For electronics in the main system I am using a McIntosh c2200 pre and an MC402 amp with Martin Logan SL3 |
Well guess what, the 28c is exactly what I had. It didn’t play SACD and it sounded average on redbook cd. I hated the plastic drawer. Highly recommended for what? For a junk sale in someone’s garage? I am still using my Sony scd 777esd which sounds great on Sacd and ok on redbook. It’s built 1000 times better than the krell but it’s slow to load. It weighs 60 lbs. I also have the original Rega Planet and a Krell receiver in another system. Both work fine since 1999 |
I know, I know this thread is AGES old...but just my 2cents:
I‘ve been listening to the Krell KPS 28c for about 17 or 18 years in my chain now and am still completely satisfied with it. I once in a while tested other, newer players of high price but the KPS28c blew them all away - including the somewhat later Krell SACD Standard. They all didn’t have the dynamics and musical authority of the KPS and sounded anemic and lifeless in comparison. Only once had a little issue when the drawer didn’t open, but after a short repair free of charge everything has been fine ever since. Also the build quality is excellent (internally and externally). The weight of the unit only is 19 lbs. according to the manual.
Pair it with some really good xlr interconnects (in my case Transparent Reference XL) and an adequate preamp and power amps plus speakers and the sun shines bright and warm every time you start the unit. This is an EXCELLENT sounding, reliable player and I cannot understand „ovature“ at all with the problems he apparently had...maybe he mixed it up with another model or whatever.
I can only say this: Krell KPS28c - highly recommended, even after all these years!! |
If these were such pieces of junk, then why aren't any of them seen for sale on Audiogon? I have been looking for awhile. |
Ovature, it sounds like you had a bad experience with the KPS 28C. I know I would have a bitter opinion if I paid that much for something and they could not get it right. And I can't comment on the quality issues you had because I have not had any problems with mine. You also did not comment on the rest of the system that you had yours connected to. I think the 28 is optimally designed to be used with other Krell cast equipment to play at its best. I have no complaints with mine but I would never pay retail for one. All this high end stuff is way over priced in my opinion. BTW, mine weighs in at 23.5 lbs and I don't agree that the tray sounds like a tin pan but I do agree it could be more to it. |
I had to get 3 units until I got one that worked right, so the last unit came straight from Krell; maybe it was 18 lbs. The workmanship on this cast series pre-amp and 28c is NOT as good as some of their other products were. The fit and finish was just ok. Like a bigger gap on one side of the cover than the other; a new top didn't fix. A plastic drawer(ON A $7500 list player??, are they insane??)The player tended to accentuate grain on vocals more than it should. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't worth the $5625 I paid for it. For that kind of money, it should be as solid as a rock and sound very refined and it did not except with some HDCDs and some Telarc jazz. If you could find a used one and it was no more than 2K, it would be worth it, but no more. If this product was so great and sold so well, why is it gone without a replacement? Its because standard cd players don't sell well at that price point anymore |
Thumbs up to ovature who can admit a bad purchase. |
Ovature, yours must have had some parts missing if it only weighed 17 lbs. Maybe that accounts for why it sounded like crap and the top did not fit. |
The only Krell dealer was not going to stock the product 28c, so I took a chance. And yes, I was mad at myself for making such an expensive purchase without an audition. I only learned after I owned the product about Krell's history with digital and particularly in the upper mid-range, their products tend to accentuate the worst characteristics of digital(at least the models I mentioned above including the KAV 300 which I used for 3 weeks). If you have never owned or had an extensive home audition, you are not in a position to evaluate a product. You know as well as I that the magazine reviews are designed to sell products for the advertisers. I have no motive here except to help. I am mostlty into analog with a VPI ext aires/JMW 12.5/dynavector/EAR 834 P phono stage. As well, I am using a SONY scd 777 es SACD player which works great for SACDs and isn't much worse than the Krell on redbook. But it does lack HDCD. For the record, I am using a Rowland Concentra 2 with Luxor power cord #11 and B&W 802 speakers |
