Krell Components

smglbrth

Ok, Ok, Ok.....

Mantis and Troy, or Troy and Mantis,
I didn't mean to start this between the two of you!! I've read both of your posts on the forums many times and always valued both of your opinions on equipment, among other things. Sometimes I disagreed but hey, it's like a marriage sometimes, we agree that we disagree and that's just the way things are.

As my grandpa says sometimes, "No matter what the subject, someone always knows better than you do". Obviously he meant that people disagree and that's that.

Do I think that Polk Audio speakers are the best on the market in their respective price range? TOTALLY!! But....., someone might say, no, you need to listen to these speakers to really judge. Hey, no problem. Would it change my mind? Probably not, but I won't rule it out and be closed minded.

My grandpa prefers Marlin lever action rifles, I prefer Winchester lever actions. Which is better? Doesn't matter, we sit and shoot all afternoon and have a blast!!

(Nice touch Stubby)

mantis

OK this is getting really old but,
I will answer your questions.
r/w,

I apologize if my post seemed too confrontational and threatening to you

It's cool man,I get tired of all the fighting.It's really old.I just wanna talk about audio and video without people just looking for reasons to start,I'm real tired of it.

Krell FPB series are not THX certified.

This is true as far as I know.The Home Theater Standard and Showcase lines are.They are Krell's theater products.

You say you like FPB's; you also advocate THX. You say both of these things quite vocally

Yes I do FPB class amps are the best Iv'e ever heard at all prices.I've listened to Mark Levinstons #33's and I feel the Krell shine over them.Don't get me wrong the Mark Levinstons #33's are breath taking,but Krell has that last word in detail and dynamic power under any load.
Krell suprised me with there ability to drive Dynaudio Confidence,Martin Logan Prodigy's,Dunlavys,Wilson Audio,B&W N800's,showing off these speakers best side.
Now Audio Research Tube amps go real nice with Martin Logan,but not well with Dynaudio or B&W in my opnion.I didn't care for that sound mix.I could go on and on the demo's Iv'e done.Krell doesn't care what you hook up to it.

I am trying to figure out - from you - what you think THX certification really means. Obviously, ultra theaters use amps/speakers which are not THX certified. And obviously [I think] those ultra theaters sound pretty good.

Ultra theater do not use non thx anything.For a room to be THX certified,everything needs to be.Including video,screen,projector,build,seating,volume,etc.
I'm not sure what you wanna know,I never said the room I did was THX certified.The Krell,Wilson room was in a Shore home.It was in his familyroom.The only things that where THX where his Processor,Theater Standard,the new one.Thats it.Pioneer Elite Pro720HD tv,Pioneer Elite dv47a dvd player,Pioneer Elite CLD-59 laser disc player,Sony VCR,Sony DSS,Krell cd Transport,TiVo,Transparent power blocks Transparent reference XL speaker wires and Inerconnects all balanced,RCA Transparent as well for SACD and DVD AUDIO.Wilson coffe table sub,Wilson Watt/puppies,Wilson center and exisitng Snell inwalls,they where killer sounding.Even suprised me how close they matched the Wilson Watt puppies and Wilson center.
The room was exisitng,and we added to it.New wires,power blocks,preamp,dvd player,TV,TiVo.
I don't spec out rooms.I install.I help clean up the job if things go south,its the way of things.Perfect world would be all neat,But even big dogs like Soundex drops the ball here and there.but we work with the owner and all comes clean in the end.
You see alot of you have no Idea what goes on behind the scenes of this Industry.Alot of trial and error,like any bussiness.Nothings perfect.We do alot of great work,and some not so great.We all give it our best efforts to work with our customers.Things happen.Good example would be the Polk Lsi center channel.Do you think Polk should have know the crossover was going to cause some TV's problems???????Maybe..........but you gotta have a case to fix whats not known up front.They have been designing center channels for a long time.And they even slip up here and there.Doesn't make them any less of a speaker company.It's what they do after is what counts as well.Same goes with Installer/System designers/Salesman/companies/etc.
I told you guys before I don't spec out the systems.I do help when I get called into the build of the job.That happens from time to time.At Soundex we would walk down just about every job.talk about it before we go on site.Have meeting on the really big jobs.This job here with Krell and Wilson wasn't a full job,but a upgrade.The job started out as 2 channel, then Home Theater then upgrading and upgrading.We went out to his house with in 7 months 3 times for upgrades.Last time was for system control in the Pronto tsu6000 with RF module.
I don't mind talking about install,but if your gonna sit there and kick every thing you can sink your teeth in ,well I'm not gonna talk about it anymore.Thats more Troy then you r/w.Troy finds ways to try and make me look bad anyway he can.If you notice he always gotta chime in that way right off the bat.
THX?????I plan on getting THX certified this year(I hope).I'm planning a trip to the ranch.It's one of the things in my field I wanna do.ISF is another.
Well if you really want to talk about THX,thats cool.I think THX is a really good tool.THX theads get started then bashed.So I feel it's pointless to talk about it in here anymore.less then 1 percent of the people give any thought about it,unles there bashing it.......Nieve?????maybe......I can respect anyones opnion on THX if they learned about it.Like it or not.

joe6pak

smglbrth.

