Thoughts on Krell 402e vs 400e?
 

I have auditioned number of amplifiers over past few months, and it looks like Krell is the winner for me. I had luxury of having 302e for couple months, so I am familiar with Krell sound.

I love the allure of monoblocks and have been salivating over 400e. At the same time, at least on paper, 402e may be very similar. Has anyone compared the two? I understand there are more than just wattages that determine sound quality, but both are 400wpc after all...

What can be so different to justify 5.5k difference? Any ideas to give me a nudge either way would be appreciated.

Being a Bryston guy a similar thing exists between the 7B's and 14B with the main difference being price, the 7's are very close to a 14B whereas you indicate the 400e's are a lot more then a 402e. With the Brystons if you go the 7B route you get I think twice the capacitance. Looking at the Krell website I see it says "The Evolution 400e is equipped with a massive with a 4,000 VA transformer" while "The Evolution 402e is equipped with two 2,200 VA transformers and 188,000 µF of capacitance." So in the 400e it has 4,000 VA on tap whereas in the 402e you only get just a touch more then half that for the same 400 watts. In the end I'm not sure how this translates into overall audible sound differences but spec/numbers wise it's obviously quite a bit.

Interesting... As you said, I wonder how it translates into sound quality. Probably better transient dynamics with more reserve power, but again, will I hear that, is the $5500 question:scratch2: 400e 24k, 402e 18.5k

Hard to find dealers that stock these monster amplifiers for demo.

SteveK,

I own the 400e and prior to it shortly the 400. Found the 400e on al parameters the better one and this was easily obvious.
I asked the same question to my dealer who compared 400 to 402e. Said even the non e 400 was considerable better, more dynamics, better separation, more of everything.

I think the 400 watts is at 8 ohms. These Krells are beasts. They will do 1,600watts at 2 ohms. It's a matter of wall current. Definitely the mono blocks will sound better because two dedicated 20 amp lines can supply twice as much current as one. If you can afford it and can supply the 20 amp lines, one per mono amp, that is the way to go, IMO.:yes:

I do have 3 separate 20amp receptacles, one for each monoblocks and one for the rest of the gear. I just need to decide... It's good to know even the old 400 is still better than new 402e.

You are correct. Mono blocks not only sound better but have significantly higher trade in value as well. I see you have done your homework. Remember, these amps are much more powerful than 400 watts. These beasts will probably easily exceed their specs by 25% and really should be rated at about 1,000 watts at 4 ohms. Most speakers these days are 4 ohms. If I were to switch from Mac to some other amp, it would almost certaily be these amps. If you don't mind the heat and electricity drain these amps are among the absolute best on the market, period. I have always loved the Krell sound: smooth extended highs, open neutral midrange, and powerful not bloated extremely well controlled bass. With two of these new mono blocks you will never have to buy another amp. I kept my FPB 700Cx for about 10 years through one major overhaul till it literally wore out.:yes:

My previous stereo Krell KSA 150, which I had for around 20 years used on average more electricity than these two monsters and the heat is also no problem. Yes, they get warm, just comfartable to touch but not really hot, after a few hours mostly moderate level listening.
I used it with ARC Ref 5SE, which not even fully broken in with 255 hours on it, give a world-class neutrality and very open sound with outstanding separation of instruments, but also very powerful and control paired with finesse, musicality and that touch of magic...

I just bought ARC REF5 SE. Sounds like I am going in the right direction.

I can't se how ARC ever can be wrong. I'v never heard a system with ARC sounding bad. They always sounds very good.

But in my race, they finished in second place. Just behind Krell. :smoking: