Krell KSA-80B Amplifiers

Krell KSA-80B Amplifiers 

DESCRIPTION

1988-1990

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-6 of 6  
[Oct 27, 2022]
specification166


Strength:

i have the 310 II studio series, these sound great withh music of all types, everything is clear, the bass is more than enough by itself, i still haven't replaced my currently not working hsu sub, it's been 2 months now. Cheyenne truck brake service

Weakness:

None . .

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Mar 18, 2002]
joe1267
AudioPhile

Strength:

Build quality, speed and clarity. Coherence from top to bottom. Great bass

Weakness:

Heat. Must be well ventilated.

It is difficult for me to find fault with this amp. It does so many thing well. I enjoy its coherence from top to bottom. The soundstage is very deep and seems to extend well beyond the boundaries of the speakers. Vocalists and instruments have a nice 3D quality. In my system, I hear no grain or glare that can plague some solid state designs. The bass of course is phenomenal with great pitch and control. The power rating of 80 watts is misleading. The power reserves seem almost limitless with my Proac''s. I have this amp mathced with a KRS-2 and the synergy is fantastic. I listen to both Vinyl/Cd and I experience no listener fatigue. The build of both pieces is second to none. They are definitely built for many, many years of enjoyment.

Similar Products Used:

Plinius,ARC,Classe,CJ etc..

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 31, 2000]
Kurt
Audiophile

Strength:

sound, looks

Weakness:

none

This Krell KSA-80 is realy a very big 80 watt class A amplifier.It uses minimal 400 watt's, even if you don't play music and a lot more when pushing it driving difficult speaker loads. I have measured a peak power output of 4000 watt's into 0.15 ohms!Paired with a Krell KRS-2 the sound is very dynamic and transparant.The low frequency presentation is very deep and powerfull.The mid and highrange are very uncoulered, detailed and fast.Soundstaging is excellent.The KSA-200 sounds very simular compared to the KSA-80 with only a little improved dynamics.I have also tried the Krell PAM-5 preamp with the KSA-80 but it sounded quite a bit less dynamic and detailed compared tot the KRS2/80 pairing.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 25, 1999]
Lee
an Audio Enthusiast

Well, this is a rather old power amp but I think it deserves a little attention. 80W pure class A, double all the way to 1 ohm (640W). Large heatsink, all balanced operation(see, Krell started using it at 1988). Little power house and sounds very good, sound a bit grainy and less bass slam only compared to KSA200S. However, it still beats most of the $2500 amp in today market.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
[Jul 14, 1999]
Richard Heck
an Audiophile

I owned a KSA-80B for about three years, abandoning it only in favor of a PassAleph 5...and that, as much as anything, because I just didn't need the power
of the Krell anymore. It's rated at 80W per side, but that's some kind of sick
joke: Given its ability to double power to below 1 ohm, it sounds like a much,
much more powerful amp. The bass slam, in particular, is amazing. Anyone who has
power-hungry, tough-to-drive speakers, especially, should keep h'er eyes open
for one of these things.

Its down-sides, to my mind, are two. First, it's a pure class A amp, so it runs
very, very hot and draws enormous amounts of power from the wall (something like
9 amps). Secondly, it can be a little harsh at times, in the upper mids, and so
needs very careful matching, lest this not uncommon sort of flaw be exacerbated
by the other equipment.

Handled carefully, this amp can be a real gem. And oh, yes...the KSA-80B can be
run in pure mono, too: Get two and go to town!

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
[Apr 24, 1999]
Alex Brenner
an Audio Enthusiast

The Krell is a fabulous little beast. Although it's not a match for an FPB or for other good power amps, like, say, an up-to-date Chord or Pass Labs, it still sounds bloody good: neutral, open, detailed and unstrained. And it can be had for relatively little money: a good bet, I'd wager, for smaller rooms.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
Showing 1-6 of 6  

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