Quote:
Originally Posted by dznutz
We all want to know... DO IT!
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I didn't "DO IT" but,
I had a chance to home demo Duo300 Stereo amplifier, and compared it to my 400e. I used to own 302e, so I am familiar with its sound. (To be fair, I should be comparing 302e vs Duo 300.)
Duo adds flavor to the music. Midrange is more textured. Violin sounds more romantic and full. High ends are more noticeable, but not in a bad way. It adds more sparkle ever so slightly, but not bright. In fact, I can listen to trumpet music louder without having that fatiguing sense.
I thought Duo lost a bit of spatial separation of each instrument hanging in its own space. During busy passages, 400e wins out in delineating instruments. (This difference may be attributable to stereo amp vs monoblocks.) Soundstage width appear very comparable, but Duo is noticeably more forward. This is most pronounced with vocals. The artists seemed to have moved up front by few feet.
The bass is deep and dynamic, but not as tight as 400e. It doesn't have as quick of a bass slam. Burn-in may tighten things up. Or maybe this difference is equivalent to what I noticed between 302e and 400e. Solo 575 may have similar (?better) bass grip on speakers as 400e.
Overall, this amp sounds very pleasant and "musical" which may not be a typical word to describe Krells. It adds just a bit of spit to the voice and adds flavor/sparkle to instruments. Yet, it's definitely not as warm and laid back as tube amps.
Does this mean it is not as neutral as previous Krell Evolution series? Definitely yes, in my opinion...
When comparing live concert sound vs recorded music through different amplifiers I had over the years, Krell 400e seem to have the most neutral reproduction. (I was just at a live concert of a female vocalist and her voice from CD sounds more "real" through 400e than Duo.) 400e doesn't make anything more lush or romantic, it just reproduces the recording faithfully. Duo300 seems to color the sound, but in a way to make the music more pleasurable to listen to. Or, put in another way, Duo doesn't sound as analytical as typical Krell is known for.
So, extrapolating the sound of Duo300 to Solo575, Krell may have what it claims - sweetness of class A with superb control and grip of classic Krell lore.
Sound is infinitely more important than appearance to me. But, I do prefer the industrial look of Evolution series over the new design. The fans don't bother me, but they seem out of place on high end gears. The chassis, switches, and binding posts has more secure feel on the Evolution than Duo. Overall, build quality seems better on Evolution series.
The fans draw the air in through the back, and hot air vents out from top of the chassis. I was expecting the opposite, especially if you are stacking another gear on top as Krell suggests. I would never put anything on top of amplifiers even if they runs as cool as Mcintosh 601's. But still, I would have expected hot air out the back, not the top.
There is definitely a very noticeable difference between the old and the new Krell. But, I need to listen more to see which one I prefer. I have a small tube integrated that I switch to when I'm in the "tube mood." Perhaps, I need both Duo300 and 400e to swap back and forth depending on the mood
