Whats the krell sound?

With reference to "morbius's" response:

I was using the integrated KAV300i with Maggie 3.5R's and I could never arrive at a satisfactory treble level, even after adding attenuating resistors to the high freq. connections in lieu of the standard jumpers. Those ribbon tweeters, in combo with the Krell, set my teeth on edge.(And the input was from a Wadia 830, which is infamous for its high freq. rolloff!)

But, again, the integrated amps probably don't qualify as "real" Krells. I won't argue with that opinion, having never again bothered to audition Krell products.

I now have SoundLab A-3's, powered by Bryston 7B-ST's, fed by a Burmester 001, all of which I find extremely satisfying. I still have the Maggies and recently had reason to put them back into service temporarily. With the Brystons, they are still a bit bright, but nowhere near the annoying level created by the Krell.

914nut

The Kav's are IMO not a good choice for full range ribbon systems...weak power supply turns them bright when driven hard. (I own a Kav-500). It's a great little amp for my Vmps 626's or my Apogee Centaur Minors but falls apart quickly on my Duetta Sig's. The old Krell Ksa-250 is smooth as butter on the big ribbons. Of course it's power supply is over 4 times the Kav's.

Dave

For Dave: just curious, as a former Apogee Stage owner, any brief comments on the difference between the Apogee ribbon sound & the VMPS one would be welcome. I have never heard them directly compared. Thanks.

Rgs92

Ahhhh, the Stage...what a beautiful sounding speaker!

Sorry, I can't help much. My 626's were bought (3 of them) as part of an all Vmps surround system 8 years ago and are soft-dome.

I have a Vmps dealer near my home and have listened to most models (not the new RM-30's or RM-X's yet). But, only at the dealer and not in my home. I have also not listened to a pair of Stages for around 3-4 years.

Dave

There is nothing to love about the sound of Krell products made in the last 5 years. Uninvolving musically and ridiculously priced, current Krell electronics and those made in the last 5 or 6 years do not hold a candle to the products they made in the mid 1990's. If you are looking for Krell products, do not hesitate to buy the FPB line which was their last serious effort to make gear for serious high-end audiophiles. Unfortunately, you do not often see this line up for sale on Audiogon. Everything since then has been aimed more at the home theater market and not serious 2 channel audiophiles. Krell has lost their way and is being outdone by many many electronics manufacturers less expensively.