KARAN Master Collection Power Amps

[Marcus]

Opening this thread about the new generation of Karan power amps I wrote about elsewhere. Here’s the first review from Hi-Fi+ and a photo from my friend’s system.

https://www.karanacoustics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/HiFi203-Karan_POWERa-mono-HR.pdf

 

[LL21]

Fantastic review. He has heard quite a lot...CH Series 1 included, and Boulder 2160 as well.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Finally a good thread again .
Nice marcus .

 

[andromedaaudio]

Marcus if irc you owned both Karan amplifiers and now the Lamm 1.2 reference .
What made you decide to go for the Lamm ?

 

[Marcus]

Marcus if irc you owned both Karan amplifiers and now the Lamm 1.2 reference .
What made you decide to go for the Lamm ?

The first Karan I bought was KAS 450 stereo back in 2006 which I upgraded with conrad-johnson polystyrene capacitors and it sounded really, really good. It had everything I ever wanted from the power amp. It could drive any speaker and was the most natural sounding solid state power amp I ever heard.

But as usually (and in this case unfortunately), I wanted more, sold the amp (with the “magical” upgrade) to a lucky guy from France and regretted that move since the KAM 1200 monos I bought afterwards were not even close. Later I did similar caps upgrade (with the Audyn pure copper Caps), but that didn’t help. The magic simply wasn’t there, so I changed them for the beautiful conrad-johnson ART monos. They were great and had almost everything the old Karan had, but as tubes faded quite rapidly and I was tired of changing them frequently, I sold them.

Then came the new Master Collection series of Karan electronics. Fortunately I had the opportunity to listen to some of them (Power A monos) in two different systems and also the two box flagship Line A line stage in my system. They all sounded very good to me and all my concerns and reservations I had with the KAM 1200 monos were gone except for one: The general character of sound I heard with all of them was a slight grayness that spoiled my initial extremely good impression and consequently my interest.

Since I was without the power amp for a few weeks, I needed something quick and bought used Lamm 1.2 Reference. That temporary solution became kind of permanent because Lamm has everything the old Karan had (don’t want to split hairs here) but it’s even more organic or natural sounding if you wish. I’m very satisfied and don’t have any desire or plan to buy anything else (for the time being).

 

[Marcus]

From the Stereophile (Jason Victor Serinus) review of Master Collection Power A monoblocks:

“The Karan Acoustics POWERa monoblocks are big, heavy, extremely powerful, and extremely expensive. Yet, thanks to their sliding-bias class-A design, they will likely not tax your power grid every time you turn them on. What they give you in return for your investment, in the context of a similarly high-achieving system I should say, what they’ve given me is sound that has taken me closer to the transformative visceral, emotional, mental, and spiritual impact of great artists performing great music than anything I’ve heard in my system previously. The Karan is a phenomenal achievement, a benchmark for what can be achieved, at least in my modestly sized listening room. If you treasure greatness in audio reproduction and have the means to purchase a pair, seek them out. If you do not have the means, be careful: I, for one, do not wish to get their sound out of my head.”

 

[LL21]

Thanks for posting...I have often read and heard great things about Karan, particularly as someone who frequently reads up on all the big Class A amps (Gryphon, Boulder, Lamm, Vitus, Pass, Accuphase, Atmasphere, even the Clayton)...and Robert Koda of course!

...but the piece I am intrigued by is your Botticelli. I hear great things about them...big fan of the old Apogees.

 

[itay123]

Had the pleasure of experiencing KARAN Acoustics until about 2 years ago, when I had the previous reference set KAS600 amplifier + KAL 3MK2 Reference pre for a couple of years.
Haven't heard the new Master Line, hope very soon.
Much appreciation to this barnd.