It Is upsetting to me that this new intergrated is made in china like the other intergrated amp!, Krell told me on the phone a couple of months ago that they were going to build a new facility on the grounds to start building the lower tier componets!, Then they come out with this intergrated amp that is made in china!,Lets hope the tech rep there that told me that is not pulling my leg!, I have been an avid Krell fan for years!, I have a Krell 700cx now!, and will be getting another 300I or 400xI for my second system! cheers!
I hope this new integrated has better sound and quality than the s300i that it replaces. I'm not saying it's because it was made in China, but the quality was a step down for Krell in my opinion. I had a FPB-400cx and KCT and loved them. Recently, I owned a s300i and couldn't wait to get it out of my system - hum issues, couldn't control my speakers well, high noise floor, resolution wasn't that great, blue light wouldn't stop flickering, extremely loud hum when in HT pass-through and source was turned off. What a waste of money. Replaced it with Boulder gear and all problems solved.
I find the discontinued kav300I to be a great sounding amp, as well as the 400xI, two made in the u.s.a. intergrateds that are really worth more than the asking price new!, Krell should get back to their original quality of these intergrateds!, I am a huge Krell fan!, I recently owned a Kav300I and loved it!, never owned the 400xI, has eanybody compaired these two amps?, I owned before I got the kav300I and still own the Krell 700cx, now thats one hell of an amp,LOL!, I want to own another Kav300I or the 400xi for building second system, what do all of you prefer, the 300I or 400xI??,, cheers!
05-06-13: Jakeman I wont be buying any Krell from China ! There is still profit to be made manufacturing in the U.S.A. THIS IS ALL ABOUT GREED !!!!!!!!!!
Really, have you ever tried to manufacturer an audio component and sell one in the US? Please let me know your profit margin versus your cost to develop the unit, test the unit, build the unit, etc. I actually could use the help.
The Krell 550 I was designed from the ground up in Ct and there proto types my friend works as a tech there,he said once everything passes their testing then they source quality parts throughout the world ,the majority Are not from China.the fabrication and assembly is. All machinery is mainly German machining centers .qc is very tightly controlled. The 55I Is far superior the old 300Iin everyway . You even need a 20 amp service And outlet tons of current ,as stated the preamp section has technologies from their Flagship preamplifier. Compared to my Hegel 200 integrated amplifier it has much more power ,control and inner detail . I think it is in some ways better the the a Hegel 300. As far as a Bass slam ,power ,and dynamics,the Hegel is a bit smoother.but this is very musical ,get a warmer dac and good cables.for a great match a true bargain at $5k. I will be buying one for Xmas,hopefully ! My Hegel 200 is a excellent integrated .i just want the extra power for my large new room.
I just received my a Krell 550 4 days now just letting it play it has about 100 hours on t ,will need roughy 3 weeks or 350hours to fully runin So far it is just starting to open up. The sonics so far are Very open and Dynamic not cold at all great tight Bass and tons of headroom. Build quality is very high at . 65 lbs very substantial 275wpc At 8 ohms is actually 330 wpc In to 8 ohms anyone who thinks it is no good because it is partially made in China is foolish.this integrated is better then any out there I have heard under $8k as a reference point. Look at alll that buy Vincent,or Prima Luna ,or even the vk design Modded integrated all china ,and this is still much better.i just sold the Hegel200, and my friend has the 300 and he very surprised considering it is still new.one thing though buy a good power cord,20 amp iec I Am using a hi diamond hd-3 very good power cord.
@ Audioman58, Hi, cograts on your krell s550I, I value your opinion, I am suprised the 550I is as good as you stated, That would be cool if you did a complete review here when you reach full break-in of the unit, that would be an asset to all of us krell fans if you did, cheers.
@ Boisehomes, Hi, I am awaiting the out come of your exsperience, when you get the amp to operate correctly, If you care to give a full review of the sound with comparisons to other amps at the same price point would be good, I have had the 300I, and I liked it for a second system before, I have a brand new 700cx now with modern caps instead of 2005 caps for the main system, Happy Holidays.
Hello I have my 550 running on a dedicated 20 amp line,it has a 20 amp iec on back. But still should be able to operate on 15 amps,on their site it does say under specs 20 amps peak to peak..I would for sure call Krell and ask for Service And repair. I put a big hd-4 HiDiamond power cord,nice improvement, And one thing that for sure that improves this unit, I replaced the -2 speaker fuses on back I purchased 2- Synergistiic research32mm Long 12.5 amp fast blow fuses.i asked the tech at a Krell Excellent,better detail which is already very good,better separation of instruments,and a more expansive soundstage,for $138 well worth the investment. Do call Krell you may have a faulty unit. I read 2 reviews,not one overheated Hifi news used syntillas Which can go down to 1 ohm,actual power is 330wpc into 8 ohms 600 into 4. There is a new review coming out In secrets of Home theatre and audio, and possibly one more. The volume goes up to 150 on the dial.i have my unit on a open shelf Playing 24-7 for 5 days now ,and at Xover 102 on the display Never a heat issue. For sure call Krell the 10 T is around .87 db I owned them back around early 90s. Should not present so problem, what are ypur speaker cables ? Check all the connections if they are loose for sure can create the overheating issue,check that first, are you on a dedicated line? Call a Krell for sure if the connections are tight ,for that or if you are using the line with other appliances.let us know .
