Hi,
I owned a 300i for about 2 years. I'm from the UK and had read all the reviews, and was kind of lusting after this unit for quite a while. When I came to the US I was able to pick one up for $2k from a local dealer, so was pretty pleased with the whole deal.
I used it with a european speaker - QLN Splitfield signatures, which are easy to drive and excellent speakers in the $3500 range (with stands).
I also used the 300i with a pair of Apogee Caliper speakers which are not an easy load by any means.
To be honest, I found the sound to be cold and not very involving. I'd previously owned pre/power amps from Linn and their sound was much warmer and more musical.
The Krell just didn't make music for me, It was cold and anylitical sounding, it was also average on detail retrieval, I always felt something was missing from the sonic picture. Bass was OK for a 150watt unit, I think all Krells do bass pretty well, but this was low on my priority list - I wanted music that was involving and life-like.
I sold the Krell and took a chance on a Conrad Johnson CAV 50 tube integrated. I'd used a tube power amp before with good results, but bought the CJ on Audiogon without an audition.
What a revelation! - Simply much, much better than the baby Krell in almost every respect.
Warm yet detailed midrange. Pleaseant highs. Good bass. Just so musical and non-fatiguing when compared with the 'brittle' sounding Krell.
Please note that I tried my best to get a good sound from the Krell, with different interconnects, speaker cables and isolation.
The tube sound just does it for me. I know its not everyones cup of tea, but I would strongly recommend that you try and audition a tube alongside the 300i. Try a CJ or a Jolida or something similar.
Good luck!
I owned a 300i for about 2 years. I'm from the UK and had read all the reviews, and was kind of lusting after this unit for quite a while. When I came to the US I was able to pick one up for $2k from a local dealer, so was pretty pleased with the whole deal.
I used it with a european speaker - QLN Splitfield signatures, which are easy to drive and excellent speakers in the $3500 range (with stands).
I also used the 300i with a pair of Apogee Caliper speakers which are not an easy load by any means.
To be honest, I found the sound to be cold and not very involving. I'd previously owned pre/power amps from Linn and their sound was much warmer and more musical.
The Krell just didn't make music for me, It was cold and anylitical sounding, it was also average on detail retrieval, I always felt something was missing from the sonic picture. Bass was OK for a 150watt unit, I think all Krells do bass pretty well, but this was low on my priority list - I wanted music that was involving and life-like.
I sold the Krell and took a chance on a Conrad Johnson CAV 50 tube integrated. I'd used a tube power amp before with good results, but bought the CJ on Audiogon without an audition.
What a revelation! - Simply much, much better than the baby Krell in almost every respect.
Warm yet detailed midrange. Pleaseant highs. Good bass. Just so musical and non-fatiguing when compared with the 'brittle' sounding Krell.
Please note that I tried my best to get a good sound from the Krell, with different interconnects, speaker cables and isolation.
The tube sound just does it for me. I know its not everyones cup of tea, but I would strongly recommend that you try and audition a tube alongside the 300i. Try a CJ or a Jolida or something similar.
Good luck!