Blew up the Krell S-300i

[JohnMichael]

Flo that is a beautiful looking int. amp. I am sure it has a handsome price tag. I am not sure if Dan was involved with the design of the S-300i but I really like the amp. Reviews I have read comment that this is the best integrated amp compared to the previous 300 & 400 models.

Since I like the amp I am going to stick with it. My next large cash output will be a longer trip to Paris. Of course I will need another painting as a souvenir. I want to visit a friend in Amsterdam. I may even visit London to meet up with a friend and his wife stationed in England.

Stereos are nice but this poor boy has too many interests to spend my money on just one of them.

[jrhymeammo]

Wow!! Dcided to check back in and ran into this terrible news... Im sorry to hear that, John. I hope the Onkyo will keep you satisfied until your Krell comes back.

JRA

[JohnMichael]

Wow!! Dcided to check back in and ran into this terrible news... Im sorry to hear that, John. I hope the Onkyo will keep you satisfied until your Krell comes back.

JRA

To hell with the Krell I am glad you are back. What has been happening for you?

[jrhymeammo]

Ah, you know, more work n work. Almost got enag....... Now enjoying life again.
Back in Lexington!!!

Jra

[JohnMichael]

Ah, you know, more work n work. Almost got enag....... Now enjoying life again.
Back in Lexington!!!

Jra

I hope you will be posting again now that you have more personal time. I need a break from life. You are always welcome here or I can easily make it to Lexington. We could pick a central spot and invite bobsticks.

[JohnMichael]

My S-300i arrived safely at Krell. I am curious as to what they may find. In the interim I am using the Onkyo. I miss the bass tightness and larger soundstage of the Krell. Using the AudioQuest Slates with the A-9555 I am reminded that it is a good budget integrated amp. When it was last available it could be purchased for $500.

For those who care about such things it was rated a Class C integrated amp in Stereophile. Absolute Sound also gave it a good review in their budget review. I originally bought it because of all the Internet buzz. I am sure many would be pleased with it. I am glad I kept it for a backup.

[Florian]

Flo, did I read that the NAT SE2-SE's are 115,000€ the pair? I'd love to hear 'em but sadly it's unlikely that I will

Of course, Poultrygeist well tell us that a Decware Zen SE84C+ for US$775 is approximately as good but it's 2 wpc. Meanwhile my $600, 300 wpc class D, $250 passive pre, and $75 DAC are the best system I've heard; it does some of the things SETs are supposed to do, viz. transparent, detailed, grain & etch-free.

Hi Bill,

the price is incorrect. One pair of NAT SE2's cost 11990€ a pair. Thats about 14500$ US.

Cheers

[Feanor]

Hi Bill,

the price is incorrect. One pair of NAT SE2's cost 11990€ a pair. Thats about 14500$ US.

Cheers

Wow, well that's a lot better. Still about 20x my budget, though.

[Florian]

It certainly is not cheap or affordable i give you that ;-)
In two weeks i will have six of them. One pair for the mid bass, another pair for the midrange and a set of SE1's (Same amp with 1x 211output tube instead of 2) for the tweeter. I don't pay cash for them, or not much. Once you paddle your way in this price league its mostly trades and some cash.

Cheers

[JohnMichael]

Hi Bill,

the price is incorrect. One pair of NAT SE2's cost 11990€ a pair. Thats about 14500$ US.

Cheers

$12,000 over the cost of my Krell, hell that's Mitt money. Besides I think I would upgrade my speakers first. A $14,500 amp with $1,000 Monitor Audio RS6's may not be a balanced system.

[Florian]

Depends, you can buy a pair of Acoustat 1+1 for about a thousand bucks. When it comes to resolution and sound quality they are a perfect match. Its a ridiculous good speaker, for any money. But it really needs top notch electronics to sound its best. It does not work very well with "accurate" amps. Sorry Bill, i needed a "little" bit of fun :-)

[JohnMichael]

I should add that the RS6's sound better with the Krell than they do with the Class D Onkyo. I should listen to some Acoustats since I like stats more than planar magnetics. I heard a pair of Innersound stats that blew me away. At the time most anything was out of my price range. Oh well just waiting for the return of the S-300i.

[Florian]

Just make sure you use a good tube amp for the Acoustats. They swing very wildly in impedance across their frequency range. Solid state amps, at least the ones i tried, could not cope well with it. I do have a pair of Acoustats as well :-)

[frenchmon]

$12,000 over the cost of my Krell, hell that's Mitt money. Besides I think I would upgrade my speakers first. A $14,500 amp with $1,000 Monitor Audio RS6's may not be a balanced system.

HA! I think that's like pennies to MItt. With all the off shore acounts I doubt he even knows how much he has....

[JoeE SP9]

It looks like the price of Acoustats is going up. I thought Florians figure of $1000 for a pair of 1+1's was a little high. I had thought around $750 a pair was fair.l Then I saw a mislabeled pair of Spectra 11's on Audiogon for $649.

Gee, if I hold on to my two pair a little longer and save some more; when I sell them I may have enough for the IRS Beta's I want!

[bobsticks]

Ah, you know, more work n work. Almost got enag....... Now enjoying life again.
Back in Lexington!!!

