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MOON I-5 versus KRELL KAV 400XI

I am in that dilemma.

I have only been able to listen to the Moon, KRELL does not arrive here.

Anyone of both I must import by myself.

Somebody has listened to both, as they would be the differences of type of sound among them?

The MOON I-5 I tried it with my speakers (Triangle NAIA) and worked very well, good matching. My doubt, is if with the Krell it will not be still better.

Thanks
haa01
hammergjh
157 posts
 
I've got the Krell. My impressions. Clear and detailed, glasslike clarity. A little cold. Papery vocals. Solid, refined and taut bass. Will give you what's on the recording. GIGO.

Endless clean power. Never runs out of steam. Clips at 280 wpc. Rated at 200 wpc 8 ohms. Doubles down at 4 ohms.

So, very good but the antithesis of tubes. SS character all the way.
haa01 OP
2 posts
 
ok, thank you very much for your comments.
everest_audio
285 posts
 
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.
sonicbeauty
324 posts
 
I owned the Moon I-5 on two occasions, 3 years apart. My first unit was somewhat dry, with good yet artificial bass, while the upper frequencies were a tad bright. I was a sucker for the design of the thing though, very nice.

Second I-5 was purchased on the supposed reputation that it was ''upgraded' and that is sounded better.

Finally, not much improvement was noticed. This integrated creates a spectacular, sparkling and lively sound. Great for short-term impressions. However, I found it to be dry, dark, unnatural and not very communicative of the music.

Great design still, but for sonics, the Moon sound just doesn't cut it for me.
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