Anyone heard the new Krell S-1000 pre/pro

The HDMI is for video only.....not audio.

Just heard it last night. It's STUNNING! There are layers of infomation, textures, subtle things, strings vibrating on frets, snare drums that aren't harsh anymore, there is a weight of sticks hitting cymbals, the bass guitars are SO punchy, like I have a brand new set of speakers!!! This think blows away the Showcase processor and amazingly, I'm hearing more information from it than the HTS 7.1 too. It really is that good. I listened exclusively to the the balanced input and in "preamp" mode only. No movie audition yet, that'll be tonight.

Yeah, get back to us on the "home theater auditioning", could you?! I'd be interested to know. My experience with the old HTS 5.1 was that it was superbly clean, compared to others, and yet not as dynamic perhaps as others I've auditioned, from a digital connection. Any feedack appreciated.

From what I read in the manual this only does HDMI Video, and no HDMI Audio. I see little advantage in this.

We could use an HST 7.1 and a Monoproce switcher and get the same results, no?

It took Krell forever to come out with a unit that only does HDMI Video? Please tell me I misread this...

Regards,
Darrell

Sorry Darrell. You are right. I confirmed with my Krell dealer. For now, I will stick with my Crystallio and HTS 7.1

Wow, so there is one set of 7.1 Analog inputs and no Hi-Res MCH Digital inputs. You can't even hook up a MCH SACD player and HD-DVD player at the same time.

So much for Krell delivering an up-to-date Prepro.

I just listened to a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack last night, The Piano, and I could have sworn up and down that it was discrete (5.1) sound. This S-1000 is literally so good, that it's Pro Logic II sounds like the Showcase in Dolby Digital!
That's correct about the HDMI, it is just for video switching for those with TV's that only have one HDMI input and they have multiple sources with HDMI output.

I've now spent a week with the S-1000 and S-1500 together. This package is truly amazing. I'm able to listen to movies and even TV and lower volumes and hear more. No more annoying loud commercials because I'm running a lower volume. Less truly is more in this case. Having just replaced a KAV-2250 and a KAV-3250 with this one 5ch amp, I'm shocked at how much better it sounds. Logic would suggest the big 2ch amp and another big 3ch amp would have to be better. I don't how they did it but this package could actually cost 50% more and still be worth it. I have yet to hear this amp run out of steam. Anyone with anything less than Evolution gear needs to take this set home and listen. Less is more. I keep staying up late re-listening to my CD collection, it really is that good.

I am curious to see how this stacks up against the Halcro and Theta gear...

Jrunr,

I own the Halcro, and I have heard the S-1000 several times at my local dealer with the same speakers and similar amp to what I have.

To my ears they are very similar both having good bass and fine detail in the mids and highs. I think audibly it is hard to pick a clear winner. I think it will come down to a slight persoanl preference sound-wise.

I think the features will seperate these units more. The Halcro will do HDMI Audio sonner than the Krell. the Krell has some EQ adjustment which can be nice for troublesome rooms.

Costwise is similar. The SSP-80 is the closer match to the S-1000, and the street prices for these are similar.

Regards,
Darrell

While the Krell does sound good, I've noticed that it is very quirky in its operation, particularly through the hdmi connections.