If you are still watching this thread I can give you a little info pertaining to your original question. I have the Krell Showcase pre/pro and the Showcase 5 channel amp. I have very few complaints with this stuff. The amp drives my speakers with ease. The Dynaudio C-3 speakers that I use for my 2 channel listening are supposed to be hard to drive. This amp will push them to insane levels in stereo or 5 channel, and never waver. Clean, clear, detail, etc. I don't play at these high levels very often, and have never approached the top end of the volume scale. Now you did mention that you are primarly interested in 2 channel, but were concerned about the cost of Krell. Have you seen the KAV-300il stereo integrated amplifier? 200w,400w ( 8,4, ohmns ). I heard this little jewel driving the C-3s when I first demoed the speakers. The source was a Krell KAV-280cd. The 300il was fantastic. If I had been looking to go only 2 channel I would have strongly considered the intergrated. It was really nice. I think it was $3000 or a little more. Krell makes some really quality stuff. It is a brand to consider if you are shopping in that price range. Now just so I don't get my **** ripped by anyone, let me say that this is only my opinion, and other brands may be better.

Mantis.

Maybe if you say " just my opinion " or " its been my experience " about every other sentence in your posts, some of these guys won't start so much **** with you. Well on second thought, that probably won't work either.

joe

TroyD

Ok, I apologize if my curiousity got the better of me. However, if you don't want people to discuss what you do or say, don't post it.

IMO, (regardless of who is responsible and I'm not pointing fingers) if something happens as you describe, I don't think it's cool (I certainly wouldn't if it was my gear) I think it was negligent on the part of the owner and the person that helped him design the setup. IMO, the FIRST question on someones mind should have been 'do we have the power capability to support the project?' Obviously, it wasn't Dan's responsibility (nor was I accusing him) so what's the big deal? As Dan said, he is just the installer, not the designer. I'm all for trial and error but when there is that amount of money and a potential safety and fire hazard, well, I do think it's negligent. Anyway, sorry, enough about that.

As far as the Polk center, it's flawed analogy. That was an isolated incident that would only occurer under a rare set of circumstances. Apples and oranges.

As far as the amps go, here is where I stand. I have nothing but good things to say about Krell. Period. I'm curious, because I don't have enough experience with them and other brands of that caliber to make a judgement. I also believe that in order to fairly compare amps you have to listen to them in a controlled environment, meaning, the same rig only swapping out amps. Listening to different amps in different rigs, IMO, invalidates this process. Dan, I think would agree to this (as I think most would) so I am assuming that he is basing his opinions on this type of scenario, so that's why I'm asking.

Anyway, sorry to ask questions and all that. Carry on.

BDT

mantis

TroyD,
it's not the questions,its the way you ask them.You always seem to be pointing your finger at me.I post about Krell and you say That I Don't have enough experience to post about it.I talk about an Install and you bash me for the job not being perfect.
Anyway if there isn't intent there then ok,lets move on shaw we?
Listen dude Krell is one of if not the very finest Amp makers in the world.After all my time with them I fully believe it.As anything else,you need to form your own opnion of whats the best,or what the best for you.
In my lifetime I hope to own Krell.Thats not my speed today.You and I had a IM moment about Krell and you told me you wanted to save for 6 months to get into them.With that being said,I would assume you went out and listened to everything you could in there price class to make that kind of decesion.
In the end all audio and video is a matter of opnion.There are industry leaders,Krell being one of them.
I say lets stop talking about it and get our listen on and tell the tale of the demo.

rskarvan

Krell getting THX approval is a little like the United States getting UN approval. Its nice... but, completely unnecessary.

rlw

Originally posted by TroyD
I also believe that in order to fairly compare amps you have to listen to them in a controlled environment, meaning, the same rig only swapping out amps. Listening to different amps in different rigs, IMO, invalidates this process.
BDT

Amen, brother. The more I listen, the more I think that applies to every component in the chain.

har_navalta

Originally posted by ATCVenom:

JVC owns Krell....