Seems like you should be mad at yourself not krell,after all YOU are the one that bought and paid 5600.00. Sight unseen? did you ever hear one before you bought it? That is way to much money to spend on something you cant see or hear! you also said you knew that krell wasn't known for their digital Then why did you buy it? GIVE me a break!! |
You sound like you work for Krell. When I said built like a Sony, I meant a cheap Sony mid-fi player. The unit only weighed 17 lbs. The top never fit right. Unlike the kps 20i which was built like a tank, this unit had a plastic cd tray, a thin top which sounded like a tin can when you tapped it, and I would say that Krell had a hell of a nerve charging so much for a couple of circuit boards, a teac drive, a power supply and some outputs. Even with a 25% discount I paid $5600. This was a special order sight unseen situation which I will never do again. I kept it for 2 years because no one would pay a fair price for it because it was so overpriced to begin with. Krell is not known for their digital and this unit was better than previous Krells, but still somewhat grainy sounding. If you never owned one, how can you comment. Personally, with the exception of some of their amplifiers, I think Krell is some of the most overpriced junk on the market and components like the KRC series Pre-amps did nothing but distort the music. There is no reason why these products should be so expensive. The KPS 20i was built well but it had a grainy upper mid-range and that piece listed for 9K back in 1995. Give me a break! |
I just can't help myself, but I have to respond to the post of Ovature.
If you have such a negative feeling towards Krell, why did you own one for two years? And if it was built like the Sony SCD-1, that is a pretty good recommendation.
Although I am not personally familiar with the KPS28c, I am very familiar with most of the rest of their equipment; and the build quality is beyond reproach. Also, about being bright: Some of the older gear (10 years ago) was on the bright side, but now the gear is beautifully sweet, but VERY accurate. The fact that it does accurately reveal, on great speakers, what the music portrays, may indeed sound to you to be bright, but that is the way some music is.
I attend the San Francisco symphony regularly and sit in 10th row center, and nothing, to my ears comes closer to repoducing the concert sound as do the Krells driving my speakers.
Richard |
I owned the KPS 28 c for two years. What a piece of junk. It sounded bright(like most of Krell) and it was built like a Sony player. What a rip off. These people should get their hearing check and get a receptionist to answer the phone! |
I emailed Krell about about a month ago and asked if a replacement for the KPS 28c was in the works. This is their reply:
Thank you for your e-mail.
There will be a replacement for the Krell KPS 28c, and I expect it will include SACD capability. We are working on that project now. Unfortunately, I do not have an estimate of when it will be ready or how much it will cost. |
Jeff,
If you have read my previous posts, then you know that I really, really like Krell; the company, the products and the people behind the products.
Knowing them, if they can offer an upgrade, they will. Only when the new product is too big of a change, they don't.
Richard |
Richard,
If that were the case then I would have to commend Krell. In cases like where a new product is offered while the existing one is still on store shelves, people tend to be even more upset with the outdated status of a very recent purchase if no upgrade path is not or can not be offered. In this price point however, I hope Krell would provide an upgrade path to 28c folks if they will be offering a replacement soon.
Jeff |
My guess (but I really know nothing):
Wouldn't one be pissed if you bought the KPS28 and a month later Krell comes out with a "KPS29" SACD player.
I think this may just be a buffer before an SACD player is released.
Richard |
I have heard rumors of an SACD unit in the Class A series that could be the replacement, but if that is the case, it seems very odd that the KPS 28c would have been pulled so long before the the announcement of the new unit. I'm wondering if there were problems with it?
Jeff |
You are right - I was thinking of the 280. |
If you're talking about the SACD Standard, I don't think this is the replacement. It's part if the KAV series (vs. the Class A) and does not have any CAST connections, which is one of the distinguishing features of the KPS 28c.
Jeff |
The new Krell SACD unit will replace it. Shipping soon around 4000. |