I have also just acquired the S550i. It replaced a KAV-400xi. With only about five hours of use it is already head and shoulders above the KAV in all areas. This will, however, be the last Krell product I ever buy. Now that Dan D'Agostino has been ousted from the company he founded they are moving decidedly down market. The Mono and Duo amps they're hawking on their web site are all the proof you need. A real shame.
@ Brenro, Hi, A couple of days ago I believed Krell maybe would only have these new line of amps that you are talking about, I have thought about this for a few days, I recall the amp releases of the past, you may remember that the Kav line had a intergrated amp and a few high powered stereo amps, and multi-channel amps while they made the fpb series amps, I may call krell and ask about my suspicions, which is this new line is the new economical line, I have a fpb 700cx that was around $14,500.00 new, then the 402 evo-E amp is $18,000.00 retail new, that said,I do not believe these new amps can out perform the cx and evo E amps for the asking price, think about the 402 evo E amp is twice the retail price compaired to the Duo-300, so it is my opinion that Krell sometime soon will release cost no object amps again, what do you think of my theory here?
@ pojuojuo, well that would be a good fix for Krell!, Rumours, to bad its not a fact!, so you are saying Dan told you this?, I care less about the distributor, they are wishing!, but if this came out of Dan's mouth, that would shine a new light on the matter!, thankyou, I look forward to your response.
@ Brenro, Hi, I agree with your post, A year ago I might not have agreed with you, I'm wanting to read about krell's first attempt at making these down market amps that's suppose to sound better than the evo E series amps that costed alot more money than the new krell amps, It would be nice if Dan D' Agostino would make his amps more cost friendly, instead what the momentum mono and stereo amps cost, something like a stereo amp with the power of my 700cx has and cost around $18,000.00 or less. I just totally renewed the 700cx at krell beyond the 2005 specs, krell claims it's the only one out there, costed alot of money!, they used caps that was not available in 2005 amongst other tweeks, To tell you the truth, I would like my next amp to be made by Dan D' Agostino, That is the reason I modded the 700cx, It reminds me of Dans former glory days, to me it was the last high quality built stereo amp krell made with Dan!
I can say with confidence with my HiDiamond HD-4 powercord, And synergistic fuses this integrated is better then my brothers Pass 150 More detail power and control then Modwright, or Coda. IMO You need to spend over $10k to better this unit.i have been using this with my YG Carmel speakers, as well as my Revel Perfoma 208 loudspeakers Even at low volume excellent detail. This integrated also has a verygood preamplifier section. I would like to add what a Krell recommended a dedicated 20 amp line Which I have as well as a dedicated 15 amp line for my digital with a 20 amp brick wall line filter ,and a 15 amp unit I owned and worked in a Hiend Audio for well over 30 years. This is a great valued integrated amp!!
I am considering one of these, but would be using it to run a pair of 4-ohm KEF three-2's. Anyone have an opinion as to whether this would be too much power for these speakers? I don't play music at concert levels, but my system is in a very large room.
There is no such thing as too much power . It is a known fact that dynamic transients in music can exceed 10 x The rated power in milliseconds. This s why by having the extra power the extra headroom is a Big plus. The amplifier is coasting and not having to go into distortions. I run Maggi 3.6, as well as big Revel speakers with the 550 with no problems whatsoever. in a 16x22ft room .the volume on this is a very high precision ladder type That goes up to 150 for a lot of flexibility.
Hello audioman..may i ask a couple of questions??? I wouldnt be able to have a dedicated line with that kind of power (here a 4 kw contract would simply cost to much) do you still think its good buy compared to a mac 6600 or 7000 (basically the same sound)???
I would be able to pay te krell half the price of the mcintosh amps.
Also do you think it could be a good match for my thiel cs 1.6?
I am looking to upgrade from my electrocompaniet eci 3 integrated and i would love to keep the lovely mid range but also have more extended and crisp highs and a more controlled bass.
I just bought mine on the used market second hand so far im liking it plenty of power and great sound quality but some glaring issues like a power light thats way to bright especially at night and the remote control that all black and isnt back lit try using that thing in a dimly lit room fortunately i have a universal remote that actually works also the volume knob is cheap and flimsy feeling i cant believe they let these out the door like that despite these flaws i still like it the sound quality is pretty darn good i must say
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