I have owned a KRC-3 for many years. Different folks want different things, but at the time, after auditioning many preamps in my own system, the KRC-3 was easily the most transparent in the price range. Heck, it is one of the most transparent pre's I have heard. I have a Modright modded PS Audio GCPH phono amp and recently tried an experiment. I thought the preamp might be getting a little noisy, so I connected the phono directly to the amps using Grover Huffman ICs. After a couple of days I put the KRC-3 back in (same ICs) and concluded the sound was nearly identical, with the noticeable differences (transients, bass) being in favor of the Krell.
Along with hearing the KRC-3 and KRC/KRC-HR in a shop many times, I also compared them directly in my home. My impression was that the "sound" was very similar, but with the KRC being smoother with more precise imaging and a better soundstage.
KRELL was not to everybodys taste, but when paired up with a good front end and speakers (and set up well), it was the best I ever heard for my tastes. I can no longer afford KRELL, so if and when my KRC-3 goes, I will likely look into Ayre gear. Recently Charles has shown signs of jumping on the "rich-only" price bandwagon too, so who knows?
Along with hearing the KRC-3 and KRC/KRC-HR in a shop many times, I also compared them directly in my home. My impression was that the "sound" was very similar, but with the KRC being smoother with more precise imaging and a better soundstage.
KRELL was not to everybodys taste, but when paired up with a good front end and speakers (and set up well), it was the best I ever heard for my tastes. I can no longer afford KRELL, so if and when my KRC-3 goes, I will likely look into Ayre gear. Recently Charles has shown signs of jumping on the "rich-only" price bandwagon too, so who knows?