Speakers to pair with krell that rock


Hi,

After having had various setups i've finally sold up to wipe the slate clean and start again. I'm looking to build a system that will play rock music as its what i listen to 90% of the time. Anything from old led zep through to more modern stuff like pearl jam.

I fancy going back to krell and am on the lookout for an fpb s/h. Ideal would be 600c but might be past my budget. Might have to settle for a 300c or non cast 600. If it ends up being cast then i'll pair it with a KCT. If not then it'll be an arc mk.2 ls25.... probably.

Speaker wise i'm a bit weary as a bright system is the last thing i want and thats what i got with a kav250a/krc-3/proac d28. Sounded terrible. Think that was mainly down to the lower spec'd kav series and the proacs. They tend to be on the bright side anyway. They must be floorstanders and would prefer 3 way as i find the 2 ways lacking a little in the lower mids. Thoughts so far are for a pair of b&w 803D's but wouldn't mind some other suggestions. Have thought about Cremona's but don't want a super smooth laid back sound which i think these might give.

Cables are currently all Chord signature but will be looking to sell these on and move to Cardas Golden Cross.

Source will be either a krell kps 28c, krell kps 20i or a weiss dac 2 with macbook.
doug2507
I run Thiel CS5i with my FPB-600C. Marriage made in heaven. Truly magical.

I would rethink the Cardas cabling thing though.

Good luck.
Doug... be aware the Phillips pickup laser in the Krell 20i is no longer in production and once it goes out that player is going to be relegated as one, large, pretty doorstop! Krell as well as any other supplier have no replacements. Find yourself something much newer & better sounding would be my sound advice.
I've got a brand new tested complete mech already so no probs there. Dlcockrum - what pre are you using? And i thought Cardas GC was meant to be spot on for running with Krells? Maybe MIT would be a better choice?
Doug,

Here is my system:

http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/9214.html

There is no certain brand of cables that work best with a given piece of equipment, only cables that work well in a given SYSTEM. However, there are certainly cables that DO NOT work well with certain equipment or in certain systems.

I have always found the Cardas cables to be veiled and lifeless in top-flight systems. Ayre is very big on Cardas and I just don't get it, having been very dissapointed in the sound in their rooms at RMAF two years in a row. I know how the Ayre equipment sounds in my system and feel that the Cardas/Ayre cabling they use in their demos does their equipment absolutely no favors.

I also believe that it is ultimately best to stick with one manufacturer when cabling your system (with certain specific exceptions). Mixing cabling from different manufacturers may work to offset negatives of other products in an unbalanced system, but change one component or cable and the whole house of cards comes falling down.

Until you get more focused on the sound characteristics you are looking for in tuning your system with cabling, definitely don't buy any cables without a return policy and make sure to do enough due diligence to have narrowed it down to a couple of contenders and have their products on hand during the trial period.

Good luck.
If I were you I'd take the burden off the speakers as the means of taming a Krell. Krells are nothing if not forward and IME you'll need a careful selection of recordings, good room acoustics, great source, good cables to name of a few. Krell is very rough ("unforgiving") on newer rock recordings that are boosted and compressed which is most of them. Krell is like a Ferrari, it better have everything right are it's not going to be at its best. I would second Ron's suggestion on the Dynaudios though.