Anybody heard Krell SACD mkIII?

My unit is working well and sounding phenomenal. It does take a few hundred hours for this puppy to open up and even out, but worth it for sure. Not bad sending in a broken unit I paid $3200 for and getting back a $6000 player at no charge...that's sweet!

I have had mine for a month now and it has started to open up. What a HUGE upgrade from the MK2. It is a whole different world. The unit is still breaking in- it just keeps getting better and better. Well worth the upgrade! Well worth the wait-8 weeks!

I second the opinion that the old remote is better..the new one is quirky and unreliable. FYI, get some mapleshade heavyfeet and heavyhat weights for the SACD Standard and use them into wood (butcher block or maple)...your jaw will drop at how vastly improved an already great player can sound!!

Mine will not play a new DECCA release of the Beethoven Sonatas Disc 1..Disc 2 is fine! Sometimes it also will play Disc 1, maybe 1 in 5 times. When it identifies the disc it will play it flawlessly on repeat..go figure. FYI, when I first got the player back from repair I had it linked via the 12 volt trigger to my 400xi and experienced a couple of data drops..instantaneous ones. I decided to disconnect the trigger and it has been flawless since? Maybe the connection opens it up for electrical hiccups that the 400xi may experience from the power line?

I got mine mkIII 10 days ago.No need for cable change here (i am using VH Flavor 4).So far-perfect.For some reason refuses to play David Gilmour cd "On the Island"Both remoes are junk.I wish they had an option for the metal one with like only 6 buttons.I would love to disconnect other channels and replace RCAs (too short,too close)but knowing it's history afraid to void the warranty.

got one last month to replace mk2 which replaced mk1. quiet and quick operation, and bigger soundstage with better detail. closer to evo sound than to mk 2 sound. be warned - if u changed cables to suit your mk 2, then youll have to do it again, thats how different it sounds. try to 'forget' to give back the old remote control - new ones rubbish. what happened to the big metal ones we used to get?

Mickey, the full upgrade is kind of a discretionary event. By that I mean Krell does not exactly offer an upgrade path for the SACD standard. Rather they replace and repair what is necessary for them to return to you a working unit. As with anything in life, negotiation is often the key to getting what you desire. My unit had blown something and went dead, plus I had prior drive failures (off and on). My unit was purchased within the last year and was under warranty of course. I also reminded krell that I had purchased about $100K worth of stuff over the years as well and would appreciate some consideration for the loyalty. The way you can tell when the unit is returned is by looking inside through the top vent slits....old circuitry used a green circuit board with mostly silver capacitors and such attached. The V3 guts use a blue tinted circuit board with alot of red capacitors? and such attached. The sound will be different as well...more detailed and forcefull with greater dynamic range and more vivid imaging.

Hi all,

A couple of weeks ago I had to return my SACD Standard MkII, still under warranty , to the local Krell distributor, as the drive mechanism had failed. They have sent it back to the US for repair, and told me it will come back with the Evo drive mechanism installed, as mentioned above.

Does this mean I will get a full MkIII upgrade stuffed in my old chassis, or will they just install the minimum parts necessary, i.e the drive mechanism, LCD display and logic circuits, without upgrading the audio circuitry? I am very curious as to what I will get back!
Kind Regards
Mick

My unit is breaking in nicely. The V3 version is definately a big plus...quiet, fast and more open sounding with greater power! I was lucky to have mine updated for no charge due to prior service issues.

My SACD Ver 3 unit has over 500 hours of burn in and no problem. Dave, I hope your replacement unit is working well.

To everyone, the upgrade is well worth it. Runs quiet and fast and the display is way better than the red one.

Anyone else get a new or upgraded unit let us know what you think.

Raymedia has a blue backlight wt white script, it is fast and it is silent....oh, and man is it worth the wait! Are you getting the MKIII update?

Just got sad news:Krell ran out of chassis supports for Raymedia transport and my unit replacement will take 2 more weeks.Can anybody tell me how to tell Raymedia drive from the Philips one?I don't trust anybody anymore and just want to make sure the drive is replaced.Thanks.

Sad that such a great sounding SACD player (finally) will be no more...except in my house baby!!

Interesting thing is that they pulled the mk III from their web site (and prolly cased the production as well). My guess is that too many owners of mk I and mk II requested the mk III upgrade free of charge.

Has anybody figured out what krell does for the MKIII upgrade?? I got mine back and it is the finest CD player I have ever heard...which is quite a bit!