Oh, is that right JVC owns Krell...Japan Victor Company?

shack

JVC owns Krell....

I don't think so. I don't think Dan D'Agostino could work for the Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC).

BTW does anyone know where the name KRELL came from?

har_navalta

Maybe...JVC owns Krell, just like SONY a lot of prevoius
American company now owns by SONY.

JVC a big name in Japan, a big company too...

phuz

I think he meant "JVC 0\/\/|\|5 Krell"

In other words [instert$ sarcasm] "JVC is tha **** compared to Krell!"

shack

These kids today - you just can't understand thier language.

rlw

Originally posted by shack



BTW does anyone know where the name KRELL came from?

Yes.

shack

Yes.

OK rlw. Let's see if you can backup that bold statement.

There could be a big prize for you if you are right.

(there isn't - but there could have been)

smglbrth

Joe,

I did look at the 300il while out of town over New Years and that is originally what got my interest going. I could not believe that that little case, about the size of my DVD player, could actually put out that kind of power. You are correct on the price, if I remember correctly the shop had $3,175 on it. With the name Krell I knew it was good stuff. I really liked the way it looks, it's a very attractive piece of equipment.

I don't know if anyone would actually let you take one home and demo it before purchase but for that kind of a price tag I am thinking that I would almost have to listen to Krell on my system to make a judgement call. I doubt anyone would, without a check made out for the total, but a full refund return if you didn't like it would be nice.

What is with the name "Krell" anyway?

TroyD

Originally posted by rlw


Amen, brother. The more I listen, the more I think that applies to every component in the chain.

As do I, to me it's common sense. It's the only way you can accurately evaluate gear. I don't see how you can go into a hifi shop (or any other rig) and make an educated judgement on any piece of gear without being completely familiar with the rest of the gear. To me, that's one reason that listening to gear in a hifi shop only has limited value, IMO.

BDT

phuz

Originally posted by smglbrth


I don't know if anyone would actually let you take one home and demo it before purchase but for that kind of a price tag I am thinking that I would almost have to listen to Krell on my system to make a judgement call. I doubt anyone would, without a check made out for the total, but a full refund return if you didn't like it would be nice.

Actually from my experience as long as you pay up front, most places will let you take anything home for at least 3 days and up to 7 days (depends on the retailer) and try it out. If you don't like it you can take it back for a full refund.

As Troy said it's pretty absurd to listen to something in a store with foreign components, and any place that *doesn't* understand that and work with you on a major decision/purchase doesn't deserve your money anyway.

rlw

Originally posted by shack


OK rlw. Let's see if you can backup that bold statement.

There could be a big prize for you if you are right.

(there isn't - but there could have been)

Then why should I bother?

Forbidden Planet: Krell were the beings on Altair who died trying to realize their dreams via technology.

rlw

Originally posted by smglbrth
Joe,

I don't know if anyone would actually let you take one home and demo it before purchase but for that kind of a price tag I am thinking that I would almost have to listen to Krell on my system to make a judgement call. I doubt anyone would, without a check made out for the total, but a full refund return if you didn't like it would be nice.

What is with the name "Krell" anyway?

You are correct - you have to listen in your system.

If you're sincere, I'm sure you can find a local dealer who will let you take the unit home for a trial listen, as long as you can supply a credit card number. Personally, I don't go for the routine of "Pay us up front in full, and you can return in xx days for a full refund." If a local dealer wants to sell to me, they let me take the gear home for a demo.

Mail order is different: there, I understand the pay to play.

shack

Forbidden Planet: Krell were the beings on Altair who died trying to realize their dreams via technology.

Very good - Had there been a prize you would have won it!

Dan D'Agostino decided not to use his own name. Forbidden Planet was his ex-wife Rondi's (and current company president) favorite sci-fi movie so it was very familiar to them and thus the name KRELL.

Ok rlw, just to show you what a good guy I am...in another thread SPEAKER7 bestowed this generous gift on me....

Congratulations Shack!

your the first contestant to guess the correct answer on the pic........You win a pair of Lsi15's and a set of Rotels pre/amps...........however in order to claim your prize...you will have to send me a blank cheque with your john henry on the x.

I'll pass it on to you! Enjoy!

TroyD

The two hifi shops in Charleston are more than happy to let you demo gear in your own home, as long as you provide them with a credit card (with enough available credit to cover the item) and so forth.

BDT

George Grand

I BELIEVE, the planet was Altair IV to be precise.


George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)