Krell Foundation Processor

[Rtan]

Thank you my AA friend, I too not bothering with the EQ feature. I don't need it right now. I'm like you, enjoying my Krell HT. KF is worth every penny in my opinion.

[jeffkrag]

Ron, are those the 802D's or Diamonds? I had N803s and badly wanted to get a used pair of 802D's, but a used pair of Salon 2's fell into my lap at a great price, with delivery and take away of my N803, so I couldn't resist. Have not heard the 802Diamonds yet.

[Rtan]

Originally Posted by jeffkad

Ron, are those the 802D's or Diamonds? I had N803s and badly wanted to get a used pair of 802D's, but a used pair of Salon 2's fell into my lap at a great price, with delivery and take away of my N803, so I couldn't resist. Have not heard the 802Diamonds yet.

Jeff...They the latest Diamond series, its a little bit more than a year old. I have upgraded from 803 diamonds. 802Dia are very good speakers for the price in my opinion. Love the midrange. I listen mostly to vocal jazz and I find it perfect for it.

Salons 2's on the other hand are fantastic speakers, as many audiophile owners confirmed. I think you are good.

Do you like the MC amp and Krell combo? Are you thinking of switching to Krell amp sooner or later? In my present exeperience, it not bad at all. I'm just mesmerized with both music and HT fidelity right now.

[SteveK]

Originally Posted by thezaks

Not according to the Krell folks. I had long conversations with both Pete Mackay and Bill McKiegan, and they both confirm that audio and video via hdmi is much better on the S-1200.

Dave

From my understanding, this should be the case. S1200(u) has built in video processing which "improves" the video signal. KF doesn't. It has technology to have all HDMI active at all times, resulting in faster switching, etc. It shouldn't impact the video signal.
I was hoping HT sound quality would be somewhat similar - for the same reason. KF doesn't have the bells and whistles - video processing, on screen menu or display, etc. I was hoping it was a stripped down version of S1200 with similar sonic quality.

[SteveK]

Originally Posted by Rtan

Thanks for sharing. Does the 302e gets really hot when running for long hours? Have you had experience with 600e?

If you read the review poted elsewhere in this forum, it said it doesn't run hot. Mine runs very hot, especially after a vigorous listening. Almost too hot to touch.
I have not heard any Krells amps more powerful than 302e. I really would love to hear 600e.
I have my eyes set on 400e monoblocks, but they are almost twice as much...

[jeffkrag]

Originally Posted by Rtan

Jeff...They the latest Diamond series, its a little bit more than a year old. I have upgraded from 803 diamonds. 802Dia are very good speakers for the price in my opinion. Love the midrange. I listen mostly to vocal jazz and I find it perfect for it.

Salons 2's on the other hand are fantastic speakers, as many audiophile owners confirmed. I think you are good.

Do you like the MC amp and Krell combo? Are you thinking of switching to Krell amp sooner or later? In my present exeperience, it not bad at all. I'm just mesmerized with both music and HT fidelity right now.

Yeah, I don't think I would go for the 802Diamonds at this point, but maybe the 800D's someday, who knows?

As for the Mac, it was the first major upgrade I made after I got the Salons (which forced me to upgrade everything!), and the added warmth and bass was wonderful. When I decided on the Krell, my major concern was the possibility of it being too analytical and maybe even harsh, but it proved to be incredible: adding amazing detail and even better bass while augmenting the Mac mid bass warmth. I really don't have any burning desire to try another amp, and I think (although I don't know) maybe the Mac warmth and Krell depth/detail balance each other? I guess at some point the audio nervousa affliction will hit me and I will feel compelled to try something different but right now, after a ton of investment and a complete upgrade, I'm loving my system and feel no need to change anything for 2 ch. I'm at full stop. If i do anything, i may eventually add a dedicated music server and run it through the Esoteric K-03 dac.

However, for HT, I would like to pick up a better amp for my center channel Voice2. After I got the Salons, I stuck with my trusty old B&W HTM1 for a while as it was a great center channel. However, I was offered a good deal on a Voice2 and broke down and got it, selling my HTM1. Figured it had to be better and would match my front L/R. So far not so good. It does not sound better, and perhaps worse on dialogue. Maybe it's behaving just like the Salons did when they were originally powered by my Sunfire mch amp (which now powers my center and surrounds). So before I sell the Voice2 and try to find another htm1, I'm going to get a better amp for it. Wish I had the room and budget for a Mac 303 like you have. Bet that would be a great fit. However, probably going to try a single channel/mono amp.

[Rtan]

Jeff...you are on the right path. Lets both enjoy the Mc and Krell combo for now.

I agree with getting a mono amp for the voice2. Revel are hungry for power. Mc501 would be a good pick. For me, I'm getting another 601 to upgrade the power of my center spkr. I have been wanting to do this upgrade for a while but now new KF is here, the itch is even worse.

Let's stay in touch with our audio venture.

[SteveK]

I am currently using Krell Phantom III with MC601's and they sound wonderful. I see few people here using Krell/Mc combo and liking it. I always considered Krell and Mcintosh as polar opposites, but some seem to play well together. (I didn't like C2500 with 302e.)
I am somewhat hesitant to invest too much on center channel amp, especially with me still trying out different electronics I currently have Emotiva XPR-1 driving Paradigm C5V3 and it sounds very good. For the price, Emotiva amplifiers seem to deliver - at least for home theater use. I actually compared pair of XPR-1's to 601's and Krell 302e. This may be a blasphemy on this forum, but sonic signature of XPR-1 was astonishingly similar to MC601's. Something to consider before investing 7k on center channel 601...

[Rtan]

Steven...Thanks for sharing your experience.

[SteveK]

I finally caved in and ordered Foundation. Should be here in a week or so. Are yous till enjoying the 2 channel from Foundation? Or did you go back to using C50 for stereo listening?