What ever happened to Krell ?

The reviews are pretty consistent (available online), that the new Krell is good by most standards - but not all & certainly not as good or as detailed as the old Krell. Also that it is clearly not a Class A sound in the way that has previously existed at Krell or with other top competitors. Sterophile for example in their review said, "I was also well aware that the Krells’ sound was less refined overall. What I expect from class-A amplification—textural richness, suppleness, delicacy of attack, generous sustain, and far-as-the-ear-can-hear decays—never materialized."

Krell isn’t trying to be SOA, have no vision or intention of pushing any envelopes, but if they can be perceived as competent enough products that ride on their founders legacy while disowning him (most importantly while remaining profitable to please the private equity firm that pushed Dan out) - they call that success.

What review are you referring to john1?  Of course almost every review has its own special way of misleading the reader.

Perhaps  you are referring to the Absolute Sound review?  Some incorrect information in that review but overall positive.  Also, does anybody know who Herb Reichert is?  I read some of his reviews for Stereophile and couldn't help but choke on his absurdities and bias!

As always listen for yourself ; criticism without knowledge is pointless. I've been caught in high end audio madness for decades and I can tell you that Krell's current amps sound very 'high end'. It still kills me hearing how great it used to be but is no more. I remember tons of criticism of the older amps claiming they were bleached and analytical sounding in particular the high frequencies. Those criticisms of course also came from people with bias issues either one way or another. I've had several older units and truly can't say that they were any more musical than the current amps. I like them both.

I have been a Krell fan and owner for 20 years, they make great sounding gear. That said, Fpb was slightly withdrawn in the treble with an emphasis on the deepest bass, overshadowing the middle bass. The treble got better in Fpb c and cx but the mid bass articulation/speed did not improve until the Evolution series, a lot of the current gear is Evo in new casing. Krell' bigest problem has always been heat, they run very hot ! My big Fpb700 Cx has had all capacitors changed and had 2 burned out transistors. My Kps 25sc
has had all capacitors changed, 2 burned out laser heads and 3 out of 4 BurBrown pcm1704 k dac chips killed by heat !  My brother has the same machine and his older 20bit dac board is impossible to repair, his capacitors have also been replaced. The lasers where hard to get for a while until The Chinese started making copies, the dac chipsets are almost all gone. I wish my Kps 25sc had electric fans like the new Krell gear, the inclusion of fans in the new gear will make buyers and service department at Krell much happier!