Krell 700cx

[maharajs]

hi guys

i have a krell 700cx and have read that one has to take care matching a valve pre to this unit.

the valve preamps i am considering from Macintosh are the;
ma 352
c2500

anyone have any experience or knowledge on these pairings and can offer any advice to me

thanks

[Robert_Anderson]

I used an EAR 868 with my Krell monos for a couple of years and was very satisfied.

[maharajs]

Thanks Rob, I will check out. Challenge will be to find one locally.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by maharajs

hi guys

i have a krell 700cx and have read that one has to take care matching a valve pre to this unit.

the valve preamps i am considering from Macintosh are the;
ma 352
c2500

anyone have any experience or knowledge on these pairings and can offer any advice to me

thanks

I owned a Krell 700cx for 10 years. You are a fortunate man. It's a fantastic sounding amp. In the OM Krell warns against excessive DC that can arise from poorly engineered tube pre's. This amp can tolerate some DC and has a servo to eliminate it if detected. I don't think Mac tube pre's produce direct current. I think you are safe with a Mac pre.

However, I recommend the Krell solid state pre's of that vintage using CAST IC's. If you do this you will have one of the very best pre/power amp combinations in existence. Like a Krell KRC hr. I owned one of these and found it a superb match to the 700cx.

Best

Charles

[maharajs]

Hi Charles, many thanks for the advice

I do have the Krell KCT preamp and a pair of Krell Cast cables. Combo is rather good however lacks a little finesse on the top end which I know that Macintosh does well. I’m hoping that The tone controls on board will help in dialing in the detail I am looking for.

And that ma352 is just gorgeous

[Charles]

Maharajs, then I would go with a C-22 (new updated or the C-70). These are beautiful tube pre's. They are absent the DA2 module which may be a good thing. I think the sound of these pre's will complement the sound of the 700cx very nicely. You possess one of the best sounding amps on the market period. This class A amp has so many features I can't begin to enumerate them. The only drawback is the heat. Your amp will need a 20 amp line. Buy an excellent power cord. Ivan or Puma are the experts. I'm not. Let me know how things turn out.

Best

Charles

p.s. no power conditioner, doesn't need one.

[maharajs]

Thanks Charles, power wise, the unit runs on a dedicated 32amp isolator wired direct to the dB. My unit also didn’t allow for a separate power cable, it has the factory fat gauge power cable wired directly into the unit.

Will check out the c22

[Charles]

Originally Posted by maharajs

Thanks Charles, power wise, the unit runs on a dedicated 32amp isolator wired direct to the dB. My unit also didn’t allow for a separate power cable, it has the factory fat gauge power cable wired directly into the unit.

Will check out the c22

I also owned a Krell MR subwoofer that had a detachable power cord. Now I remember that Krell specially manufactured a power cord to specifically use with the 700cx. The cord is definitely not a stock cord but a special cord. Krell was dissatisfied with the current attachable power cords available at that time so they made it impossible to attach an inferior cord to this amp. This is just one of the many special features you get with this amp. For example the amp has no capacitors or capacitor bank. It has double the amount of transistors of a regular amp and they are special transistors. Also a 6,000 watt power supply. It runs full class A 100% of the time by means of a special bias circuit that was specially manufactured by Dan D'Agostino of Krell. Still it runs really hot, the only drawback, but the sound can't be matched.

Best

Charles