Krell Moves to new location

@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

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. 

Silence is never a good sign….if they were confident that Krell would re-emerge, they would give the market more information and manage expectations.  

@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.

Hope to see krell come back i have some of thier amps and pre amps.i still enjoy them.best of luck.everyone needs a  legaldirective prior to end of life to avoid confusion.enjoy the music

The lockout is still no excuse for not communicating with customers at all, even if the lockout made it impossible to give each customer specific information about their gear because of the lockout.. 

Shameful.

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..

That’s from the Executive Director of an Economic Development Corp.

Don't know how she got confused with me being a concerned customer and she doesn't have my number, but there ya go. Maybe sheds a little more light as to what's going on.

• I’m not sure if you knew that the president of Krell passed away suddenly in the summer.
• The company closed and the building was sold and bought by another company.
• That company is not allowed to do anything with the building, i.e. lease it out, etc. because the State of CT has a hold on it and its contents.
• No one can enter the building, it’s in the court’s hands.
• State attorneys are handling the situation.
• I spoke with the new owner of the building and he’s gotten many calls from others like you and has all their contact info and will call them when he finds out anything from the state.
• I gave him your name and number so that when things are settled, he can call you.

 

I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you. If I get any new information, I’ll let you know.

 

 

Warm regards,

 

Annemarie Sliby

Executive Director

@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. 

I emailed  Wil to asked if they had moved,11-11. He has not responded. One thing is for sure,Rhondi would have.

I don't have a vested interest in the company's status,  just curiosity of proximity as I'm up here in CT. I just sent a message to the Orange Chamber of Commerce.

We'll see if they can offer an any insight...

@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.

@srace1, As you posted above, i forwarded it to Wil Buhler (wkb@krell.industries) and others at Krell for their review. I am waiting for him to respond.

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.

Not hard at all and that's exactly what they should have done.

How hard would it be for Krell to put up a splash page on their “new” website informing both current and future customers what is happening with both sales and service.  Silence is never a good sign nor is it a good strategy for a company attempting to re-emerge.  

@analog_tiffer ,

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.​​​​​

@thecarpathian 

Maybe you shouldn’t run around thinking you’re always the smartest guy in the room…..

Spellcheck

1. To check that words in written text are properly spelled. 
2. To run a spellchecker. 

noun

1. The act of spellchecking. 

Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License • More at Wordnik”

I've never had dealings with Krell, but if one were to casually come across these threads pertaining to them, one could get the impression that they care more about selling new product than they care about honoring their repair commitments.

@analog_tiffer ,

It's 'OH', not 'O'. Also, it's SPELLCHECKER, not SPELLCHECK.

Also also, there's no need to shout.

O MY GOD…USE SPELLCHECK…PLEASE !!!

@yags1 LMAO

@roxy54 

Yes i to spoke to Rhondi 4 months ago before i  purchased my illusion and ibias 300xd when I upgraded from my previous Krell gear , Rhondi always took the time out  to talk to her customers.

You get the msg if it's spelled correctly or not

@yags1

I am not required to own a piece of Krell gear to be qualified to criticize their (lack of) customer service. And yes, in fact, I owned one of their preamplifiers and spoke to Rhondi a few weeks before her passing. She DID understand good customer service.

p.s. Practice your spelling.

@roxy54 do you have any equiptment in for repair or are you just shooting your mouth off on something you don't have experiance with ?

sorry dill i ment that for @roxy54  me bad typo error i apologize to you

@yags1 

If they have the time to list new and current products and set up a new website, why couldn’t they make the time to reply to their customers?

etc. (sp)

Just interesting the timing on the sale of the building, thats all

this will all work out, Kind of surprised company didnt reply to owners of units in house whats going on ect,

Ive been purchasing, and using krell service ect since the 90's shocked as everybody else. Have a stack here now

So where are all their new products physically located and where are they shipping them from? How come they're not part of the probate process?

"Yags", that's awesome!   Can't say I've herd, heerded, hehrd, ah heck, seen that one prior.

"@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

As a update Krell's full product line is loaded on the website

@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

@dill,

What nerve! They address it to their dealers and distributors. What about their customers?

From what I understand about probate,  nothing can be done in regard to Rondi D'agostino's Estate until the probate court acknoledges who the administrators for her Estate are.  Until then any audio equipment held by her company will remain with the company.  I'm surprised that the company was not set up as a trust so that those who are the executors of her Estate could have avoided probate. If that were the case the audio gear being serviced could have been released to their respective owners by now.  

Came across this.

Krell

Well the old warehouse is empty so the stuff is somewhere??

How do you know that they have a new location?

I hope some of the guys who had stuff in for repair can get it back soon. I would use an outside service company while Krell goes through all of this for out of warranty stuff.