main supply effects are massive. i prefer the 250a, dont laugh, over the fpb 300cx which i had used for a year. 250a even performs out levinsons 336 in naturality with the same ability to dynamics. fantastic machine.

Effortless power, abilitiy to drive virtually any loudspeaker, build quality,
resale value

Price when new

This amp drives the PSB Stratus Golds without compromise. I hear comments on
how krell amps sound cold and sterile but this is simply not true. They do not
sweeten up the sound in any way like some people might prefer. They only
reveal what is in the recording and the fingerprints of other associated equipment.
It is possible to make any equpiment sound bad given the nearly endless
possibilities of system matching. The user must take time to experiement.
After 3 years of ownership I'm still quite pleased with its performance.

Similar Products Used:

Sunfire, Parasound

more than just powerful.textured mid,extended silky highs,very deep tight bass(excellent control)

I use the Krell KAV 250a with Thiel CS 3.6 The Thiel's need an amp that can best control the base without compromising the delicious mids and highs. The KAV 250a is a superb master of base. The base is crisp and fast. The highs are detailed without being harsh. The mids especially voices have the ability to touch the soul. I can listen to the combination at live performance levels for hours without fatigue. I find that the combination has the ability to impact emotions (not something you hear very often about solid state devices). I expect to use the amp for at least 10 years. An amp you must listen to before spending larger amounts of green

I recently bought Krell KAV-250A from my friend who is also a definite audiophile. I tested many amps before I bought this unit and for 2.1K, I can tell you that this unit is the best bang for the buck. I put it against medium level amps such as Aragon 8000B, ARC D400II,D250 mkII McCormack and BAT 200,Ayre,Belle and I felt that this unit is superior. A comparable solid state amp to this amp at its time was the Krell KSA 80B. From old reviews, the KAV-250A sounded better. What turned me off with the old Krell KSA was that it was Class A and it always ran like an oven (waste of electricity.)Unlike the KAVs runs cool. I also actually liked the sound of the Krell KAV-250A better than the ML 332. The KAV-250A was not so laid back and had alot more power. Plus the ultimate reason for buying this amp is that it has incredible bass. Extremely tight and controlled. I have not been able to max this amp out w/o going deaf. Top rating from all the top audio magazine when it was in production and definitely a top rating from me.ighly recommended A+++++++++

Things I really like about this amp: 12v dc trigger for auto power on/off, robust build quality, balanced inputs, effortless control.

none (though it would be overpriced at the original $3K plus MSRP)

I decided to trade in the Sunfire 300wpc load invariant power amp and try out this Krell. These have come down in price quite a bit since they were introduced in the 90's and used ones can be had for a relatively reasonable price. So far I'm happy with it. Truth be told, it isn't always easy to hear the improvement over the Sunfire. The Krell does sound and feel quite commanding, however. It drives my Thiel CS22s with what seems like effortless control. Perhaps its presence has resulted in that nth degree of authority.

Similar Products Used:

Sunfire load invariant, various 2-channel and multichannel power amps.

Brute force and extreme detail are the words that come to mind. A very good value. One of the best amps on the market for under $3500 chucks. Krell is what it's name means, unlimited power.

I wish I had 5 more for my other channels. My friends think I'm crazy because of all the power I'm running in my system.

I am running a pair of KAV-250A's bridged to a pair Def Tech BP3000's. I was running a pair of Adcom GFA-555II's. The Krells are without a doubt the best purchase I have made to my audio system. The insane dynamics, ultra low noise floor, detail and non existent distortion are remarkable. These are all true even at head severing sound pressure levels. Sure the amps get a little toasty as I have read in a few reviews, but when they are capable of pumping out upwards of 2000 watts in their bridged mode what do you expect?

Similar Products Used:

Krell Showcase processor, monster AVS2000's, Adcom GFA555II's, monster HTS5000, Monster HTS2600, Denon DVD3800.