Speakers to pair with krell that rock


Hi,

After having had various setups i've finally sold up to wipe the slate clean and start again. I'm looking to build a system that will play rock music as its what i listen to 90% of the time. Anything from old led zep through to more modern stuff like pearl jam.

I fancy going back to krell and am on the lookout for an fpb s/h. Ideal would be 600c but might be past my budget. Might have to settle for a 300c or non cast 600. If it ends up being cast then i'll pair it with a KCT. If not then it'll be an arc mk.2 ls25.... probably.

Speaker wise i'm a bit weary as a bright system is the last thing i want and thats what i got with a kav250a/krc-3/proac d28. Sounded terrible. Think that was mainly down to the lower spec'd kav series and the proacs. They tend to be on the bright side anyway. They must be floorstanders and would prefer 3 way as i find the 2 ways lacking a little in the lower mids. Thoughts so far are for a pair of b&w 803D's but wouldn't mind some other suggestions. Have thought about Cremona's but don't want a super smooth laid back sound which i think these might give.

Cables are currently all Chord signature but will be looking to sell these on and move to Cardas Golden Cross.

Source will be either a krell kps 28c, krell kps 20i or a weiss dac 2 with macbook.
doug2507
I would love to hear my Totem Mani-2's powered by your Krell amp. Seems like it would be a very nice sound for rock/etc. I wouldn't mind swapping my Bryston for a Krell, maybe someday. (The Bryston Mani-2 combo is outstanding though)
Wireless 200,

I bought my Krell FPB-600C new in 1999 and have NEVER experienced any issues to support your assertion that "Krells are nothing if not forward" or "rough". Perhaps some of the old KSA or KAV amps were guilty of this. Haven't heard them in so long I can't say.

My Krell FPB is what I would describe as "mellow yet truthful". I would assert that my Thiel CS5i speakers are not exactly "forgiving" of non-musical artifacts upstream and if the Krell was misbehaving I would certainly know it.

I would certainly agree that many modern (and old) rock recordings sound like crap. Attempting to contain this with amps that are colored is a slippery slope.

My take is that careful selection of CD players and cabling is a more effective way to avoid exacerbating these issues. I want my amp to precisely tell me what the front end is doing so I'm not playing "pin the tail on the donkey" with system matching.

As for the Krell FPB and the Thiels on rock, this combo can spank about anything out there. The cut that I use to demonstrate the best sound my system can provide is "Tin Pan Alley" from Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Couldn't Stand the Weather" on vinyl.
I had a Krell FPB 300, older non cast, and a Krell KRC-3 Preamp, very underated in my opinion, amplification system that totally rocked with a pair of Dali 800 MKII speakers. I changed the amplification to Parasound JC-1 monoblocks and JC-2 Preamp, excellent rock combination, but I still have the speakers. I personally found the B&W 803's to be too forward for my taste. The Dali's are not as laid back as the Sonus Fabers, but more so than the B&W's. I am sure that they are easy to audition on your side of the pond so if you get the chance take a listen.

The Cardas cables are very very good. I would suggest that you audition Kimber Cable in your system. I find them to be more open to the extreme highs and lows that a Krell amplification system can provide.

Good Luck.
Find a pair of used B&W800's (matrix).

That is what I use with Krell electronics. Will blow you away and all you need is the FPB300 (or two if you can find a KBX and run them actively).

Richard
If your worried about brightness,I would try to stay away from metal tweeters.I'd go for something with a soft dome tweeter.Even if the hard dome itself isn't bright,it sure will
bring out more of those bright/hard offensive recordings flaws possibly ruining your listening time.