Classic Krell Preamps..
 

Hi,

I have acquired a couple of vintage Krell preamps... KSL-2 and KRC-3.

Could anybody give me an idea of what years these are from , and where they stood in the lineup of Krell preamps.

If anybody has used either of these , your opinion / comments would be appreciated.

Thanks..

I believe KRC-3 was made between 1996 and 2001 (give or take one year). There have been two revisions - one with sqare black ends, matching the looks of KSA-S series amps, and the newer one, with the rounded ends (grey), matching the FPB series amps.

KSL-2 is even older design - I believe it was introduced in 1993, and was made till 1996 (?) when it was replaced by KRC-HR.

Thanks.. The KRC-3 i have has the rounded ends/newer.

I remember the KRC-3....it was a really sweet preamp at the time. I remember I wanted to pull the trigger on one at a local dealer but really couldn't afford it at the time, so I went with a used Classe piece instead. I did listen to it on some older (now) B&W Matrix 800 series and liked what I heard. I honestly don't know how it would stack up against more modern designs however. I suspect that it would still be a very nice preamp for the money, but may not have quite the resolution and low level detail of some newer preamps.

- Buck

The KRC-3 has been a bit of a surprise. The KRC-3 is actually very "Un-Krell" sounding compared to the other Krell pre,s i have heard.

It is very neutral , not harsh in any way , but still resolves a lot of detail. Bass is well defined and tight.

So far i am liking the KRC-3.....it is a complete contrast to the KSL-2 which is very forward ...sometimes a little to forward!

I know the KRC-HR was the "top" model at the time, but how does the KRC-3 compare to the KRC-HR?