Jra

Whattup jaybo?!

Great to "hear" from you!

[Feanor]

Ah, you know, more work n work. Almost got enag....... Now enjoying life again.
Back in Lexington!!!

Jra

Good to hear from you, JRA.

[JohnMichael]

The more I listen to the A-9555 the more I miss the S-300i.

[Glen B]

You're really not selling Krell to me. The sound never sold me but I was under the impression they could drive anything - isn't that the whole point of them?

The problem John has is not an indictment of Krell. It can happen to any high bandwidth amplifier. The capacitance of a particular speaker/speaker cable can cause the amp to oscillate. The solution is to install an external Zobel network. Many amp manufacturers have Zobel networks consisting of a resistor and cap in series installed internally across the amp outputs.

[JohnMichael]

The problem John has is not an indictment of Krell. It can happen to any high bandwidth amplifier. The capacitance of a particular speaker/speaker cable can cause the amp to oscillate. The solution is to install an external Zobel network. Many amp manufacturers have Zobel networks consisting of a resistor and cap in series installed internally across the amp outputs.

You are correct and I wish I knew how the cables would work with the Krell. A single run worked great but when I doubled the cable for bi-wire that was it. I did try the cables with the Onkyo A-9555 and oddly enough the amp did not shut down but the sound was not what I thought it should be.

An interesting problem with both amps is there was no sound coming from the left channel. I did not pay attention to which cable I hooked up to the left channel but I began to believe one bi-wire cable may have been connected internally so to create a short.

[Poultrygeist]

One thing I've learned is how robust and reliable tube amps can be. I have a Rotel/Martel EL-84 that's been going strong since the 1960's and I doubt it's ever had anything other than a few new tubes. Just over the past 20 years I bet I've lost close to a dozen sand amps. Even the slightest power surge can take out a solid state while a tube amp can go unscathed. Steve Deckert says on his website that negative feedback in the case of solid state devices is often the only thing keeping the transistors from exploding all over the inside of your amp. Someone once said you won't find a tube amp that sacrifices it's life to save the fuse.

Point to point hand wiring as often found in simple circuit SET tube amps is far easier to trouble shoot and repair verses complicated solid state PCB's where a cold solder joint on a machined board can be almost miroscopic.

Biasing push pull tube amps is necessary maintenance for reliability purposes but is not required on fixed bias SET amps. Some might consider changing tubes a repair like changing brake pads on a car but it's way too much fun to be classified as a repair. I know guys who can't wait for a tube to go bad so they can relive the pleasure of shopping and trying something different. I can guarantee rolling tubes is more fun than rolling cables and cheaper in most cases plus no one will question that it sounds better.

Tube techs are available even in smaller towns. You will find one in most music shops that sell guitar amps. Repairing an audio tube amp is the same as repairing a guitar tube amp. If you know a retired TV repairman chances are he's a good tube tech as TV's from the 50's and 60's used vacuum tubes.

[JohnMichael]

My S-300i has been at Krell for 1 1/2 weeks now. Wednesday will be two weeks so I am becoming optimistic that I will be hearing about any progress. I will be using the MoFi OML1's since I find them more satisfying with the majority of my music. The recordings that need the dynamics and lower bass I do not listen to often enough to warrant using the RS6's. The musical flow with the OML1's is more important than any gains in bass. I am sometimes troubled by what may be a speaker that is more dynamic than it needs to be.

I will not be using single or bi-wire AlphaCore cables. As much as I enjoyed the single wire cables I am too leery to try them. The bi-wire versions are being returned. I will be using Micropurl IC's from the sacd/cd player and the phono preamp to the S-300i. Speaker cables will be the AntiCables in bi-wire without any twisting. As I have posted before twisting gave the speaker cables a peak in the upper midrange/lower treble and a glassy sound that caused a loss of instrumental textures.

I look forward to seeing the S-300i back on it's shelf and playing beautiful music.

[Jack in Wilmington]

John, You need to get serious and once and for all get one set of speakers that you can live with on a permanent basis. Back at the end of April you were putting the OML1's back in the closet and singing the virtues of the RS6's. May I quote " I have the RS6's singing so sweetly". What happened to change that? Or do you just feel the need to tweek something?

[BadAssJazz]

Or do you just feel the need to tweek something?

I think most in this hobby suffer that particular, peculiar, affliction. I know I do.

[JohnMichael]

John, You need to get serious and once and for all get one set of speakers that you can live with on a permanent basis. Back at the end of April you were putting the OML1's back in the closet and singing the virtues of the RS6's. May I quote " I have the RS6's singing so sweetly". What happened to change that? Or do you just feel the need to tweek something?

I think what is endearing at first becomes fatiguing. Initially the extra bass is a plus but then you start to miss the music. I have worked with the RS6's and I think I have heard them at their best in my room.

Since I do not have any local audio stores closer than 30 miles away and work too many hours I switch speakers back and forth trying to find some magic. I would have to drive 2 hours to hear some of the speakers I am interested I hearing. Once I have my dream speakers I will gladly unload the RS6's. Until then it is nice to have some variety.