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Why Is Krell Not Considered Hifi?

No one seems to think that Krell sounds hifi, but just hifi price. They say it sounds hifi in that context that it doesn't sound real. I have to admit their products do have a metallic like cast to their tone, but aside from that I think that they are very smooth and detailed, far from the best in detail, like a CJ Premier preamp but they do make decent stuff. And just from looking at their products it makes you believe they sound as they look. Obviously its not true, but Krell makes decent stuff that has a good rep and is easy to resell (as long as its a current model, which is hard cuz they have so many new models) but its no way the sound of a Rotel or NAD that many people say.
tbonephile
sfbaydude
109 posts
 
Wow! I didn't know that about Krell. But I sure know that a number of audiophiles are turned off by Krell for reasons that are beyond me. And the Krell-bashers are amazing! But, you know what? I am thoroughly pleased with the music that they (HTS, FPB200c, KAV 250/3) produce through my Aerial 10Ts et al. It's part of a surround system mostly used for music. I am very much into hearing the music! It's nice to see some of the others here who responded. Krells new preamp, the KCT, is awesome! I understand that Aerial will be using Krell equipment at the next CES. Do you think Mike Kelley knows what he's doing? I think he definitely does! So, all this is about what an individual is pleased with. Hey, Kthomas, what city is STL????
brandon
25 posts
 
IMHO, a lot of Krell people are Equipmentphiles. After all, Krell's appeareance does suggest it means serious HIFI.
bmpnyc
713 posts
 
When I heard one of Krells' systems I thought that it reminded me of a Marshall solid state amp, and I prefer a tube sound when it comes to guitar amps. Other high end manufacturers have managed to avoid this, (Theta, Classe`). This may be what people are noticing, that edgy "solid state sound".
brauser
519 posts
 
I have followed Krell for at least a couple of decades and I can say a couple of things with certainty. You really don't know the full capability of your speaker's bass until a big Krell mono gets ahold of it. Krell's designs have never been the last word in finese but big-time into dynamics and control. It seems that there are always trade-offs.
7p62mm
97 posts
 
I own a KSA 200S and it sounds good to me. My only complaint is that the amp does not take well to being shipped. It sounds good but not appreciably better than my Bryston 4BST. This may be due to the fact that my Ohm Walsh 300's while inefficient are not a difficult load to drive. If you live in a hot climate like I do then heat dissipation may be an issue.
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