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Krell S300i Volume Control Popping Noise

Recently purchased from a dealer, adjusting the volume control up or down makes a popping noise through the tweeter, which I can hear even with music playing. The dealer swapped for a different unit, which still pops, but not all the time. The old unit popped all the time. Not only is the pop annoying, it's a borderline concern for tweeter safety. I called Krell, long story short, was told that, yes, it pops. Speakers are JMlab Electra 915.1, and other equipment includes Musical Fidelity A308cr pre, power, and CD player, and Oppo BDP-83. Interconnects are Cardas, speaker wire is homemade, but also subbed in Monster Cable to no avail. In addition, I get more tweeter hiss with the Krell than through the Musical Fidelity gear. These quirks are not commensurate with my idea of a high-end product. I previously owned a Krell KAV 300iL, and do not recall having this issue. Thanks in advance.
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Showing 1 response by daborg

daborg
2 posts
 
My Krell s300i of almost 7 years started having problems with the left channel.  Lots of static and popping noises came out of the left speaker.  The problem became progressively worse until I heard them even during very loud passages.  I had to remove the unit from my system.  Krell said it was either something loose in the left channel input, or the left channel board is defective.

Of course, it was out of warranty.  And if it was a bad board, what about the right channel?  Diagnostics will run me around $150 plus shipping back and to Krell.  Who knows what the materials and labor will be to actually fix this.

The unit also produced hissing sounds that were noticeable when the system was at rest.  The hissing plus the problem with the fore mentioned popping sounds are not what I had expected with a high end unit.  Pretty disappointed.  

I have replaced the Krell with a pair of Parasound classic power amps bridged to mono amps.  Super quiet, and quite musical.

The defective Krell is sitting on the floor.  I'm not sure I want to pursue repairs because it is possible the right channel will eventually have the same issues.  Plus I'm not crazy about reinstalling the amp hisses.  Which means the alternative is to junk it.  Again, disappointed.
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