Introduction I have owned various Krell amplifiers in my reference systems over the years, each providing hours upon hours of listening joy. Recently, Krell has released a new top-of-the-line lineup of gear under the Evolution moniker that speaks to those for a need for the best of the best and a willingness to pay for it. The review system under evaluation is comprised of a $10,000 Krell Evolution 505 SACD player with 24-bit 192 DACs, a $15,000 Krell Evolution 202 two-chassis stereo preamp and the monstrous Krell Evolution 900 monaural amplifiers at $20,000 each, or $40,000 for the stereo pair as reviewed. My review samples are done in Krell’s signature silver finish, which is breathtakingly beautiful out of the rack and poised on a simple table as it is installed in my reference system. Set-up To start, it is important to note that the Krell Evolution 900 power amps are nothing short of huge. With a travel ...

Introduction I have owned various Krell amplifiers in my reference systems over the years, each providing hours upon hours of listening joy. Recently, Krell has released a new top-of-the-line lineup of gear under the Evolution moniker that speaks to those for a need for the best of the best and a willingness to pay for it. The review system under evaluation is comprised of a $10,000 Krell Evolution 505 SACD player with 24-bit 192 DACs, a $15,000 Krell Evolution 202 two-chassis stereo preamp and the monstrous Krell Evolution 900 monaural amplifiers at $20,000 each, or $40,000 for the stereo pair as reviewed. My review samples are done in Krell’s signature silver finish, which is breathtakingly beautiful out of the rack and poised on a simple table as it is installed in my reference system. Set-up To start, it is important to note that the Krell Evolution 900 power amps are nothing short of huge. With a travel ...

Introduction I have owned various Krell amplifiers in my reference systems over the years, each providing hours upon hours of listening joy. Recently, Krell has released a new top-of-the-line lineup of gear under the Evolution moniker that speaks to those for a need for the best of the best and a willingness to pay for it. The review system under evaluation is comprised of a $10,000 Krell Evolution 505 SACD player with 24-bit 192 DACs, a $15,000 Krell Evolution 202 two-chassis stereo preamp and the monstrous Krell Evolution 900 monaural amplifiers at $20,000 each, or $40,000 for the stereo pair as reviewed. My review samples are done in Krell’s signature silver finish, which is breathtakingly beautiful out of the rack and poised on a simple table as it is installed in my reference system. Set-up To start, it is important to note that the Krell Evolution 900 power amps are nothing short of huge. With a travel ...

Introduction Huge changes are occurring in the audio/video industry. Flat panel displays are now sold at Costco and other super discount chains, having gone from high-priced status symbols to a practical and affordable option for nearly everyone. I love the floor space saved by such a display in my bedroom, but to truly take advantage of the savings of real estate, you likely need to get your speakers off the floor as well. This realization has led to a new market for speaker designers and builders, the so-called “lifestyle” speaker systems. Initially, these where expensive and sounded pretty lame but, over the years, quality improved and prices dropped just like the displays they are designed to complement. Now almost every speaker company offers at least one such system. KEF offers several levels of lifestyle systems and now they have upped the ante with the release of their new KHT 5005.2 system. Falling in the middle ...

Introduction The Fully Balanced Integrated Amplifier or F.B.I. is Krell’s no-holds-barred solution to an integrated two-channel audio system. Integrated amplifiers are often considered to be more or less lifestyle pieces. Not so with the 104-pound FBI. This massive $16,500 integrated amplifier started life as a separate amplifier/preamplifier combination. During the design process, it became apparent that the combining the two pieces would create a synergy that was not likely to be achieved when they operated separately. Krell has long been known for their large, high-power amplifiers, capable of providing some of the industry’s most powerful and detailed bass. The amplifier portion of the FBI is comprised of the popular FPB 300cx stereo amplifier. The FPB 300cx is part of the Full Powered Balance (FPB) series of amplifiers, which consists of completely discrete, fully balanced, dual differential single-channel and stereo amplifiers. These amplifiers, as well as the FBI, feature a Class A output, which is arguably the most ...