“Stereophile Magazine will VERY SOON have specific NEWS about Krell. I just got off the phone with Wil Buhler, and he personally said that I could make this announcement. 🙂 So, your patience is about to pay off... and Stereophile will have the news! Thank you! 🙂
** THIS POST WAS DELETED in the other Group. Please share the word with your fellow Krell folks in other venues.” Willie Barnett, a Krell tech posted this on NEW Krell Facebook page. I have my hip boots ready for another dump truck load from Wil.
Krell Moves to new location
Here is the old location https://sentrycommercial.com/industrial-building-sold-for-2-2m-in-orange/
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@bulldogger, I posted the above information on November 22. Since that post, I have heard NOTHING from Krell Industries, have not emailed Krell and am no longer paying attention to Krell Industries. >>>> It is VERY disappointing that Krell Industries is not communicating with their customers, retailers or vendors. I have no clue what is going on at KRELL INDUSTRIES. |
@hiend2, Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. please see below: For those who are not able to see the original Krell Owners & Enthusiasts Group, here is the full scoop given by Wil Buhler. pSoodsrentt1mth7fhmma6fha8249t7l376acglh21208au5f4h9ga8a21i5 · Before diving into the questions, here’s some background on JF Bicking & Co. and myself. JF Bicking is the advisory arm of our family holdings company, a little over a decade ago we began offering the same services to other businesses and organizations, entrepreneurs and families. If anyone would like to know more about our firm visit our site https://www.jfb.fyi/who-we-are. We don’t deal with a specific industry or type/size of business; our only criteria is family owned businesses and no public companies. That leads us to myself and Krell. I will be the first to say when we first engaged Krell as a client I was by no means an audiophile. For those of you who have found a reason to hate me yet, here’s one; before working with Krell I thought Bose was definitely in the top 3 Hifi companies. Frankly the first time I heard the phrase was when one of our Analysts who introduced Krell called himself one. I still don’t quite consider myself an audiophile today but I’m getting there, I feel like it would be like someone who had been to a car show once joining the Porsche Club of America. Since first hearing in the arms of the angels on a Krell system I was hooked. I played classical cello when i was younger and all of a sudden i could hear cello throughout the whole song that I never could before. Since then every Krell listening experience has been a unique one. Quite fittingly; one of the last in person experiences I was able to share with Rondi was listening to Ella Fitzgerald in her family room with her and her husband who was also a huge audiophile as well, it was part of every aspect of Rondi’s life. Q -What is your position within Krell? Are you full owner, Minority stake holder, Majority stake holder, Managing partner, Etc.? And when did that position come about? There are many rumors that lead back to the late Rondi D’Agostino not having a succession plan so, to many, it was unexpected that an investment firm claimed ownership instead of a family member, for example. A - I’m bound by several confidentiality agreements that bar me from even discussing most of the question, being completely honest even if I could I would not disclose that information, no company in my position would, not for nefarious purposes but simply because it’s literally none of your business. Please tell anyone who feels they have an ownership claim to contact us or our attorneys rccblaw.com. A family member is still involved in ownership along with ourselves. Growing up I was taught to not look at things like I own them but rather that I’m a steward for the next generation; I apply that same philosophy to our position at Krell. Hopefully this answers your question. Q -When can we expect Krell to reopen? And upon reopening, when can staff be expected to return to the factory to resume work? We technically never closed just our facility, we’ve tried as best as possible to make ourselves available via our firm and email. 610 894 0692 or Service@krell.industries. Here’s the less annoying part of my answer. As an attempt at full transparency after much delay due to the courts insistence on a particular family member’s involvement in the matter, approximately 3 weeks ago the courts gave us permission to proceed ahead with the probate process without the individual. Since that point we have been working with all parties involved to move forward. Unfortunately death is a fickle bitch and our Firm experienced a profound loss the weekend we received the courts notification so that delayed our forward progression just a few more days. That brings us to now, we are hoping in a perfect world we will have received court approval to proceed with opening before the holiday weekend or immediately after. Once received we intend to have our Repair manager start on that same day to begin to address all of your issues immediately. We hope to be back to 85% operations within the first week and back to 100% by the end of the month. Q -What will take priority? Service, warranty, new order fulfillment, etc.? Service and Warranty will be concurrent and new order fulfillment will be only when we can guarantee the quality control is 100% Q -Will your team be reaching out to all of us that have units in service, and if so, what is that time frame to do so? Yes, within the first several days of opening, it would be incredibly helpful if anyone who has something in for service could send an email to the Service@krell.industries. Please provide your information, ie: contact, name, etc./ the unit in for repair/ what the issue is/ and whether you still want it repaired or just returned. We will not take it personally, and