Just to add to this very old thread, for people looking for info on the 280p. I have just compared it to the KRC-3. Both are excellent pre-amps. The 280p is more detailed and slightly analytical sounding; especially voices are very life-like; lots of deep bass; somewhat "dry". The KRC-3 is rounder and warmer, with less detailed bass, but a truly excellent pre-amp as well, with a great coherence between instruments and voices. It's really a matter of preference; the 280p is more "real," the KRC-3 sounds nicer and more "cozy". Not really a day and night difference either, but still quite noticeable.
It may be interesting to remark that the 280p has SMT components (very small, surface-mount resistors) whereas the KRC-3 has full-size ones. In the manual of the 280p Krell says that this shortens and therefore improves the signal path. It may be more difficult to service (but not sure).
Another interesting comparison I did is between the HTS 7.1 pre-pro and the KRC-3. They were virtually identical, underlining the great stereo performance of the HTS 7.1. Imaging and detail may have been ever so slightly better in the KRC-3, but I'm not even sure. One advantage the KRC-3 has is a very detailed level/volume adjustment; the 280p seems to move in bigger steps, and the HTS 7.1 definitely has larger steps (still, quiet listening volume would be around step 6-8 on the HTS 7.1, so it's fine enough for most purposes). All preamps were tested with my Krell KAV 3250 power amp through B&W 803s speakers.
For those wondering: I'm likely keeping the 280p, but partly because of the visual match with the 3250, and because I need theatre bypass, which the HTS 7.1, itself being a prepro, doesn't have.
