Krell S300i advice needed?


Hey everyone,

I don't usually post here but I sold my old refurbished Counterpoint gear here a couple of years ago and miss having a stereo and request a little advice about pairings with the Krell integrated.

I listened to the Krell S300i today paired up with B&W CM9 speakers and they sounded incredible except the 50hz rolloff that the CM9 speakers have. The Ipod output also had some weird noise in it. Hopefully it was my Iphone being junky and not the Krell. My Iphone was not transmitting either. I will have to investigate that again next time I listen to it.

My main question is: Is it possible to get that same crisp accurate sound without getting an additional sub woofer? Maybe through a different set of speakers? I see that a lot of people pair these up with Aerial 7B's but then they get a sub with it anyways. Which seems weird cause the Aerials have a lower frequency response that shouldn't need it.

The guy at the audio store must not of got it when I said, "it sounds like it's kind of missing some low frequency tones". So i looked up the specs on the CM9 and it rolls everything off at 56hz. If i run a speaker that has a wider freq range (at the low end) is it gonna still sound that good? It was crisp and accurate, except the low end, that wasn't there. I listen to a lot of Rock, and Alt Rock, jazz, Pop, and the occasional classical so the accuracy and the staging was amazing to my ears but the lack of any heart thumping was very evident to me.

I also looked at the back of the S300i and noticed there was not an output for the sub. How are you supposed to wire it if this the necessary route? What is RMS power for this thing dial wise, I was listening to it at level 90 (goes up to 145) but I didn't push it past that except when the source CD or Iphone was paused to listen for noise. It didn't really seem like it was all that powerful to me compared to my old system, but I figured that had to do with the lack of low frequency response or that I didn't push it too hard.

I am looking for suggestions for a setup for this Amp, since I used to have huge Counterpoint separates that I got tired of moving (Don't know what I was thinking, it sounded awesome!) so any response would be great. I am looking to stay under budget of about 5K$ total and it seems like the S300 can be had for about 2K.

Opinions please!

Thanks in advance!
the1stdude
I sold Krell and B&W a few years ago and know the sound.If your into bass than Krell is your ticket.Nothing has a tighter grip either class A or A/B than krell well maybe but generically this is what they are good at).I think the mids are bit metallic but that's another thing.Most music you listen to is going to have a 40Hrz low point (lowest note on an electric bass).You might want down into 30's but your hearing can only go down to low 20's and then most rooms won't support anything that low (what is it again a wave 56ft. wide?)/But dynamics or slam and room pressurization could make a sub worthwhile.You have to listen to trade off's of if you like a good imaging monitor that disappears and a sub or a two or three+ way that will give you the goods in one box.

$5K gives you lot's of choices new and used.Aerial is a nice speaker just choose by how low you want to go and choose accordingly.if your into HT and want to build on system their are many good choices.If it's music I like multi driver units by Martin Logan,REL,MJ Acoustics,Totem, and for cheap money Aperion.You will get less slam out of a 8",6" or smaller multi driver but all things being equal better pitch and definition of bass.Fot a possible use in HT Velodyne,Fathom and may others are option.More of those have bas equalizers which can really enhance a sub though you can add one like Velodyne SVS after.

Have you heard the 800 series B&W?It's not only bass but imaging depth,width and height.Instead of CM series a used pair of 803 or 803S for about $3K will give you goods without sub and cream the CM series in very respect (tonality,soundstage).I never liked the 804 but 805 for $2K and 803 for $5K were my faves (804 you have up better imaging for not enough bass and soundstage HxWxD).I liked the Krell 300i (before S cheaper) a pair of 803S's which could be found for $1250 and $3000 receptively and latter you could go for even more depth,slam and room pressurization with a sub.I like the $2K new Martin Logan Depth that you could get for 1K or $ a 1250 used.Nice monitor like 805,Aerial 5 , and others at a $2K price point again with sub will give you better "floating image" but my guess is a floor stander that can do it on it's own.Since you seem to like Brit sound and want to save money take a listen to Quad 22L if it's around.NHT went dormant but Classic 4 is a real over performer that has side firring woofer that might again get you where you want to w/o sub.
Cheers
Chazz
Consider a REL sub-base system. They use a high level output from your amp's speaker terminals to get the signal, so this would be perfect with the 300i. This cable is included with the REL but aftermarket cables for the REL are available and are a big improvement.

RELs are extremely musical (maybe the best subs for music)as they designed primarily for that purpose. They have a great deal of adjustability to ensure that they will integrate well with a wide variety of rooms and main speakers.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!
I agree with both the above. I was once a Krell dealer and bass is their strong point. I am using 2 REL Stadium subs with a pair of Spendor S 100s which go down below 30 Hz and the subs improve the sound even though they are not "needed".
i use the s-300i's rca outputs to drive my velodyn dd12. this has been working fine for me.