Krell Issues Recall on Four Amps

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Serge.......That makes sense, and when I think about it this is probably what is happening. I'll recend my China quip.

I doubt they were made in China too since they are older amps dating back to 2001. I believe Krell only makes a few modern select items in the lower priced bracket in China.

[PHC1]

By the way, I met Krell's Dan D'Agostino in person. This guy is a true fanatic when it comes to designing state of the art high end gear. His passion runs deep when it comes to amps especially. You should have heard him explaining his new amps in detail.

He believes in squeezing every last ounce of performance from his gear and having the amps take total control of the speakers. It is pretty obvious that his efforts pay off as Krell is notorious for grabbing control of speakers and wringing out every last bit of bass and slam out of them. The gear is very detailed and extremely dynamic as I've learned over the years of having owned and hearing many of the Krell's gear. The difficult part is combining such resolving, detailed gear with many speakers but I can think of a few that synergize very well with Krell for some spectacular performance. Sonus Faber and Krell go very well together as do Krell's own speakers. Even the Wilson Duette's were singing along in a breathtaking fashion with the Krell integrated that was made in China.

I still can't get over how dynamic and detailed the Evolution 505 CDP was. May not be everyone's cup of tea but that CDP made the whole system sound like it was on hi-fi steroids.

[jdandy]

Serge.......Once I read your post (#8), and saw the Krell manufacture dates, I realized none of these amps are the recent herd being built in China.

Actually, a good number of products designed in the USA and manufactured in China are gaining a lot of attention for high quality. The old reputation that everything made in China is cheap is gradually falling away. Not everything made in China is up to snuff yet, but major advances are taking place, particularly in the electronics field. It's a world market for sure, and competition is stiff.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Serge.......Once I read your post (#8), and saw the Krell manufacture dates, I realized none of these amps are the recent herd being built in China.

Actually, a good number of products designed in the USA and manufactured in China are gaining a lot of attention for high quality. The old reputation that everything made in China is cheap is gradually falling away. Not everything made in China is up to snuff yet, but major advances are taking place, particularly in the electronics field. It's a world market for sure, and competition is stiff.

Dan, having heard the Krell S-300i, I don't really care where it is made. It is a small miracle to have such a great sounding amp at $2500. I doubt it would have been possible to build it for anywhere near that price just about anywhere but China. I applaud Dan D'Agostino's efforts of offering such a low priced integrated amp from in his line up so many more folks can afford a bit of luxury and experience the Krell sound. The S-300i may not exactly match the full performance of the rest of the amps from Krell but it is really impressive for the price and offers a good glimpse of what the house sound of Krell is all about.

I agree with you on the advancements in terms of quality of products made in China. I think it is a sign of times and something we will get used to and see more and more often going forward. Such is the nature of the open world market and China stands to benefit the most from much more affordable labor rates as companies turn to them for manufacturing their goods. Many of the speakers are already made there by the way, some admit it, some do not.

[W9TR]

Guys, this smells like a negotiated settlement with the CPSC. Not sure if it was initiated by the CPSC or by Krell. A manufacturer may inititate such an action if it feels it cannot address the fielded population of defective product. But 99% of these actions are initiated by the CPSC after receiving customer complaints.

From the CPSC website:

"Incidents/Injuries: Krell has received 50 reports of the amplifiers overheating including reports of smoke and electrical fire."


Amplifiers Recalled by Krell Industries Recalled Due to Fire Hazard

Good news, no personal injury claims have been filed.