Got mine today in Germany in exchange for my old MK1 device (+ 2000 Euro + 19%tax). Sound is brilliant (would say better as before) and the transport is quieter but also takes a few seconds more to recognize a SA/CD. It can also play MP3 44.1KHZ CDs. The new blue/white LCD display now can show CD/track title - however, it seems to be a bit too small to exactly fit into the chassis box of the old display - cosmetically not perfect! The new remote does not let you select a filter or dim the display anymore and also hasn't that fluorescence effect of the old one - so if you are going to trade-in your old player keep the old remote! Conclusion: Imho it's worth upgrading due to the better sound and better transport and control boards which apparently were taken from the EVO player. In most parts it's a 505 EVO in a SACD Standard chassis - unfortunaley some of these 505 parts weren't designed for use in the SACD Standard - so it's not as perfect as you would expect for a device carrying such price tag. Maybe one of the reasons that they pulled it from their website.

Joeyboynj, Peter Mackay at Krell has ok'd me to recieve a new SACD MKIII as well for all my troubles!! Can't wait...what have been your sonic hallmarks so far compared to the VII unit?

One week of 24/7 burn in and occasional listening sessions complete. Transport and unit functioning flawlessly. No skipping or excessive noise. Mechanical noise level decreased a little as a result of the constant running. Still needs to break in some more. I will give it another 2 weeks for a total of 500 hours and report back.

The standard went missing over a month ago...no direct replacement in development. The MKIII is pretty much a 505 without cast connections. It is strange how the MKIII version was produced just as they decided to retire the player(of course two high priced/hiRez players in their lineup would be overkill). Krell is struggling to survive in the high end arena...I hope they can focus on what's important for their buyers, or else they will continue to decline.

Do they still make SACD Standard mk III ? The player just disappeared from Krell´s web page.

The standard is discontinued, but a few MKIII units were produced and are available from some dealers. I owned the 505 when it first came out..my first unit failed to read discs properly. The replacement worked fine. I sold it for financial reasons, along with my evo system. I have a 5 year warranty and alot of patience so I am confident krell will take care of me one way or another!

Dave_b - Is the SACD Standard still in production? If so, then why isn't it listed on Krell's website? You might be better off asking Krell for a substantial discount towards a new Evolution 505 Player. I have'nt heard of a single failure with this Machine.

Walter at Krell is pondering a remedy for my twice defective sacd standard...I'm praying for a new one!

Thanks, my unit is definately screwed up...again!!!

Patrick the former Krell service manager gave me that information. I also heard that he left Krell about a month or so ago.

Joeyboynj, so the outside casing is re-used, but the internals are all new?? That may describe why the mkIII sounds very similiar to the 505 I had last year. Who gave you the info at krell? I will put mine thru it's paces tommorrow.

Whew! Dave, that is good news. I have my unit on with a burn in disc since last night. I will continue to play it for 2 weeks. No problems at all here.

Lush, the version 3 is very similar to the EVO 505. I assume it costs more for the new transport and all the new internal parts and display. Krell told me the only parts they re-use from a version 1& 2 are the sides and back panel. So basically the upgrade in a brand new unit internally and is very comparable to the 10K EVO 505.

Possible good news...I decided to keep playing the unit and it has not skipped a beat since..perhaps this was a case of a poorly manufactured disc? Will post if failure occurs again. On the upside, image specificity and bass definition is better!

How Krell could charge consumers $4k for a broken player then 'upgrade' it to a working player and bump up the price a few thousand is BEYOND me.

The fact that the MK 1 & 2 existed is somewhat sad. I don't care if it wasn't Krell's fault and it was the Phillips transports. Yank the product after the MK 1 and move on.

My new MKIII upgraded unit skips...I just got it back and now it will be returned again! Frustrating to say theleast. Obviously the fix is not foolproof.

It appears as though Krell has retired the SACD Standard, and that the Version-3 upgrade is being performed on a case-by-case basis (to V1 & V2 machines). Does anyone know if a new KAV Series CD Player is due-out this year? Possibly, around the same time as the forthcomeing KAV-400xi replacement?

Overhang, I opted for the new unit and traded in my old one. Yes, it had a new remote included. I assume they send one with each upgrade or new unit. But I noticed the old remote works as well.

Joeyboynj,have you purchased it new or it was a warranty upgrade from MkII?(like my unit)If yes,did they include a new remote?

Thanks Joeyboynj, I just fired mine up and all is well...quiet, fast and definately more resolution and immediacy plus more texture and that's cold out of the box!! I owned the 505 briefly and I must say that this mkIII version sounds spot on with the 505...I think we have a 505 in SACD standard clothes.

