"Krell" is a buzzword


When I look at how the posts involving Krell deteriorate to the point of civil(actually not so civil) war, I have to say that "Krell" has become a buzzword. It seems as if you just have to mention the name, and the mobilization begins. Sooner or later the insults sink to the level that make the thread completely unrecognizable from the original question. I am more neutral than not on Krell(probably not many of us around). Used to dream about them in my bigger is better solid state days, but have since moved in other directions. Now I am a definite tubeophile, and don't even think about Krell. But, I don't say you cannot build a great system around their products. Just have to apply the right surrounding components. But don't you have to do that with many brands of amp? So, do you agree that Krell has become a buzzword, and why?
trelja
Garfish...sorry to have offended. You obviously hold Trelja in very high esteem and feel the need to come to his defense. But you miss my point. I have been a serious audiophile for 25 years and I do not see the value of threads like this. That's my opinion. I regularily read numerous audio publications and the only place I see all of this Krell bashing, not to mention the bashing of several other well regarded aduio companies, is on Audiogon. Cornfedboy said it well...buzzard words indeed! Krell and other companies like them would not be where they are today if they were making junk, and while it may not be to everyones taste it is obviously quality equipment. If there is something seriously wrong with a company's product or really bad customer service then that is something worth knowing about, but that is not the case here. You may have great respect for Trejla and value his opinions, which is fine by me, but I find nothing particularily intelligent about this post and feel it only adds fuel to an argument that does nothing to further the enjoyment of this hobby. And Craig, I do on occasion post an opinion on Audiogon, but it is usually in response to a specific question about some audio gear I have had personal experience with and never to bash it. Even if I did post all the time would that necessarily make me any more credible to you or anyone else. I think it only would if you happened to agree with my opinions. And I have not judged you or any others based on the number of postings on Audiogon. By the way, and for what it's worth, I have never owned any Krell equipment (I own a pair of BEL amps,a Modulus 3A preamp, a Audio Logic DAC, and an EAR phono preamp), but I have auditioned some and thought it was very good.
Hi Margin: I have our second mini system hooked up at the computer station now, soon to be set up for near field listening (all I need is a pair of 30" stands). Before, the computer was set up in the living room with the main system ($2500.00 total for the whole ball of wax -w- some of the items purchased used). I am not hooked on the sweet spot and always try to set the better system up so that it sounds its best in a general seating area. We are talking about 10% off axis at the most for the extremes of the entire listening area. If I feel like doing critical listening or when I am auditioning something new at home I just move a chair into a near field arrangement for that purpose. Some speakers like Maganapans and my old Castle's sound good to me slightly off axis, maybe because thay are a little bright for my taste to start with. Also interesting for near field listening at the computer are some little DIY planer speakers at the Decware web site that I would like to try to build at some point and use with a flea watt amp that I would run the mini system through. I at one point ran the mini system through my Musical Fidelity amp and the cheap little five disk CD player sounded pretty good. The tape decks sounded well, like tape decks. I also tweaked the mini system with Vibrapods, Kimber Kable and some sound damping (sticky) sheets that my mechanic gave me installed to the inside of the CD tape player module The speakers were replaced with Polk Rt-15's that were being given away locally when the new version came out. The system itself is a Sony MHC-NX1 that is very handy for my wife's old massive collection of CD's that I wouln't bother playing on the main system due to their background noise and general lack of high fidelity.
Addendum: I meant my wife's massive collection of cassette tapes, not CD's (whish they were CD's, cause if they were I would be listening to Mink DeVille, Cadillac Walk" in the living room right now).
Dekay, you sound very practicle with your set up. Since you like to listen to music and serve at the same time, have you consider using the PC as a source? I saw some new D/A sound card which was featured in Sept. issue of Stereophile, but have not read through the article in details. Has any heard anything about this product? How do you all feel about the PC eventually becoming your one source of music?
Hi Margin: Yes, I have wondered about that mainly to download/play music samples from BMG and Columbia. We do not listen to the radio and I have found it hard to select new poular music by unknowns and know that I am missing out on a lot of stuff that I would enjoy. I have a patchcord to hook the mini system up to the PC, but have not plugged it in yet. I gave the old computer speakers away when I moved it to the bedroom as we only used them to listen to musical greeting cards. I was just thinking of using one of the downloadable software programs offered at the sites to start, but do have three extra drive slots in the CPU for adding a zip or whatever drive that would be needed for a more elaborate setup. However, my main goal for this little listening station is to incorporate a small inexpensive SET amp (like the Decware Zen or a Bottlehead) into the system just to have something different than the other sytem, and since the room is small it should sound pretty good. Even the little Polk's would probably work under these conditions, but the little DIY planer speakers look like a real trip and would be a cheap and fun project. There are people at this site that have invested thousands in music computer software which is not my intention.