Totem Forest Speakers.....

Ok, first of all I've owned Totem Forest, Hawks, Winds and Arros. The Forests are THEE most musical offering they have when treated properly. Second, the 400xi is a match made in heaven for them and should drive them like no other while achieving supreme musicality and warmth. Your CD player is unfamiliar to me. The Krell needs a great power cord. Your IC must be top notch. The speaker cables must compliment the amp/speaker interface. Placement can be as close as 2ft from the rear wall as long as you place them well apart, like 8 to 10ft. Sit closer or equall to the distance apart. Make sure you have some natural absorptive materials in the room as well. I had great results with MIT and Monster cabling. You have the makings of something great in your posession so do not get frustrated. If you need to talk this out you may call me (just let me know and I'll give you my cell):O)

Mattoo, alot of overpriced fish in the sea...you have a GEM in the 400xi. It has been misused and not appreciated by more than a few. I've owned many a $10 to $15K amps and $20K plus speakers with $20K cables...experience and experimentation have afforded me some insight. The 400xi is a chameleon and will only show you it's potential if hooked up properly. I will help you if you want me to, or you can follow the herd over a cliff:O) Your CD player can be updated later..let's make what you have sing first.

A square box is the worst scenario for acoustics. The Krell sounds average to bad with the stock power cord and run un-balanced. You shoul run it balanced with a musical CDP and a great PC and interconnect like MIT offers. If you want good advice from a veteran in the business call Joe Abrams at Equus Audio (Portal Audio). He will cut through the "well intentioned advice" you are getting and give you some solid options to pursue:O)

I told you what would happen:O)

To do list for Matt00:

Treat room with natural diffraction and sound damping materials i.e.., soft furniture, drapes or wall hangings, plants, wood furniture, carpet etc..

Get MIT cabling and power cords.

Put 2 to 4 inch blocks of wood under your components.

Use about 1/2 lb brass weight on top of you 400xi.

Get a Sony XA5400ES for $1099 street price.

Play music for a few hundred hours.

Be happy for the rest of your life:O)

OR...Listen to an endless list of well intentioned advice from people who think they know what they are talking about.

I have owned your equipment in various settings and have spent the time and money to determine what works and what doesn't. The 400xi is warm, sweet, extended and dynamic. The Forests are dynamic, bold, extended and detailed. The Sony offers state of the art playback for RB and SACD's at an extremely attractive price plus it has XLR outputs to take advantage of the Krell's prefered input connection. The MIT cabling and PC's will allow all of it to come alive in an organic and natural manner. Anyone who tells you anything different is full of ...well, you get the idea.

Sincerely,
Dave

What I like about the Sony is it's overall take on the music. It has tremendous clarity, great dynamic contrast, tonal accuracy and an almost non-existent level of digititis or odd harmonics aka glare. The price also makes it a great bargain and easy to love. I also did some more component compaarisons again in my home, compliments of my dealers, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record..uhm, CD, the 400xi still outdoes the competition for me. Maybe a Pass XA series amp would do it for me, or a Rowland integrated, but my Krell has such a great balance as well, that it just makes me happy:O) The Soundstage review nails it....the 400xi has an exceptional sense of energy and aliveness that would be hard to equal, let alone better, at any price! Of course I use superior cabling which allows my gear to achieve maximum musicality...I think Audiofeil knows what brand I use, don't ya?

The Sony is state of the art in it's design, and provides exemplary playback far and above that of many other players on the market. The Krell is way above average...I've heard and owned some of the others and find them lacking. My cabling choice has worked well with many of my systems and with various gear, something most other so called reference cables couldn't do. I am not debating with you, I am telling you. What do you consider to be a reference recording Audiofeil? I have a feeling you are listening to some real gems :O )