Anybody heard Krell SACD mkIII?

Nope! But I have one on order. I will get it in a month or so... Cant wait!!! I'm waiting to hear the details from Krell themselves...

Any info on what has been changed or upgraded on this model? Have they finally worked out the transport bugs? What kind of price?

The new unit retails for $6,000. Krell said the entire inside is re-designed from the version 2 and NO transport bugs this time.

It uses the rom drive from the Evo 505 CDP. It is said to be trouble free.

Just got a SACD MKIII from our Krell dealer to listen for the weekend.
The display is now white characters over blue background and can be easily read 3m away. Mechanical noise is lower than the mkI version. I have both units side by side and will compare them.

I thought it's already in MK VIII.

Look forward to the comparisons.

Gendut3, The final version of MK III was released Jan 08.

Please,report if the display can be defeated and how the remote looks like.Thank You.

After 18 hours warm-up we listened to both Krell SACD units.
The same cables were used for both players and speakers were LAT1000.
Immediately after swapping the players we got the idea that the mk3 was more detailed and seemed to sound better defined, but also louder. However, checking levels with track 18 of the Sheffield Test and Demonstration disk has shown that levels were similar within 0.1 dB.
Listening to the infamous Jazz at the Pawnshop SACD, track one, confirmed the differences. Ambient was better defined and image floated with a better sense of space with the SACD mk3. Bass had more punch. Something very nice was that applauses seemed to come from the individual tables, not from the whole stage.
The display can be defeated and intensity can be switched among there levels and the remote is the same as the one from the SACD mkI with a small facelift.

I have a new Krell SACD MKIII on order because I have had many problems with Krell SACD MKII mechanic transport and my dealer advised me to replaced it, but...
MkI and MkII drives were very noisy and truly disturbing when you were listening classical music or solo piano music.
Is the new transport mechanic reliable?

I have the Krell SACD MkIII player. I upgraded from the first version of the player. What a diffeence! It took a while for the unit to break-in. It has better highs and lows. More detail. It's a new world.

You guys are killing me. I cant wait to get mine!

Hello Pauliez3, congratulation.
I can´t wait to get mine!!!!
What´s your opinion about the transport?

The SACD MKIII transport is less noisier than the previous versions but is not completely silent - you can year some mechanism noise through the upper cooling slits, but can not be heard when you are 1 meter away from the unit.
Sealed units such as the ARC CD7 and the Nagra CDP are noiseless.

Have you paid attention if the unit makes excessive noise? It is most noticeable when the music stops or when the music transitions from loud to very soft. My Krell Sacd MKII almost growls for severeal second and then the mechanism noise is audible all the time.

What´s your opinion after ten days, Microstrip? Please, report your impressions. Thanks.
In two weeks I´ll get mine.

I only kept the unit for a few days. The noise is not excessive. The several seconds high noise, characteristic at startup of former units is now completely gone, and normal mechanism noise propagates mainly in the upper direction through the ventilation slots - it is not noticeable in normal use.
The sound quality is much improved.

Is Krell offering upgrades to Owners with Units still covered under Warranty? My MKII Standard is less than 6-months old, works and sounds perfect, but if the MKIII sounds better, than I'm interested in upgrading. I also had the MKI, and found the MKII to sound noticably better, and a nice upgrade.

Flav, My unit is under warranty and they are still charging a nice $$$ for the upgrade to recover costs on the expensive upgrade.

How much is the upgrade including/excluding faceplate ?

A 50% price increase over the SACD Standard MKII, is a bit steep, I wonder if it's worth it...

I found the Evolution 505 and the MKII to sound very similar in a non-cast balanced-system, with a slight advantage to the Evo. 505, though, in my opinion, not $6K worth.

I just sent my SACD MKIII in for repair. My unit was purchased last spring and sounds like the mkII units. Hopefully mine will get an upgrade..I asked Patrick at krell about it..I am waiting for an answer!!

Get set for a 2 months wait.I wonder if they charge for the upgrade if the unit is under warranty?

Overhang, yes they do charge!!! My MK II is under warranty and Krell wants $3,100 for the upgrade from MKII to MKIII. Or it can be exchanged for a brand new MKIII unit for $3,600.

I Bought my Mark II a year ago and went thru 2 transport replacements.Last time Krell returned the unit,the transport won't even open.I ggot RA number and mailed it back.The responded that this time around they will put in an EVO transport and convert it to mkIII status.There was no mention of additional charge at all.Are they gonna keep my unit hostage after the swap is done or nail me with the bill later?I spent 4 gand and never got any enjoyment out of the unit because of a constant transport problems.I am not going to cough up another 3 grand.They got no case in trying to charge me because if the unit is under warranty and they cannot provide me with a repair or replacement let them eat the charge.

Overhang, you can call Walt at Krell about your position and maybe get some satisfaction!

Who is Walt?I'll wait 'til the unit is ready.It is too early to get upset.I still believe i won't be charged a penny for the repair/upgrade.

Yes, I have no reason to believe krell will do anything to loose a very good, vocal customer! Walter is the customer complaint guy..readily available.