can recommend an alternative temporary repair facility until we are back to 100% Q -Has a plan been put together for any of us in service that may wish to have their equipment either shipped back or picked up at the factory without repair? What is the timing for that looking like? Refer to the answer above. Q -Can you discuss what happened with Krellhifi.com and how another website was developed and launched during a time when the company was thought to not have ownership? We had been working on developing a new website with a more modern look and user-friendly functionality and design which is the krell.industries that exists now. That was also the point of the store was to test and see if there was any demand for merchandise and DTC access for certain products. Rondi, much like myself, wasn’t the biggest fan of change and was quite reluctant to take down the old site so the new site’s 100% completion wasn’t an absolute priority at the moment. Due to the unauthorized lockout severely hindering our ability to access key information such as email along with trying to help confusion we shut down the old site. Unfortunately certain features still need to be completed on the new site and will as soon as we are finished with probate. |
Okay, all good information. However like others, I do have a KSA-200s there for repair. He mentions that the equipment would be shipped back to everyone. I spent 500 bucks to ship it there back in March. Yes, I would like to get my amp back but I would like it repaired first. I guess getting it back broken is better than not getting it back at all but.....I then wasted good money to ship it there. Lets hope on the bright side that this all works out for everyone. |
@invalid Exactly. My guess at this point is that they are just “flipping,” the brand and have no intention of being the owners. The behavior so far is not that of a person looking to own this company. I don’t expect to see a press release this week either. That looks like a stalling tactic. We will just have to wait and see who buys Krell. |
@srace1 This whole situation seems odd to me. It seems like Will Buhler and JF Bicking would and should have been prepared for something like this if they have a stake in the company. |
@thecarpathian, @testpilot, @srace1, @devinplombier Thanks for your comments above and I agree with everything you posted. I emailed your comments to Wil Buhler Managing Partner, JF Bicking & Co. for his review. Unfortunately, I do not work for Krell Industries, but I can send emails to the people at Krell Industries. I said in my email to Wil that everyone is anxiously waiting for Krell’s' press release next week and I hope it addresses the issues mentioned above. Krell Industries absolutely MUST communicate with its customers, retailers and vendors regarding what is going on. "I know the JF Bicking is a strategic advisory firm and might be breaking up Krell Industries or who knows what. The lack of communication means KRELL is doing irreparable harm to the customer relations aspect of your business". One person commented with "why would Wil Buehler provide detailed updates to hgeifman (me) but not to the company's own customers like a normal person would?”. He probably communicated with me because I sent him so many emails. Maybe you should do the same. His email address in on the Krell Industries Web site. This issue cannot be solved by Audiogon members posts. Obviously, Krell Industries needs to start communicating with its customers, retailers and potential customers. I asked "Will Krell Industries re-open for business and when?" Someone also said "Chances are some small-time investment fund is buying the Krell Industries name and trademarks as we speak, and brainstorming a relaunch. What will future Krell gear look like?” Krell Industries is great audio company, and it bothers me to see various Audiogon forum posts complaining about the situation and Krell Industries not responding with effective communication. Me: I do not know if Krell Industries will return as it was, into something else or go out of business. Their lack of communication is not good sign so now we wait. |
Why on earth would that Buehler guy provide detailed updates to hgeifman but not to the company's own customers like a normal person would? Chances are some small-time investment fund is buying the Krell name and trademarks as we speak, and brainstorming a relaunch. What will future Krell gear look like? a. Home theater components made in Cambodia to avoid Chinese tariffs and sold by Best Buy and Costco, or b. Legend revival - a modern-day KSA-250 with $2,500 worth of WBT binding posts, a platinum-veneered front fascia and a $65,000 sticker
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To thecarpathian and hgeifman- thanks for your efforts and research, but I am a bit confused. I was under the impression Krell rented the building along with others and was not the owner of the structure. Hard to believe it was sold to a new buyer who couldn’t do anything including renting it until some issues were solved. That to me would suggest Krell did in fact own the business and it was therefore part of the probate issues. It was a large building with parking that apparently sold for $2.2 MM. seems like a fire sale price, although I don’t know the Orange CT market. I looker up Will Buhler and JF Bicking. He is a managing Partner at the firm. They do strategic advisory work. These are guys that come in when a company is in bad shape and generally try to either put lipstick on the pig to sell it , or look for ways to break it up and sell off parts in the hope the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. In some rare instances they can get the company back as a going concern but that outcome is unusual. These guys get a ton of money for their advisory services and generally a fee based on what the company or parts are sold for. While I’d like to be encouraged by the communication from him to hgeifman, unfortunately I interpret it as an email from the grim reaper. I truly hope I am wrong on this not just due to the equipment I have sitting with them from Q1 this year, but also for the venerable brand. Wonder if Dan and their son would consider merging the 2 companies. Somewhat different focuses for the entities but stranger things have happened. As always, ANY useful or insightful information on Krell would be appreciated. |
