Best sounding Krell ?

Lihifi, I've owned all of the above Krell gear and then some....the 400xi is exceptional sounding as long as you pair it with the right speakers. For demanding speakers, the higher power is necessary. I'm not sure anyone else has ever heard a 400xi used with a Transparent MM PC, MIT Oracle V2.2 IC's and spkr interfaces, HiFi tuning fuses, Mapleshade triplepoint footers & maple stand and the top casework off however! My krell res2 speakers have special crossovers that work with the amp by storing energy for each of the drivers so it is available as needed. My MIT interfaces also use the same principle, so the net effect is sonic purity (simplest signal path is best) with the sound of a much larger amp. Some reviewers have noted that the 400xi is actually more delicate and pure sounding in the upper registers. Overall, I like the FPB sound over the Evo rig I had. The new amps are overly complicated, have power filtration on board, are not Class A and react poorly with after market PC's. Parts quality is now off the shelf as well...no more custom Motorola QC'd discrete output devices.

Like Mgattmch, I would vote for the Krell KSA 250 as not only one of the best Krells, but one of the best ss amps.

I'm sure a stock one would have to be tuned up after all these years.

Lihifi,

"When in direct comparison to a good Preamp./Amp. combo, the KAV-400xi sounds dead/lifeless/boring"

This is simply untrue. The 400xi is an exceptional integrated and is anything but dead/lifeless/boring when compared to a good preamp/amp combo, unless you personally consider the KCT/400cx to be a poor preamp/amp combo, in which case this whole point becomes silly and not worth discussing.

Stevecham: Comparing the KAV-400xi to the KCT/FPB-400cx is silly...come on now...the Krell Employees and Dealers that I know, wouldn't even go there. The KAV-400xi is an OK Int. Amp., it does not represent the current "state-of-the-art for solid state amplification, and it is simply not in the same league as Krell's previous Class A and current Evolution Series Components. Anybody who doubts that, could simply walk into any Krell Dealer in the Country and hear it for themselves (every Dealer has a 400xi somewhere in the building). The KAV-400xi sounds good on its own, but when you run it against tier-one seperates, including Krell's own, it sounds like a step above a Receiver. I also ran it against another popular Int. Amp. - BAT's VK-300xSE, and again no A/B comparison was needed, the BAT was sonically a step away from the Krell in all areas, except maybe for power - which in any case, was close.

This is a ridiculous apples to oranges comparison, and it is not fair to our fellow Audiogoneers, that do not have access to a Krell Dealer to Demo. the 400xi for themselves, to see exactly where it lies sonically in the HiFi Food Chain, which is clearly; "entry-level". It's threads like this that contribute to so many people ending-up disappointed, after purchasing the 400xi, thinking that they were buying a bookshelf version of Krell's Evolution seperates.

Again, for the record, the KAV-400xi is a nice-sounding and fairly-powerful Int. Amp., but it is not a giant killer, or a replacement for high-powered seperates, believe me, I had one in my Home for years, as an inexpensive back-up while I was auditioning Preamps. & Amps. - with that said, for less then $3K new, I do feel that the KAV-400xi is among the best in "its" class.

I never stated nor implied it was a giant killer, and yes I can tell the difference sonically in a heartbeat when compared directly to the higher end electronics of my main system, but it is not that huge a leap downscale as you have indicated in the quote. But it ain't dead; certianly those words were a bit over the top.

And it is not merely a step above a receiver (I have owned several so-called high power units through the years) but instead provides some very real musical magic in terms of imaging, soundstage and naturalness of timbre. It is a fine piece of equipment, regardless of price point. Sure the KCT/400cx is clearly in another league, and I never implied otherwise, nor do I plan to ever part with that fine combo, but the 400xi is clearly cut from the same cloth and kudos to DanD for retaining the sonic attributes of his higher level gear at a relatively afforable price. Plus it is certainly a better integrated amp than the Musical Fidelity A5 that it replaces, and I say that at my own peril as I prepare to offer that unit for sale on the 'gon.