Overhang, it is well worth the wait. All the problems of the MKII are gone. I waited since early January.

Dave_b, the comments from Microstrip in the above post seem to be spot on. More detail, resolution, midrange and bass punch were realized. I assume this is because of the more stable and improved transport system. I dont know what the exact internal changes were but I was told the unit was basically re-designed internally and little parts from the MKII version are used in the new version 3. Also, it seems like this player has been discontinued and is now replaced by the EVO 505. It's instruction manual is now in the archived section on the Krell site as well.

i have 2 more weeks.waited since mid february.very frustrating

I am waiting for my updated/repaired MKIII version from krell..should arrive Thursday. Joeyboynj, what exactly are the changes between the MKII and III versions other than the transport??

I ended up getting a brand new Krell SACD Standard version 3 today. The transport is fast. Disc load is normal. Slight noises from the top of the unit but nothing to complain about. The blue and white display is beautiful and can be turned off. This player is many steps better than the MkII. I'm very impressed. It was worth the long wait. Thanks Krell!!! ;-)

Overhang, I think the whole matter should be transparent and stated on the web site and or in a written release/statement from krell through the dealer network! In any event, best of luck..I like the unit alot and I've owned a Levinson 39 and 390s, BAT VK-D5, MF A5, Sony SACD-1, 505 (yeah I had one and sold it to pay some bills), Wadia 851 and some other bottom end stuff.

Thanks Dave but as i understand the transport replacement requires at least a display change,new remote control and maybe something else.In his email Patrick says that some internal conversion of other parts is required for the un it to operate properly with a new drive.

Talked to patrick at krell and recieved the straight info. Krell offers no upgrade path for the sacd std, only repairs. Depending on the version (Gen 1, 2 or 3), a transport issue may only be resolved by replacing it with the only transport available to krell at this time which happens to be the 505 version. Only the transport is offered as needed and is not considered an upgrade, simply a necessary replacement! Which, if any, of the aforementioned scenarios have occurred and under which extraneous circumstances, I have no idea. If in the future an sacd standard needs a drive fixed, and it is under warranty, it will probably be replaced by the 505 drive out of sheer necessity. One cannot simply ask krell to replace your functioning drive with the 505 as an upgrade. A 505 drive may be used if a fix or replacement part is unavailable to rectify the situation. Of course being in or out of warranty will complicate matters as it regards a charge for service...perhaps this is where the figures of $2k-$3k come in?? Anyway, that's the official word as conveyed to and interpolated by me. I look forward to having my player back and functional, regardless of drive! As for sonic differences between a 505 equiped unit versus a standard drive, non should be apparent, as it is only the drive itself and no other audio parts variances...the 505 may be quieter but it is still the same basic design and not exotic like the teac VRDS.

Yes, I have no reason to believe krell will do anything to loose a very good, vocal customer! Walter is the customer complaint guy..readily available.

Who is Walt?I'll wait 'til the unit is ready.It is too early to get upset.I still believe i won't be charged a penny for the repair/upgrade.

Overhang, you can call Walt at Krell about your position and maybe get some satisfaction!

I Bought my Mark II a year ago and went thru 2 transport replacements.Last time Krell returned the unit,the transport won't even open.I ggot RA number and mailed it back.The responded that this time around they will put in an EVO transport and convert it to mkIII status.There was no mention of additional charge at all.Are they gonna keep my unit hostage after the swap is done or nail me with the bill later?I spent 4 gand and never got any enjoyment out of the unit because of a constant transport problems.I am not going to cough up another 3 grand.They got no case in trying to charge me because if the unit is under warranty and they cannot provide me with a repair or replacement let them eat the charge.

Overhang, yes they do charge!!! My MK II is under warranty and Krell wants $3,100 for the upgrade from MKII to MKIII. Or it can be exchanged for a brand new MKIII unit for $3,600.

Get set for a 2 months wait.I wonder if they charge for the upgrade if the unit is under warranty?

I just sent my SACD MKIII in for repair. My unit was purchased last spring and sounds like the mkII units. Hopefully mine will get an upgrade..I asked Patrick at krell about it..I am waiting for an answer!!

A 50% price increase over the SACD Standard MKII, is a bit steep, I wonder if it's worth it...

I found the Evolution 505 and the MKII to sound very similar in a non-cast balanced-system, with a slight advantage to the Evo. 505, though, in my opinion, not $6K worth.

How much is the upgrade including/excluding faceplate ?