New Krell s300i vs. the older 400/300

I have a S300i which replaced my 400xi. As the unit has broken in it's capabilities have become clear. It is definately superior to the 400xi and the older 300i. The S300i is more open, focused and holographic. Dynamic gradations are more pronounced with a wonderfully vibrant and fleshed out midband. Bass is as killer as ever. Neutrality is the rule here vs the 400xi's warmer take on things (the 300i was quite fat and overly ripe). The S300i uses an evolution based class A preamp stage combined with a higher current/wider bandwidth designed output stage. The new toroidal is encased for greater isolation..a nice touch. The remote is massive and fully functional. The bottom line is that if you have heard the new evolution gear and wished you could afford that sound, you will get a very large serving of that sound with the S300i. In fact, in a system with 89db or higher efficiency speakers, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. All you need is a great CDP and some equally great cables and you have will have a state of the art system:)

Check out the new review in HiFi News by Ken Kessler:)

I agree with Tom92602...nice to here you are enjoying it as much as I did:)

Update...I had a problem with my S300i and Krell took care of it asap. It sounds even more remarkable now that it is fixed....really remarkable:)

Somehow a ground connection came loose (shipping?) so it would lock up from static discharge. Simple fix. As for power, the new S300i plays with more command of the loudspeaker...does 435/4ohm dynamic peak power before current limiting. In effect, it's more robust than the 400xi due to higher current delivery:)

First of all, the transformer is the same at 750VA (there was some rounding off of values in some of the earlier Krell literature, but it has always been 750VA). The internal layout is a virtual dual mono design, with each channel seperated with dedicated heat sinks and localised power supplies (large caps)..I believe it's two per channel. The preamp stage is an evolution based class A design, not just an overglorified volume attenuater like before. The wiring is much more substantial as well. The power delivery noted in the HiFiNews article indicates a far more capable integrated amp vs it's predecessor. Call Krell for more insight

I had to push hard for 15% off:)

After prolonged listening, I decided to sell the S300i and buy one of the last 400xi's for sale. The 400xi is warmer and more musical overall. The S300i was just a bit too cool and forward for my tastes.

Yup, I should have known better!

!