MOON I-5 versus KRELL KAV 400XI

I'm not quite sure where a lot of people find the Krell KAV-400xi to be cold sounding. I never found that at all. Perhaps there are some people saying this without hearing it based on a supposed Krell reputation of being cold in the past or earlier versions such as the 300i being cold. I myself found it to be quite neutral or just ever so slightly leaning towards the warmer side. I lived with this piece for a number of months when I was a Krell dealer to evaluate it and was fairly impressed.

I found it interesting that "Soundstage!" also had the same finding in their recent review. "The KAV-400xi tends towards a slightly warm sound, never straying into a cool, sometimes clinical realm".

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/krell_kav400xi.htm

I've heard good things about the Moon I-5, but haven't listened to it myself, so sorry that I can't help you there.

I do however have another excellent option that you may want to consider. Feel free to email me if you're interested.

Dspraglow ... just a small correction. I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with your assessment of the Moon i5.3 vs Krell KAV-400xi, but it is not true that the i5.3 has a larger tranformer than the Krell. The Moon i5.3 has a 500VA transformer whereas the Krell KAV-400xi has a 800VA transformer. In relation to their output power the Moon's transformer would be bigger, but your statement says that the Moon's transformer is larger "...despite its lower power rating". This is not incorrect, so I just thought that people should know the actual sizes if this in any way influences their possible purchase decision.

I agree that they both would be good pieces. It quite often comes down to purely personal preference and $$$.

If it was me, I'd definitely consider the Bel Canto S300i or S300iu (if you want the USB DAC option). But, of course, I'm biased being a Bel Canto dealer, so you can take that with a grain of salt. As another disclosure, I used to be a Krell dealer and am very familiar with the 400xi.