Krell SACD Standard question....

Krell SACD Standared is fine sounding player but what I didn't like very much about it was the CD read-in time. When you put CD in this player it needs about 10-15 seconds to be able to begin playing ... I do not know whether Krell improved it meanwhile, but that was rather annoying thing for player in that price league ...

Suit yourself, but I'd sure stay away from players that have a well-documented history of problems, especially since the warranty won't apply. Do a search on Audio Asylum. You may change your mind...

The turn-around time with Krell is usually 2-weeks. I have owned both Ver.1 and Ver.2 Players, and sonically, both are excellent on CD & SACD, and in my System, compared very favorably to top-of-the-line Esoteric and Wadia machines. Krell, Musical Fidelity, Marantz-reference and others have used this current version Philips CD-ROM Transport since 2005, yes it is prone to failure, but if you buy the SACD Standard new, you'll have a great source component at a great price with no worries for the next 5-years. After that, Krell, as with all of their past components will continue to support this machine (at your expense). The current Evolution and Showcase Players use DVD-ROM Transports. The new Standard will be out in 2008 and will also use a DVD-ROM Transport.

The only Philips transport based cd player I would purchase is one that uses the CD PRO mechanism. Otherwise, your better off with Pioneer or Sony based players. This is based upon my own personal experience.

Krell is not the only company to fall prey to Bad Phillips Drive Syndrome. Or BPDS.

No,man,go with the Krell.Get version 2 used,no transport problems there.The Cd playback is outstanding.

I have the MKII version but it has the same problem with the transport.Have sent it to Krell to fix the prob,as far that i know they going to change the transport to the same they have in the evolution series.

I guess I will stay away from the Krell. To bad, the player made very nice music.

The SACD Standard suffers from the same problems that all other players do that use the same crappy Phillips transport. They all crash and keep crashing. Read the review of the Esoteric SA-60 in the new Stereophile. They also mention the Phillips problem.

An acquaintence of mine had the transport fail, twice.
He no longer ownes the Krell SACD Standard, after having it repaired twice.

(As he said:
Fool me once, shame on you;
Fool me twice, shame on me;
Fool me thrice, and its time to move on!)

I don't know what he paid to have it replaced, but if you wish, I can attempt to find out for you.
(Contact me via email if you want me to try to get this from him.)

FYI: He purchased the Esoteric DV60 to replace the Krell.
I have not heard that particular unit, but if you are looking for a CD/SACD player, I would highly recommend the Ayre C-5xe. Another friend has it and it sounds very, very good.

My two cents worth.