Build quality, performance, versatillity, 5 year p&l warranty, and support.

limited to off road applications, mainly livingrooms, cost can be an issue but worth the wait...if that is what it takes to get it.

Ever try to pull a stump out of the ground with a dog sled, or a travel trailer with a VW? Me neither. Being bitten by the sometimes insatiable audio bug, it does not take long to find out the main ingredients are clean ample power and loudspeakers that like it. Such is the case with the Krell. Smooth, ready, and able to develop sufficient power for the majority of music events. Quiet and willing are the things I have noticed in just a short time. I use it with the matching preamp and a Sony 444ES 5.1 rec. for theater applications, along with a compliment of B&W speakers. (which will soon be replaced with Monitor Audio or Martin Logan). The preamp is going back as my needs/desires have changed and I can't justify a limited 2ch. line preamp in addition to a multichannel processor/preamp to be added soon. But back to the amp, bridgagble, biamp config, 500w/4ohms, 1000w/2ohms, just about all i need and certainly a very good sounding unit as well. No complaints and the support and info from Krell has been great. God willing and my wallet don't bust wide open I'll be adding a three channel version or maybe a step up to the full power (X line) in a year or two. It might not pull stumps or RV's the way it sits....but with the right transmission and rear end.... Great overall product with excellent support and sounds absolutly teriffic! If you only can afford one amp and want solid state, this one deeserves some serious consideration...even at list it presents a very good value.

Similar Products Used:

None really, although I have used the B&K REF2220 which I traded in to get the Krell. BW CDM9NT, CDM1NT, BW805, and a host of other BW spkrs, and some middle of the road Sony CD players, Toshiba 3750

Clarity at low volume is very good. Tight bass, incredible sound stage.

Tends to run hot.

Absolutly fantastic. Depth of sound stage is incredible. Detail is equally amazing. Certainly one of the great amps for the price. If you don't see the detail, you need better speakers. Let the amp warm up at least 20 minutes, better at 1 hour minimum.

Every aspect!

Price

Best amp I heard under $7k for 2 channels. Detail, Detail, Detail

Similar Products Used:

levinson, proceed, sunfire, b+K, moon, conrad-johnson, BAT, classe, rotel, marantz, bryston, and tons more

Strong , detailed, Transparent sound. Excellent customer service.

Retail price is steep

I have really grown attached to the detailed sound I get out of this amp. I am sure there are better amps out there but you would really have to spend alot more. I upgraded from a parasound and haven''t looked back.

Similar Products Used:

Parasound, Adcom, Rotel

Musical Fidelity, balance in sound. BASS! No one does bass like Krell. Krell Motorolla Processors are outstanding!

Price point is a little high on this and all other Krell Products. But they are obviuously putting the extra cash towards R&D, because they sound great overall.

I agree with the other review, I don''t understand how anyone can knock this amp. Krell lite my ass, this thing rocks! I can only assume some people heard this thing and are green with envy because they can''t afford Krell amps or they can afford it but they brought it home and the amp revealed the flaws in their systems so they''re resentful because now they have to upgrage other peices. I started out with a Rotel 5 channel amp and was never completely satisfied with the Stereo side of things. It sounded good but not great, I wasn''t able to get as deep into the music as I would have liked. So I made all the typical tweaks to my system I could in hopes this would give me what I wanted things like Cables, interconnects, powercords and still not quite what I was looking for. Let me give some advice at this point: Save your money and put it where it counts before spending a mint on wires, put it into your speakers and amp. Anyway, I then decided to audition a Krell kav-250a that was on sale. I brought it home for a weekend and auditioned it and much to my surprise it was just what the Doctor had ordered. The sound the Krell amp delivered to my B&W 804s was second to none. The high tones twinkled, the mid-range snapped with authority and the Bass pounded with a thunderous accuracy I hadn''t know my speaks were even capable of. The balance in the sound was perfect, no one musical aspect is accentuated. The depth in astounding, the soundstage is dark and smooth, it will move your walls back about 20 feet on most recordings. I do however feel most Krell products are priced high and therefore can''t give it the highest rating. I only wish that everyone could own one because their amps because this is the way music should be listened to, pure unadulterated sound perfection.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel Adcom

See summary

Not to many maybe Price

This amplifier is one of the most detailed ampifiers I have ever demoed.Sweet sounding.I have started to listen to those old CD''s all over again:)

Similar Products Used:

Classe cav150 Proceed HPA series Various tube amps

Excellent entry level Krell amp.

Can run hot. Needs breathing room.

