Krell and CJ?

I have not heard the Krell / CJ combo you are asking about. I have heard CJ/Levinson and CJ/Pass and the combination was very good in both cases. It would depend on what Krell amp and what speakers you are talking about. Krell can be rather harsh and sterile depending on what you are driving. The CJ tubed pre should smooth out the Krell amp but again it depends on what you are driving. I have no experience with MIT cables.

Chuck

Funny you ask because a friend has a CJ PV10 and got a great deal on a Krell KSA200 and paired them up for a while. It sounded pretty good but not nearly as good as with his usual Classe CA300 so he sold the Krell. The soundstage seemed constricted and the mids were recessed. This was on Vandersteen 2ce, Cardas cables, Sony ES. I have MIT cables and like them very much when paired up with my McIntoshes.

Thanks Chuck, I know your a CJ man, me too, I really like the premier 14 and want to keep it in the system. I have heard Krell amps in showrooms only, some I liked, some I was run out of the room. But, I heard the 600FBP and it was pretty spectacular in terms of presence, imaging, and impact driving Proac 3.5's. I will be driving Thiel 3.6's. The classe does a nice job, it is a powerhouse but I feel more power would really make them jump. Thanks for the response - come on Krell owners, I'm an MIT guy and Krell on this site is almost as controversial - help me out!

can't comment on the CJ's,but I'm familiar with the KAS's. Very unkrell sounding amps. Excellent control with effortless presentation and a remarkably extended top end(6k &up). I'll bet with a cj preamp you're pretty close to nervona.

I like both Krell and C-J on Thiels. They are different but both bring something to the table. I think the Krells are better. I use C-J. Never heard C-J and Krell together. IMHO the Classe amps are at best just OK on the Thiels.

Krell, especially the FPB series on, and very especially the 600 is the furthest thing from hard and sterile when properly set up and nourished. It outputs what it is fed and CAN BE one of the most musical amps on the planet. It's like a 600watt Triode that can do things tube amps can only dream of. I wonder how much time the previous poster has spent actually listening to the 600, 350, or even the latest Krell series amps like the 700mcx when properly set up. I have heard that tubed preamps are amazing with the 600 but have not heard tubes on them myself. I can say I have a very smooth, tubelike component, the EAD Theatermaster Signature and the result with my 600 was magical. I could listen all day, and did at times. I sold my 600 because of listening to people like the above poster and bought Lamm's only to be disappointed by their inability to handle real life dynamic swings at non headbanger levels. The Lamms went out the door faster than any other amp I have owned. Gone were the rock solid 3d images, energy and BODY of the real thing. The only concern I would have in what you are considering is that Krell only accepts balanced inputs as well as proper impedance matching. Does the CJ output balanced? I think you should give it a shot - let us know the result.

No C-J has balanced outputs or inputs.

I didn't think so-I guess you could get an adapter?

I have heard Krell and an entire line of CJ preamps together. I think the answer may depend upon your price point.

Thanks for all the responses, it is a bit of problem since CJ has no balanced outputs and FPB (duh!) only accepts a balanced input. The KAS series sounds like a possibility but would be a risky investment without an audition and I can't say I've heard this series.

Yes, XLR to RCA adapters were used in what I described. I can't understand why CJ won't go with XLR. Impedance mismatch may have been the problem in what I described above, in which case one of them would have had to go anyway.