Not happy with Krell SACD

Martin Colloms just reviewed it in the Nov 03' HiFi News magazine. He stated that he was basically displeased with the overall sound quality and said he was expecting much more. If I'm recalling the review correctly, he awarded the player 29 points for sound quality on his grading scale.

I never have liked the sound of any Krell equipment, but for goodness sakes, put 200-300 hours on it with a break-in track before coming to any conclusions. Most equipment is still opening up at 500 hours play time. And of course, keep it powered up 24/7.

I have owned a Krell SACD Standard for over 3 months and it does need at the VERY LEAST 100 hours to break in. Although the Krell may fall short on the build quality when compared to my Wadia 860x, it does however sound incredibly natural and open, never harsh or bright. Also, make sure you are running it balanced and not single ended. I believe the Martin Colloms ran the Krell single-ended for his review. Watch for the Krell SACD on the cover of the December Stereophile.

I have one and I use a orpheus sennheiser with a dac in, the Krell is less open but more natural, I guess that he must to be open in a few hours of play time. But I love this analytic sound, a little cold but real.
Niconico

Krell seems to have a certain brightness to it. I agree with one person who said to wait until it is broken in to judge. I would also suggest you express the problem to your dealer and see if they will let try one that is broken in. Typically I noticed a more muddy sound in unbroken in equipment but I am no expert on that topic.