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 schedule that has me out of
the country more than in the States over the past two months, I hired
Simply Home Entertainment to come out and set up my Krell Evolution
system in a way that simply and neatly bypasses my reference installed
home theater. The SACD player was installed above the two-chassis
preamp on a modern-looking table to the right of my seating position,
which came out more elegant than expected. The amps were placed by two
strong men beside my Wilson WATT Puppy Version 7 loudspeakers.
Connections were made one of two ways during the review. The first was
with Krell’s proprietary CAST system. Alternatively, the system was
wired with Transparent Reference XL interconnects. The Krell Cast
system is a unique system that allows for one voltage gain stage
throughout the audio chain. In the world of absolute audio, less is
always more, and I found the CAST system to be a very unique solution
that I recommend any careful listener to audition. I also used
Transparent Reference XL cables for the speaker connections. At this
level, each gradation of high-end cable is easily audible, even to the
untrained ear.
Technology
Starting
with the power amps and without getting too geeky, these Krell mono
blocks have a lot of goodies under the hood. Most notable are the
massive 6000 VA power supplies, which surely make up quite a bit of the
weight of each beefy amplifier. Krell’s CAST system boards also add to
the unique design of the amps, allowing your entire Krell audio system
to act as one in terms of the way they are connected. There are
microprocessors that monitor the inner workings of the amp in order to
protect your investment when you may have had one too many sips of
Macallan 30 during a loud, late-night listening session. Krell’s
Current Mode speaks to the overall design of the amp, which allows the
component to operate in the current domain rather than the voltage
domain, unlike most other high-end amps. Krell’s Active Cascode
Topology reduces distortion by doubling or tripling the amount of
active devices used in a gain stage, resulting in the Evolution’s very
clean and fast sound.
The preamp is a dual chassis model
like the Krell Evolution 2 and the Mark Levinson No. 32 which, among
many benefits, allows the designer to keep the potentially noisy power
supply away from the sensitive electronics in the controller unit. The
$15,000 202 also operates in Krell’s CAST system and is a fully
balanced design. The volume control is ultra-sexy, with a truly great
feel. The volume “pot,” if you will, is computer-controlled by a 16-bit
balanced resistor ladder, creating smooth volume transitions and
resulting in no audible noise from the volume control.
The
Krell 505 SACD/CD player is a $10,000 dedicated audio machine that uses
some of the finest digital to analog conversion money can buy. The
player is, not surprisingly, wired for a CAST connection and is built
like a tank. The metalwork is so tightly machined that the player feels
more watch-like than a high-end SACD/CD player. In fact, when a disc
spools up, you can barely hear it with your ear to the side of the
player. Strangely, a player at this price point cannot play a DVD-Audio
disc but it can play CD, SACD, MP3 CDs and many other discs.
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.