@roxy54 , +1. Radio silence on such an important aspect of their business is a dead wrong move. They're doing irreparable harm to the customer relations aspect of their business. I know there's a ton going on behind the scenes, but a note of reassurance to their repair customers is a very quick and easy thing to attach to their new website. |
Wil Buhler, Managing Partner, JF Bicking & Co. from Krell Industries emailed me the following message: “I wanted to clarify that the sale of the building was unrelated to Rondi’s passing. The transaction had already been in progress prior to her passing and coincidentally finalized afterward. Additionally, everyone's equipment remains intact, and the building sale had no impact on the lockout issue. The lockout was strictly a matter tied to probate proceedings and obtaining the necessary legal permissions to reenter the premises. That process is nearing completion, and we anticipate resolving this matter very soon. We are fully committed to returning everyone's equipment as quickly as possible and deeply appreciate your continued patience during this time. Thank you for your understanding”. He also said “We will be putting out a more official press release at some point next week”. The official press release should provide us with more details. thanks.. |
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@bulldogger, +1, My emails to Wil Buhler, Sales at Krell, Info at Krell and Support at Krell have not been answered. I have no clue why Krell Industries is not responding. If anyone knows what is going on at Krell Industries, please post it. Thanks. Someone sent this info: ”Emails sent to their previous addresses are reportedly not being received, as they are transitioning to a new digital infrastructure. For inquiries, use the updated contact emails: Info@krell.industries, Sales@krell.industries, Service@krell.industries, and Support@krell.industries. Responses may be delayed as they work through these changes”. BTW, My emails were sent to these new email addresses. |
@srace1, Unfortunately, I do not work for Krell Industries and cannot solve your repair issue. Krell has had your amp since March and you have heard nothing. If I had these issues, I would do the following: 1) please contact the Orange CT Chamber of Commerce for any status or info on Krell Industries. 2) Contact the BBB in the area for any information. 3) Contact the Orange CT City Attorney’s office for any info or advice. 4) I suggest you hire a Private Investigator to do some investigating on Krell. The cost of hiring a private investigator for 4 hours typically ranges from $200 to $800, depending on the hourly rate and the nature of the services required. I have done this before and it was really helpful. I emailed Wil Buhler from Krell and am waiting for a response. Based on the above, I doubt he will reply. My suggestions above might help get you some answers. Please keep us posted.
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All- thanks for the responses. I have a set of 575 mono amps in for repair (on one unit) and an upgrade on both. They have been there since late March. Repeated emails go unanswered and calls to any number in their phone tree are met with a message that the called mailbox is full. If there are any dealers reading this thread please weigh in with any information you have since, as it has been pointed out, Krell seems to communicate with dealers much more than with customers. This has the earmarks of a bankruptcy not probate delays, but if anyone has ANY information about the status at Krell, it would be greatly appreciated. |
@testpilot, Thanks. Your post above was an outstanding suggestion and I agree. I forwarded it to Wil Buhler (wkb@krell.industries) and others at Krell for their review. I am waiting for him to respond. I also included the follow up post “Not hard at all and that’s exactly what they should have done”. I hope these suggestions get his attention. And, I also included the link for the Audiogon forum post.
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1. It was a joke playing on what you responded to. 2. I’m still correct. You wrote ’USE SPELLCHECK’. You don’t ’USE SPELLCHECK’. You ’USE SPELLCHECKER’ TO SPELLCHECK. You are referring to a program you are running by that name, not the act of doing it. Also, it’s nice to see you’re using your inside voice. Sometimes a little sense of humor goes a long way around here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go run around in a room saying really smart things. I bid you a good day.
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Maybe you shouldn’t run around thinking you’re always the smartest guy in the room….. Spellcheck
noun
Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License • More at Wordnik” |
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@yags1 LMAO |
"@dill So do your reading instead of complaining if you would read thru the whole web site there is a option to set up a account which covers service, warrenties, and contacts though it might not be populated yet" What are you talking about yags, I just posted a link ... |
That building has several tenants. The fact that it sold has no bearing if any, if the tenants have vacated. If the owner(s) of Krell had owned the building they may have sold and will lease back a unit from the new owners. Why would you say something like this? Did you provide the moving trucks to Krell? |
https://www.krell.industries/ This is there new web site |
