New Here

[ProfessorJohnKercheval]

Hello I am a Krell Enthusiast.

Also have a B&O System from the 1980s, a Carver System from the 1980s, and an 80s Revox system.

John in Century City, CA

[Mr Peabody]

Welcome to AR. What Krell pieces do you have and what speakers do you drive with the Krell? I've had some Krell in the past, KAV300i, 500i, the Krell kav-250CD & 280CD. I have moved on but still respect Krell's abilities. I drove Dynaudio Contour t2.5's with my Krell.

[ProfessorJohnKercheval]

Hello & thank you for the welcome:

My reference solid state system, currently under development, is Krell-based. It contains the following components:

Pre-amp: Krell KRC

Power Amp: Massive Krell KSA-200S (I've never seen a piece of machinery this big & heavy unless it was painted yellow and said "Caterpillar" on it.)

Digital: Krell SACD Standard (I will sell this soon)

Digital (2): Krell EVO 505 SACD.

Turntables: I have several of these to plug into it, currently using a restored 1981 Sony PS-X800 Linear Biotracer with Van Den Hul "Frog." May replace this eventually with my restored 1986 Nakamichi "Dragon" CT turntable also with the Frog. I also have a Pink Triangle Anniversary, and a restored Yamaha PX-2. They will most likely not be used.

Signal Processor: Barcus Berry BBE . (You can make fun of me for this but BBE has been in my systems forever, just a great sonic improvement for about $300)

Loudspeakers: Currently Krell Resolution 3 loudspeakers. But may replace those with my Cabasse Baltics & Thor II subwoofer which are plugged into my Jadis tubed reference system- but probably will not. Just add a small subwoofer to the Resolution 3s.

Cabling: XLO "Pink stuff" throughout. Transparent Audio Loudspeaker cables.

Tuner: Magnum Dynalab Etude tuner with amplified antenna (listen to NPR a lot)

*************************

Ok so I am known in the audio world as "M. Jadis"- in that the Jadis tubed system has been my reference for many, many years. This is my first high end SS system and I am still working it out. My goal is to eschew analogue here and develop it for SACD audio, leaving the analogue to "feed" the Jadis.

My previous SS experience was a full Carver System from the 1980s. Then stepped up to a Revox system from the late 1980s.

And, for presentation purposes, in my living room I use a fully-restored B&O system 8000 from the 1980s- BM 8000, two Beocord 9000s, Beogram CDX, Beogram 8002 with MMC1, Beovox MC 150.2 speakers, B&O cabling and a Barcus Berry BBE signal processor. Yep! with a little cleverness I got all that plugged in & working. Looks great, but not reference sound.

The $250,000+ (!) Jadis system sounds unreal but very very temperamental as you would expect. The $90,000 JA800 power amps have 44 tubes in them alone! So that will be my Uber-Reference system, with the Krell being my main listening system. Upkeeping & using the Jadis is just getting too hard for daily use. Pop a MoFi SACD into the EVO 505 & go! Do not have to maintain the vinyl, tubes, etc.

Thank you for reading this post, looking to interface with other Krell-ites. I can be of service to those considering Jadis 1995- present or Bang & Olufsen equipment & restoration from the 1980s. After the 1980s B&O essentially fell apart. But the 80s equipment was reasonably good.

Whew!


John Kercheval

[Mr Peabody]

I'd love to hear the Jadis set up. I still favor the KSA "classic" Krell sound myself. The best Krell front end I've heard to date is their older CD/preamp all in one unit, I think it's the 25s, I don't believe it was SACD though and digital has evolved since.

[ProfessorJohnKercheval]

Yes I see you favour Levinson. I like his offerings from Cello the best, with MLAS second. Not a fan of Red Rose at all.

Also a big Nelson Pass fan. Enjoyed the Aleph Null for a while.

Have no experience with the other marques on your list.

Bought the Jadis setup used from North Star Leading The Way out of Durango, CO years ago when they tanked out of business. Big effort keeping it up & running though.

[TheHills44060]

I've never heard any Krell speakers before. The Resolution 3 look very interesting.

[ProfessorJohnKercheval]

Hello: Yes the Krell Res 3 are very good and far less expensive than the LATs.