Ok here goes....the shootout of P3A fully integrated vs Krell KSA 100 + Adcom preamp
Both amps sounded quite similar, but P3A had a more forward image location and depth. The Krell was more 2 dimensional but broad. We played music from Queen - Another one bites the dust and the Krell had a more massive grip on the bass guitars. Dynamics of the tracks were strangely won by the P3A. All of this from a mere 10,000uF per channel compared to Krells "coke sized can" caps. Probably 1 Farad or so. The P3A exercised the cones of the 18W midwoofer to the limits. 2cm point to point excursion was seen on the cones ! What an incredible midwoofer. The distortion (if any) was hardly audible.
Overall tone of the Krell was leaner and a touch more detailed. Saxophones sounded thinner in comparison. P3A was overall more musical, with vocals having a warmer tone. On complex orchestral pieces, both amps were able to resolve the fine details, but the Krell had a slight advantage in layering of instruments (violin and violas were more easily identified).
The main difference is in the bass. Considering that the amps were run on his demanding 86dB 3 way speakers - (6.5'' Scanspeak 18W, 12M and R2904 tweeter), I expected the Krell to perform better, and it did. The P3A finds my 8'' woofers a breeze to drive.
The final comments were " Can compete in the $2k range". He was quite impressed that a DIY amp could sound very good without any hiss/buzz. Considering that the KRell is $4000 new, and that he purchased it used for $2000, it did compete very well with the Krelll. I told him that my total cost was $250 and again he was flabbergasted.
How about another project that competes with amps costing $10K or more !!
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