Anyone heard the Krell Showcase yet?

I had one in my demo system a month or so ago. It was a far better performer than the Aragon Stage One that I have been using. Home Theater performance was great and analog pass-through (stereo and multi-channel SACD) was acceptable. The stereo performance did not rival any of the better stereo pre-amps, but it should be good enough for most HT based systems. My biggest complaint was that the set-up menu did not play nice with my CRT projector (the menu system seems to only output in Interlaced and not Progressive Scan even though it will pass a Progressive Scan image from the DVD player).

There are better pre/pros out there, but it is hard to beat the Showcase for the price. If you need better stereo performance, then just integrate a good stereo pre-amp into the system. My suggestion is to keep it and be happy.

Julian

I bought the Showcase also after auditioning the Lexicon. I found it to be very musical, and, funny enough, I find myself drawn to well-recorded concert videos. Unfortunately the new Chemical Brothers DVD blew my ML Theater center channel. BTW, speakers are Martin Logan Prodigy and Theater up front, and Script rears. Together they sound so open, clear and ready to romp. I am thinking of bi-amping the stats with the Antique Hurricane. Anyone have experience with these tube amps and bi-amping Martin Logan speakers. Thanks.

Looking for a processor such as a Krell does it have analog bypass?

I am trying to decide between the Krell Showcase and the more expensive Home Theater Standard line.Also considering Lexicon.Does anyone know how they compare?Not sure which way to go.
Thanks
Dee

Kinsekd, replace the battery in the remote. I have the HTS 7.1 which I assume has the same remote. It was doing the same as yours until I replaced the battery....no more problems.

Bill

I have owned the Krell Showcase since August. I posted a review of it. My opinions now are even stronger than when I wrote the review.

On movie soundtracks, it is somewhat better than the Lexicon DC-1 that it replaced. The video is eye popping. On music, it blows the Lexicon away. I've been buying concert DVD's like crazy.

For such a complicated beast, it is very easy and intuitive to set up.

Count on a couple of weeks of break in.

There are 2 little quirks. I don't care much for the supplied remote control. It is too thin. It often fails to function unless I open up the battery compartment and then close it again. Since I switched to a universal remote, it is not really an issue. I never bothered to contact Krell about it. I may get around to it eventually.

The other quirk is due to the placement of my own system. The signal from my Phillips DVR 6000 Directv/Tivo machine interferes somewhat with the Krell. (The Phillips is directly above the Krell.) Apparently they are on the same frequency. All that it does is to switch from the digital input to the analog input back to the digital input. More a minor annoyance than a major complaint.

Both are way too minor for me to consider shipping it back to the factory. I'm enjoying the performance too much.

Hope this helps.

I bought a showcase after a home audition against a lex mc 12, I gave the edge to the lex on ht by a hair, but I thought the krell was much better musicly,considering that the krell was half the price of the lex it was a easy choice, I have since added the krell 2250 & 3250 amps, I have had a few systems in the past, classe, B&k, to name a few, none comes close to the krell setup I have now, also, krell has the best support that I have had, good luck