Talked to patrick at krell and recieved the straight info. Krell offers no upgrade path for the sacd std, only repairs. Depending on the version (Gen 1, 2 or 3), a transport issue may only be resolved by replacing it with the only transport available to krell at this time which happens to be the 505 version. Only the transport is offered as needed and is not considered an upgrade, simply a necessary replacement! Which, if any, of the aforementioned scenarios have occurred and under which extraneous circumstances, I have no idea. If in the future an sacd standard needs a drive fixed, and it is under warranty, it will probably be replaced by the 505 drive out of sheer necessity. One cannot simply ask krell to replace your functioning drive with the 505 as an upgrade. A 505 drive may be used if a fix or replacement part is unavailable to rectify the situation. Of course being in or out of warranty will complicate matters as it regards a charge for service...perhaps this is where the figures of $2k-$3k come in?? Anyway, that's the official word as conveyed to and interpolated by me. I look forward to having my player back and functional, regardless of drive! As for sonic differences between a 505 equiped unit versus a standard drive, non should be apparent, as it is only the drive itself and no other audio parts variances...the 505 may be quieter but it is still the same basic design and not exotic like the teac VRDS.

Thanks Dave but as i understand the transport replacement requires at least a display change,new remote control and maybe something else.In his email Patrick says that some internal conversion of other parts is required for the un it to operate properly with a new drive.

Overhang, I think the whole matter should be transparent and stated on the web site and or in a written release/statement from krell through the dealer network! In any event, best of luck..I like the unit alot and I've owned a Levinson 39 and 390s, BAT VK-D5, MF A5, Sony SACD-1, 505 (yeah I had one and sold it to pay some bills), Wadia 851 and some other bottom end stuff.

I ended up getting a brand new Krell SACD Standard version 3 today. The transport is fast. Disc load is normal. Slight noises from the top of the unit but nothing to complain about. The blue and white display is beautiful and can be turned off. This player is many steps better than the MkII. I'm very impressed. It was worth the long wait. Thanks Krell!!! ;-)

I am waiting for my updated/repaired MKIII version from krell..should arrive Thursday. Joeyboynj, what exactly are the changes between the MKII and III versions other than the transport??

i have 2 more weeks.waited since mid february.very frustrating

Overhang, it is well worth the wait. All the problems of the MKII are gone. I waited since early January.

Dave_b, the comments from Microstrip in the above post seem to be spot on. More detail, resolution, midrange and bass punch were realized. I assume this is because of the more stable and improved transport system. I dont know what the exact internal changes were but I was told the unit was basically re-designed internally and little parts from the MKII version are used in the new version 3. Also, it seems like this player has been discontinued and is now replaced by the EVO 505. It's instruction manual is now in the archived section on the Krell site as well.

Thanks Joeyboynj, I just fired mine up and all is well...quiet, fast and definately more resolution and immediacy plus more texture and that's cold out of the box!! I owned the 505 briefly and I must say that this mkIII version sounds spot on with the 505...I think we have a 505 in SACD standard clothes.

Joeyboynj,have you purchased it new or it was a warranty upgrade from MkII?(like my unit)If yes,did they include a new remote?

Overhang, I opted for the new unit and traded in my old one. Yes, it had a new remote included. I assume they send one with each upgrade or new unit. But I noticed the old remote works as well.

It appears as though Krell has retired the SACD Standard, and that the Version-3 upgrade is being performed on a case-by-case basis (to V1 & V2 machines). Does anyone know if a new KAV Series CD Player is due-out this year? Possibly, around the same time as the forthcomeing KAV-400xi replacement?

My new MKIII upgraded unit skips...I just got it back and now it will be returned again! Frustrating to say theleast. Obviously the fix is not foolproof.

How Krell could charge consumers $4k for a broken player then 'upgrade' it to a working player and bump up the price a few thousand is BEYOND me.

The fact that the MK 1 & 2 existed is somewhat sad. I don't care if it wasn't Krell's fault and it was the Phillips transports. Yank the product after the MK 1 and move on.

Possible good news...I decided to keep playing the unit and it has not skipped a beat since..perhaps this was a case of a poorly manufactured disc? Will post if failure occurs again. On the upside, image specificity and bass definition is better!

Whew! Dave, that is good news. I have my unit on with a burn in disc since last night. I will continue to play it for 2 weeks. No problems at all here.

Lush, the version 3 is very similar to the EVO 505. I assume it costs more for the new transport and all the new internal parts and display. Krell told me the only parts they re-use from a version 1& 2 are the sides and back panel. So basically the upgrade in a brand new unit internally and is very comparable to the 10K EVO 505.

Joeyboynj, so the outside casing is re-used, but the internals are all new?? That may describe why the mkIII sounds very similiar to the 505 I had last year. Who gave you the info at krell? I will put mine thru it's paces tommorrow.

Patrick the former Krell service manager gave me that information. I also heard that he left Krell about a month or so ago.

Thanks, my unit is definately screwed up...again!!!

Walter at Krell is pondering a remedy for my twice defective sacd standard...I'm praying for a new one!

Dave_b - Is the SACD Standard still in production? If so, then why isn't it listed on Krell's website? You might be better off asking Krell for a substantial discount towards a new Evolution 505 Player. I have'nt heard of a single failure with this Machine.

The standard is discontinued, but a few MKIII units were produced and are available from some dealers. I owned the 505 when it first came out..my first unit failed to read discs properly. The replacement worked fine. I sold it for financial reasons, along with my evo system. I have a 5 year warranty and alot of patience so I am confident krell will take care of me one way or another!