I have read many of these reviews & if the reviewer bought the unit they loved it & if they didn''t they marked it down. I had a 250a for a little over 4 years. I just traded it in on a new pair of Krell mono''s. I have seen derogatories such as "Krell Lite" tossed at this amp. It is unjustified. There are few bargains from Krell. It has excellent bass, good sounstage, nice midrange & the highs are smooth. You can spend a lot more money & get better performance but for what I see new & used 250a"s going for those who purchase one have gotten a great deal.

Similar Products Used:

Numerous Adcom amps from the smallest to the largest.

with same amplifier and none did, so reader beware, negatives seem biased clarity, inner detail at low volumes, no , no coloration, leave that to the sound editor. If can get for 3k or less, do it. I hunted for 3 months and got over huge. I am going to buy the 2 channel 150 for the back. I don''t anticipate ever buying another amp again, but if I do, it will be a Krell. I am not in the audio industry, I am a benefit consultant that loves his home theater and good music.

19 inches wide won''t fit in many racks will make you''re cheaper equipment exposed If have used inferior amps, will have to get over the fact that you didn''t know what you were missing, and that can be tough. It took me 11 years before I bought one of these, and I can''t get those years back.

I am a home theater lover, with a taste for clean music. Until SACD was invented, have always hated how CD''s lack the emotion of the live concert, I had a Sunfire Cinema grand and it was pretty good for movies, and had alot of power for the buck. I came to the conclusion when I got a SACD player that I wanted more clarity to take advantage of the 120DB range of SACD and that I will never like multi channel music. This meant I could look for a very good 3 channel amp and with movies let a less expensive amp make the bings and booms. I was right, it works great. I shopped over 15 amplifiers. I heard them all, and this is my opinion, based on my experience. I would like to open by saying, it is obvious that many people that post here, are not owners and are obviously dealers of inferior brands, and trying to confuse consumers. Shame on you, and God knows. Now that it out of the way, we can start. I seriously considered the Proceed HPA-3 , Krell KAV250a/3 and the aragon 8008 3 channel version, and the Theta only with 3 channels filled. All were good amplifiers. I side by sided all 4 and here is what I found. I base all reviews on movies and music. Aragon- very clean, very warm-definitely has been tweeked to sound warmer then the material. I live in the 4th largest city, there is 1 dealer , in the worst part of town, didn''t know his product, and that didn''t help. They are essoteric and therefore, not a big resale market. I liked it, but too many bad factors. Proceed- These guys actually started with the lead. I like Levinson products and I like his build quality philosophy. I liked this amplifier alot and I had to side by side for 3 days to choose. In the end, the Proceed was 700 more, and didn''t sound any better. They both have way more power then any human needs, and I have Infinity Kappa 9.1 series 2''s which will expose any weak amplifier. Krell rocked my world, it was the most natural, non colored amp that I have ever heard. I is on day 22 and gets better every day. It has a 5 year warranty and it has so much detail at the mid and high''s that you have to accept the reason you think it is analytical at first, is you''re unwilling to accept that you missed so much info on you''re own cd''s/dvds. It is perfect. Unreal dynamics,best high/mid by far/US/ no flaw I haven''t had problems, if I do then maybe I would, but have 3 f

Excellent build quality. Clean sounding, even at insanely high volumes. Very stable/ doubles output into 4 ohms. Tight and punchy bass. Generally smooth and warm sounding never harsh or grainy.

Price

The KAV-250a is an excellent stereo, class AB amplifier with a 2000 watt power supply, that delivers 250WPC into 8 ohms and 500WPC into 4 ohms. I actually had a difficult time distinguishing the KAV-250a from the more expensive 200C class A Krell amp during a side by side comparison test at moderate listening volumes. I'll be using the KAV 250a in combination with its three channel version to drive my home theater. I considered going with the KAV 500, but after extensive research and listening rejected the idea. I feel that the $5000.00 KAV 500 is underpowered and a poor value at 100 watts per channel. Furthermore, my Martin Logan reQuests sounded relatively thin driven by the KAV 500 in larger rooms. IMHO the KAV-250a does a better job of filling large rooms with bass.

Similar Products Used:

KAV 500, Theta Dreadnaught, Krell 200C,

Effortless playing,Deep Bass,Superb all around sound

only had cash for one

KAV 250a/3 Up grading system one piece at a time. Using to power LCR, run thru yamaha 2092 for rears & processing. Did what I knew what it could do (now my neighbors 2 blocks over know when I'm home). Have been playing with different IC, tried the monster 950i the high's hurt. Using audioquest that sound great.
Bought new at www.AudioVideologic.com great people to deal with.