getting me a baby Krell!

I played with the Musical Fidelity A300 for a month now and I just want what my heart was craving. I sold the MF in less than two hours (thanks Agon) and bought a Krell 400xi. Anyone have this amp or had experience with it? My goal originally was a 300i, but one helluva deal dropped in my lap on this one owner mint 400xi. I'm all hyped now!

What do ya'll think about pairing it with my Aeon i's?

And dammit I am still trying to find some good bi wired Nordosts! Argh!

You can never go wrong with Krell !

Well I just underwent an almost indentical journey.

When my thule power amp died I tried several amps to power my Aeon I's - including a musical fidelity A5cr which i found very disapointing.

To make a long story short I ended up with a krell 300i and it is working beautifully.

Plenty of detail, imaging and bass.

The 400xi should be even better.

I'm excited about getting it...cant wait! Now if I can just find some cables!

It's an excellent amp. It powers my Aerius's with ease when I use it. I'm currently enamoured with my Jolida, so the Krell is relegated to the rack in the office. It's not that one is better than the other, just that they are different and have different strengths. I think the 400xi is a great amp, congratulations!
- Steve

PS. For you interconnects, I suggest a brand that uses copper. I've tried both silver and copper with this amp and prefer the sound of the copper interconnects. You'll find that the Krell is very dynamic and will allow your speakers to really slam. The copper will let that through. Drums are very dynamic with this amp. Its minor weakness (to my ears, YEMV) is that certain femail voices may sound more strident than real. I think copper helps in this area and also allows the great bass to shine through. The silver I tried seemed to bias a little to the higher frequencies and didn't seem to allow as much low frequency slam. These are just my experiences, so take them for what they're worth! If you want to know the specific interconnects I tried, or any more info, send me a PM.

Congrats on the purchase! It was just five months ago that I first auditioned the Vantages driven by some Krell gear, and it was a delicious experience indeed.

We're driving to Paducah later this month - I'd love to have a listen!

It's a good amp, but a bit expensive ($2600 the last time I checked). I'd like to think I get a great deal on a used Classe, Sunfire, etc for the same money.

I did listen to it through Vistas and/or Vantages some months ago and it seemed to drive those speakers with ease.

Erik

Guys I got this mint 400xi at what I think is a major steal ($1350 shipped)....I considered a Bel Canto Siu and maybe my first ever tube (jolida maybe?) but when I saw this amp and the guy accepted my cash offer, I couldnt turn it down. My heart was always set on having a Krell and some ML's, now I am close to nearly having it! I have bought all my gear so far at commendable prices and (knock on wood) I have not been disappointed yet.

All the info on the connects was much appreciated. My big question is buy bi-wires or stick with single? A tech at ML told me the Aeon i's loved being bi-wired. But once again that's one person's tastes probably.

So question for all of you...to bi-wire or not to bi-wire?

400xi is one killer integrated!!

I just recently aquired a used Krell KAV-300i, and I can say that it is an excellent piece of kit. Although I didn't really try driving the Sequels with it to any volume (just hooked them up for a few hours to the amp posts and did some low-level listening) it sounded VERY clean, neutral and precise. And as a preamp, it is VERY nice. It's versatile, dead silent, and it's precision is a good match to the rest of my system...

The KAV-400xi that you are looking at is th enext model up, and a much newer version than mine (my 300i has the "old style" Krell logo etched on the facen, not the new "arrowhead KAV" logo). So I imagine it should drive your speakers very nicely.

You've got to remember, Krell watts are a lot like Carver/Sunfire watts. They might be rated at 150 or 200wpc, but thise are VERY high-currrent output watts. 10 Krell watts are like 30 Luxman or Adcom watts, and like 100 Sony or Onkyo watts. Unless you are playing Telarc's digital 1812 Overture at performance levels, you should never have to worry about running out of juice with that Krell...

Look for one used if you don't mind used gear. Sure, it won't have a warranty, but Krell gear is ASTOUNDNGLY rugged, and has Nasa-Grade build quality. Unless it's been SERIOUSLY abused, used Krell gear should work great, last a LONG time, and it comes with the added bonus of saving you 50% or more off the new retail. Take the saved money and buy better cables...

--Richard

Richard, Stereophile measured clipping at 290 wpc for the 400xi. Powerful, indeed. - Steve

thanks Richard and Steve. I did buy it used, just cannot afford the new stuff (govt employee lol). I think I found a good deal from someone with excellent feedback. I'll let ya'll know once it arrives!

I just thought I'd add that I've been listening to the 400xi paired with Vantage speakers now for awhile, and I still love it. I think you'll be quite pleased.

:music:

And you have a fine cd/dvd player as well!

I was thinking about going the Krell KAV-400xi route, because it is a nice simple solution with HT pass-thru. My local Tweeter had a new demo unit with warranty for sale at $1349. I almost bought it. But when I demo'd the unit with Vantages, I did not see it was a big improvement over what I now have.

I just ordered a modified PS Audio GCC-250 from Underwood Hifi. Rick Cullen is performing the mods. It's similar to the 400xi concept in that it is a one box solution with HP pass-thru. It's certainly a much more expensive route, but the sonic performance will be much better.

Good luck and enjoy that fine Krell integrated amp.

Brad

nice score on a great amp. I've heard the 300, and liked it plenty.
fwiw..i've got some home-brewed silver bi-wires you can try out if you'd like.
I'll send em to you to play with, if you like them you can buy them. if not, you at least have cables until you buy some (and then you can send them back).
they are sitting in my closet now...doing no good.