Too many superlatives?
Regular readers know that I am not prone to effusive language. A traceable continuity of opinion matters to me; I don't want to reread a review in six months or a year, only to regret that I'd overplayed my hand.
Nonetheless, I am driven to say that the Krell FPB 600 power amplifier, when properly installed and optimally matched and connected, sounds simply stunning. From a wholly musical point of view, this amplifier reigns supreme in its power to better convey the impact, meaning, emotion, and involvement of great music. So vestigial are its faults, and so great the sum of its better parts, that it's almost impossible to put the former into any valid perspective.
When I evaluated the Wilson Audio X-1/Grand SLAMM (Stereophile, December 1994, Vol.17 No.12, p.115), I felt that, as an industry, we were some distance away from realizing that loudspeaker's full potential; that it would continue to sound better with better systems. Krell's new amplifier is proof of this: The big Wilson went substantially further with the FPB 600. Conversely, the X-1 helped to confirm the very high performance achieved by the FPB 600. What a magnificent combination. Here, a closer approach to truly realistic rock-concert levels was possible in the home. (I can write this with confidence; as this section is penned—literally, with a gold-nibbed fountain pen—I can vividly recall Sting in concert last night at London's Royal Albert Hall. Sporting a Bruce Willis hairdo, he was in good form.)
Conversely, with lesser speakers the FPB 600's quality remained at the forefront; for example, it shoved the smaller WITT significantly up the performance band. You don't need a pair of Grand SLAMMs to hear what the FPB 600 can do for you. Even a pair of Epos ES12s showed what it could do.
Conclusion
I suspect that even the Krell team was surprised when the Full Power Balanced 600 began to take shape. On paper, it was simply a power-doubled FPB 300 delivered at a moderate and appropriate hike in price. In practice, the FPB 600 has gone much further. Great as the '300 undoubtedly is, the '600 holds all the aces, with a potential to severely embarrass a wide sampling of top-brand power-amplifier references. I'm quite certain that it redefines the art. It will certainly dictate a vigorous shakeup of the current stack of Class A power amplifiers in Stereophile's "Recommended Components." Since a Class A rating means "the best we know," I feel that, in the light of this design achievement, the rest will have to be re-classed (footnote 2).