Krell Intergrateds..how come nobody likes em?

I owned one of the first Krell Integrateds and it basically sounded like a receiver. Sold it after 4 months. Not a Krell fan but I am sure their separates have to be much better. I would so hope anyway.

Chris

Krell built their reputation on pure class A amps that could double down and down again, with the ability to effectively drive some speakers that many others couldn't. Their intergrateds don't qualify on any of those levels. Ergo not a "real" Krell, and to many the sell out of a great name.

Heard one at a dealer when I auditioned speakers: smooth as silk, punchy in the lows and with an extended high frequency range that some could mistake for harshness at the extreme but that is merely extended highs that show cymbals and triangles in a most positive light.

I have the 400xi driving some B&W's. Tough as nails bass control, extended, transparent highs and somewhat papery mids. Glass like clarity and character, IOW a little cold. That being said, the overall sound is surely recording dependent. It will give you what's on the CD. Nice smoothly recorded CD's will sound sublime while typical compressed pop will sound as expected.

I realize this is an entirely subjective exercise - caveat delivered. I listened to the 400, and love treble and high midrange, but found them to be a bit hard & metallic in this regard. Could have been speakers, cable or source CD, but after trying a few variations on the theme, it seemed to be the Krell. To be fair, not sure if it requires an extended break-in period, but this was my experience at the dealer. Higher end Krell amps didn't seem to exhibit this characteristic, and were remarkably high in quality, but that particular experience was the only thing that kept me from the purchase. Otherwise, iron grip, silent backgrounds and a high degree of detail were the pluses. Carefully matched speakers that will take the edge off harsh highs while retaining the essential details (the Dali Helicon 400 comes to mind) may moderate the treble/mid effect.