Krell KBL or Krell KRC-3 or neither?

Im recomendation Krell KBL/DUAL MONO.Is very very best pream.

Thanks for the Krelp. Sorry, could not resist. I just took a crash coarse on room treatment. I was a front-of-house soundman during the nineties and also spent 1000s of hours in an extensively treated enviroment full production recording studio (Woodland West Studios in Olathe, Kansas)Wait, I lived there for a while. (Do you know how much it would have cost me, if I had not taken residence there? 1000s of hours?!) My purpose of that statement was not to boast or imply superior knowledge on my part, quite the contrary, as I am very untechnical. It was to claify my over-extended exposure to the 'studio' life and reason for my prefrences. Studios are acoustically 'dead'. Almost muffled. There is no space or imaging until you panned, overdubbed, etc. Seems like the sound just radiates directly from the monitors to your ears with no space in between. It is too perfect/sterile for casual listening but a necessity for prodution. The instruments all sound 'dead' 'bonedry', until you add sweetness. I dont want that in my listening 'space'. I am however going to get a test CD and SPL meter (gee, should'nt I already have one or five of these already?) and treat the corners behind the speaks. I used to finish soundcheck, tweaking the 'main' rig to the room. An empty usually very reflective surface (try high SPL heavy metal in corragated metal building w/concrete floor, oh yes, cieling arched from the floor). None the less, even in a venue/room that is acoustically friendly to mix in, it all changes when things heat up, and fill up...Wow, I got to get to bed. It is 4:00 in the morning...
Well here is my question

You'll be surprised what a couple of bass traps and dampening all first reflection points alone can do. That's where I'd spend my money first. Then the dedicated lines are a good idea too. They won't help near as much as the room treatment will, trust me. I've been in this for over 30 years. Two prong outlets aren't going to hurt anything assuming your wiring is good. Something else you can do is go to the hardware store and put in some Pass and Seymour commercial grade outlets.

It's entirely possible you can connect the ground of the outlets to the box the outlets screw into and have a third ground. Get a polarity tester(5 bucks at the hardware store) and make sure you get the right wires in the right place. This will get you by. I'd still get the dedicated lines if you can afford them. I live in a 50 year old house and the wiring is good. Alot of it had been redone over the years and is upto new code. Learn about room acoustics and you'll be ahead of alot of people that have been doing this for years. It's cost to performance ratio is up there.

Many people feel that Krell preamps sound better without power conditioning, but a dedicated circuit will definitely help. (I have four) That was my case, but aftermarket powercords can make a difference....some good, some bad.

Richard
PS. I am not Krellman, but thanks anyway.

Ive owned several Krell amps Ksa250 ksa300s Mda 300 ect.
I was not impressed with the KBL, Just look at that giant board full of parts, Dont need all that circuitry, Try a good tube pre you wont ever look back. Do it now. Anybody with one ear will be able hear the diffrence. Sorry

Warnerwh- you are always here, and helpful too, thanks. I was opting for the KBL until you pointed out its lack of RC.
I really think the next thing i do is dedicated power w/conditioning. Upon occassion, system sounds a little distorted or harsh. I live in a 40yr old house w/2prong outlets.

Nice system Krell-man. Love the B&Ws

In response to your question are tubes more suitable for the midrange. This is a personal preference and also somewhat system dependent. If you haven't what tubes do to the sound you should at least give it a listen at a dealer. The Krell KRC-3 is an excellent preamp and I doubt very much newer gear is any better especially considering the Krell's used price.

Being a new person you should read about room acoustics at realtraps.com or just do a google. You'll find your room the next most important component in your system. Money spent there can help alot. Without it you're not hearing what your system is capable of unless your room is great already. Odds of that are about 1 in a million. Well worth the education if you want to improve your system. cheers

For $450, buy the KBL, unless there is something wrong with it.
I owned one and used it in my $60K system and loved it. I never had any problems and the sound was fantastic! I did finally upgrade to the KRC-HR, which actually gave me more of a positive opinion of the KBL.

If you don't really need a remote, and for the lower price, I would go with the KBL (but I haven't directly compared it to the KRC3)

Hope this helps a little. But to confuse you more, I have heard good things about the KRC3.

Richard

I had a KRC-3 for about ten years. I've read over and over that it's a classic and still a piece to own, it's that good.

$1470.00 seems $100.00-$200.00 too high though. I think around $1250.00 might be a fairer price, but that's me.

If you want a really amazing pre-amp, and have the extra money, a Herron VTSP-1A/166 is a fantastic tube pre-amp. I've seen them on Audiogon for around $2000.00-$2200.00 used, and they're worth every penny.

Chuck