Dear Walter,
I am writing this email to you while listening to our brand new demo
K-300i Integrated Amplifier
, playing Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Lee Morgan tracks.
All I can say is WOW! I have never, and I repeat never, in over 30 years of professional audio sales and system design, heard a solid state product like this before.
The phrase "tube like" has been bandied about for years when you have a solid state product that strives to recreate some of the magic of modern tube electronics, however, with the new K-300i, which I understand was the inspiration for the XD upgraded Duo, Chorus and Solo amplifiers series, you have actually done it!
There is an organic wholeness and lack of grain to the sound which once you experience it, you know in an instant, this is not your typical solid state Hifi gear.
The sound of the K-300i just draws you in to the experience of music. Even listening from the next room, the piano and organ have the flowing roundness of a real instrument.
Another extraordinary trait of this little amplifier, pun intended, it weighs 52lbs and feels like it was cut from a solid block of metal. There was a rim shot on the drums which made me lift my head from reading emails while sitting in my listening room. It was so life like and startling, and this is with only a short period of break in.
Combine this magical liquidity and sense of presence with a deep, well controlled bass response, a large soundstage, good top end extension, and thrilling dynamics, and add in a modern feature set with Roon and MQA capability, built in ethernet streaming, Apt X Bluetooth, HDMI in and outputs, and a ton of both analog and digital inputs, with enough power to drive real world loudspeakers, and it makes this one very special integrated amplifier. I will find it hard to recommend anything else but Krell to my clients, and we sell many of the top performing brands of electronics in all of audio.
We have not yet fired up the big guns, our new Demo
Duo 300 XD
and
Illusion 2 Preamp
/dac. I expect we will find this gear is even better than the little integrated with the XD upgrades as I’ve read in many publications over the past few months, and again we will likely find it hard to recommend our more expensive reference gear which is well over $50k. This level of sound quality is more akin to radically more expensive brands. Please get the word out that Krell is back! We are so pleased with these new products, you are going to have a bright future.
Krell is one of the foremost gems in the vein of classic American high end manufacturing, and like Harley Davidson, you are well on your way to restoring Krell back to its glory days.
I have owned many classic Krell products like the KSA 250s, a KRC HR, and 450 Mcx Mono blocks, as well as some of the finest tube gear from Conrad Johnson and VAC, so I know what good sound sounds like. The new K-300i is a quantum leap over the older classic Krell gear, and anyone who doubts that just needs to listen for 30 seconds to confirm that.
Dave Goodman should be congratulated. Whatever he figured out with the XD series circuit advances the art of music reproduction.
Thank you for your recommendation of the K-300i and Krell in general, I can't remember the last time a product in this price point sounded so remarkable and was such a joy to use.
Please feel free to quote me on this, I stand by absolutely every word.
Sincerely,
Dave Lalin, owner, Audio Doctor
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