Krell Moves to new location

I have a friend who has had an amplifier at Krell for repair for almost a year now.  He has heard absolutely nothing from Krell, and has had no response(s) to his enquires sent to various people mentioned in the Stereophile article including the Krell Facebook group.  

Stereophile report Updated 2/12/25 (previously 2/7/25)

copy of report:

“In the February issue, Stereophile tentatively predicted the imminent reopening of Krell Industries, the legendary high-end amplifier manufacturer. It didn’t happen, and it still hadn’t happened as the current issue went to press.

It now appears that two parties are competing to reopen Krell.

To recap: On June 18, 2024, Krell Industries closed following the unexpected death of owner and CEO Rondi D’Agostino. An early announcement indicated that the closing would be brief, but Krell has been in limbo ever since.

In an interview in late January, Wil Buhler of self-described “family holdings company” JF Bicking & Co. told Stereophile that the long-awaited reopening was within reach. Others disputed his claim, though not publicly.

What is JF Bicking’s relevance to l’affaire Krell? Bicking claims a 30% share in the company. “JF Bicking’s working relationship with Rondi [D’Agostino] gave her and us equal managerial control, even though she still held the majority share,” Buhler told Stereophile. Documents supplied by Bicking and reviewed by Stereophile appeared to support Buhler’s claim of an ownership stake.

Who owns the rest of Krell? “With the death of her husband in August of 2024, the [majority] share has now gone to her heir,” Buhler said. “Her heir” is Rondi’s son Kristofer D’Agostino. Also involved, perhaps as an adviser to Kristofer, is Steven Javaherian, Krell dealer and proprietor of Florida–based dealership High Performance Stereo. In November, Javaherian set up a Connecticut limited-liability corporation (LLC) called Krell Audio.

Javaherian and Kristofer have refused to talk with Stereophile. “We were ordered by the probate judge not to make any public statements at this time,” Kristofer wrote in an email. “Unlike the other parties involved, I’m obeying the judge’s orders to not speak on this issue until a ruling has been granted.”

Anonymous sources told Stereophile that at first, Kristopher was uninterested in being involved with Krell. Apparently that has changed. Now, two factions—majority owner Kristopher on one side, JF Bicking on the other—are competing to own and reopen the company.

“Within a day or so, we are planning to submit a formal offer to buy Rondi’s outstanding majority share of Krell from her heir. Our lawyers … are pretty confident that we will succeed.” Documents reviewed by Stereophilesuggest that the proposed deal is structured as a small upfront cash payment plus a declining share of profits, starting at 10%. JF Bicking would take on all Krell Industries debt.

“Ultimately, we think the courts will intervene,” Buhler continued. “We’re requesting the appointment of an independent third-party administrator to handle Rondi’s estate so that we can proceed with reopening Krell.” When contacted in early February, Buhler said the offer had been made but that no response had been received. A court hearing was scheduled for the week of February 3 but then rescheduled for February 19, well after this issue of Stereophile went to press.

Willie Barnett, Krell’s longtime repair technician, is still in the picture. In a Facebook post in mid-February, he wrote, “I am still working with Steven Javaherian to get the Repairs going again”; Earlier posts to the group, in late December, suggested that he was working with JF Bicking. He has made it clear all along that his interest is in getting Krell reopened.

When we spoke with Buhler in late January, he said, “Through all subsequent negotiations with [Kristofer D’Agostino], the invaluable help of former Krell Industries Vice-President Walter Schofield has enabled us to stick it out through less-than-cooperative behavior on the majority holder’s part. Once matters are settled, and we can start up again, Walter will come back onboard in a consulting capacity and help with the rebuilding of Krell.”

Contacted by Stereophile, Schofield remained neutral in the ownership dispute, saying, “I only ever wanted to see Krell reopen, have people’s equipment repaired and returned, and if possible, see the brand restart production. … At first, it seemed there was only one horse in this race. All I ever wanted to do was help, and I am still willing to do so for any entity that takes control of the brand.”

Stereophile’s hope, too, is that whichever side comes out on top, the dispute will soon be settled so that Krell Industries can reopen and restart its work processing repairs and fulfilling customer orders”.

Have you been following the dirt that was posted about Wil Buhler/William Kennedy Buhler/JF Bicking on the Krell facebook group and in the comments of the article? He has LinkedIn profiles that look very fishy (holding director level jobs at 16 or 18, depending on the profile). He has a spotty criminal record (go to the Pennsylvania court site and type in his name) and a plethora of companies formed at the same address as JF Bicking. None of this adds up with his story of being the heir of a multi-generational family business (I don't think that type goes with a public defender in their criminal cases). I wish the best of luck to Rondi's son during his litigation with this character.

Oh, my...

+1, “oh, my….”

If this is true, the situation at KRELL is much worse than described in the Stereophile article. I do not know what is true, and not true. I feel sorry for anyone that has equipment at KRELL waiting for repair.

The Judge hears the case on February 19 and, most likely, will request more information from both sides meaning more delays.