"Krell" is a buzzword

I very much agree with the opinions of Sean in this thread. System SYNERGY is the overriding factor in whether a component sounds good in your system. Or not. There is more than one way to skin a cat... The purpose of this thread, to answer those who have raised the issue, is to get this whole thing out in the open. The ultimate goal is not to provide more cannon fodder, but to hopefully bring us all(specifically, the Krell lovers and haters) to some sort of place where we can coexist(we don't have to agree). Maybe we can agree that Krell can be bad in some sytems, and good in others. And to discuss this whole phenomena of the emotions the mere mention of the name "Krell" brings out. In a civilized, ADULT manner. One devoid of anger, hostility, profanity, and cheap shots. I could have easily slid my comments into that other thread. But, I think a clean sheet of paper is a good place to start. One with none of the blood stains of the other. So, my question. Why is there so much anger related to this topic? We don't see this kind of warfare in the tube vs. solid state argument, and that sure should be worse than this debate.

I know this off the original proposed thread. I always thought tweeks were to articulate chracterisics not contradict them. I would think it is better to match equipment with like desings and goals and I never put a piece in my system that didnt sound good on its own. When you mix a harsh peice and a refined piece dont you get the worst of both worlds? You are contradicting what each piece was designed to do well. I am very intersted in hearing your comment on this. I admit I have never heard Krell and I am very open to opinion.

Good point. I don't think that ANYONE would LIKE to match bright electronics with dark electronics and "hope for the best". Unfortunately, some people can't afford to just dump everything all at once and replace the offending components. For them, it is a matter of working with what you have and gradually climbing the ladder. After all, that is what keeps places like this, Audioshopper, Audioweb, AudioReview, etc... thriving with used items. Doing something like that is merely a stepping stone to what people are trying to achieve further down the road as their budget allows. As to putting something into your system that doesn't sound "good", i think that we have all done that at one point in time. Not only do our tastes change (for the better, i hope), but our levels of experience and what to listen / look for advance with our exposure to different gear and system combinations. Can you actually say that the first "Hi-End" or "Hi-Fi" that you assembled actually sounded good and gave you everything that you want by your standards today ? Probably not. You PROBABLY worked up to that level. Just like you, others are still climbing that ladder, hoping to find "audio nirvana" once they get to the top. Only problem is that there is no top and the ladder never ends : ) Sean >

Krell did come from the Forbidden Planet.... I own a Krell KSA200S and love it. I've heard a lot of other amps that sound as good but it depended on the speakers that were matched to them. Krell's have one technical specification (current non-limiting) that sets them appart from most other high quality amps. I own Thiel 3.6s and they suck the live out of many amps (almost all tube amps) with their nominal 3 ohm load. So for soom audiophiles with speakers that demand high current capability Krell is an obvious choice. Other speakers may present different challanges and different amp solutions.

Sorry to jump in. I was always wondering exact same question. I have just got Sonus Faber Signum, and someone told me that SF designer's reference amo is Krell (sorry if wrong). Do any of you have direct experience of Krell/SF combination?