CD player for Mcintosh/Krell int amp

Fafafaffull of (insert explitive). The 400xi should only be run balanced, it is far less musical et al in rca mode. I've owned almost everything Krell has offered over the last decade. All reviews have confirmed this.

The krell 400xi may be the best sounding component ever made for it's price...I like it more than the evo rig I sold last year. My SACD standard was upgraded for free by krell to V3 status (Evo505 internals). With Transparent power cords and MIT Oracle cabling, my Krell Res 2 speakers and subs put me in the club with all my jazz favorites. Too bad you can't get a new SACD standard for the old price...it is a musical sex machine for CD's

In case I wasn't clear, the 400xi is fully balanced from input tp output...FYI:)

I meant to say you are so full of information Fafafion:) I've owned the FBI...nice piece, but not 15K worth better. I know the design arguments from way back when balanced was pro only gear. My experience with the countless number of HiFi kit that have been in and out of my home is that one must experiment and work with a system over time for best results or even to begin to grasp an understanding of the potential encased within each units case work. Ears and experimentation alone will yield satisfaction...pretending to understand audio design and it's capabilities/shortcomings is a straw man argument. Reality is never what were told...experience alone will reveal the truth!!

It's never as simple as that I'm afraid..wish it were, would have saved many thousands of dollars over the years. Once one does their best choosing components based on thier preferences, the job has just begun. Cabling is something I am extremely strong about after owning most manufacturers brands over the years. Bottom line is that I have never found a balanced connection on a piece of kit that was not superior sounding. For musicality and any other HiFi quip one would care to conjur up, MIT and Transparent products have offered me the best results. My reference points are always live music, whether it be classical, jazz or rock!! Remember, the room your in counts for more than 50% of the results you will experience. Krell cast is a trick pony for installers..lossless but not very musical sounding. Wilson speakers I've owned responded well to many amp/preamp combinations be it tube or solid state. Krell gear has generally sounded good to great with any speaker system I have owned. Recently Krell has decided to cater to A/V installations while reducing parts quality as well as removing Class A from their amps. The Evo stuff is not better sounding than the older FPB gear...in fact it's a bit a-musical sounding..I owned a full kit a year ago and sold it!! The FBI is/was my favorite unit..sold it for a re-allocation of funds. After digging out my old 400xi, upgrading my Sacd standard to V3 and lashing it up with 20k plus of MIT Oracle V2.2 cables and Transparent MM PC's...well I was amazed at the purity of the upper registers in particular, along with a more natural flow to the music. I liked it so much that I banked all my cash and have enjoyed my music far more than in recent times. I could go on for hours, but suffice it to say, it's fun for us audiophiles to attempt to understand this hobby via reason, but the ghosts are still in the machines and it takes great skill and patience to harness them for our own pleasures. Enjoy!

Stevecham, I have owned the following krell gear:

FPB600
FPB300
FPB400Cx
FPB350MCx's
KCT(2)
Evo202, 402 and 505
SACD Std
400xi

It is you who are mistaken my friend. That said, I still respect Krell alot and would prefer their gear over most others. My problem with krell is that they have moved in other directions since concentrating on 2ch/purist audio. The parts quality is way down, european standards have driven away the class A design from their Evo amps and cast does not serve the music...it strips it of vitality and makes it sound very clean, neat and tidy. The only improvement noteworthy was from my 505 to the 202 preamp...the increased dyanmic range was nice.

Musical as a term conveys the impression that a system imparts the sonic hallmarks of a given recording relative to what it would sound like live. Live sound is dynamic, expressive and full of color...cast is not! Go to live concert, try cast on si balanced miliar material at home, replace cast with great cable and decide. Cast tends to constrict or thin the sound a bit and makes it sound harder. A great balanced cable can allow the music to flow and breathe!!