A fashion designer once said, “Dress the classes, live with the masses. Dress
the masses, live with the classes.” Recently, Krell seems to have embraced this
maxim. Audio enthusiasts know the company mainly for making some of the world’s
most extravagant amplifiers, such as the $50,000-a-pair, 450-watt Evolution One.
But its latest product, the $2,500 S-300i integrated amplifier, aims for a
completely different (and potentially far more lucrative) group of customers.
The S-300i differs from most Krell products — and most other high-end audio
products, for that matter — in that it seems designed to complement normal
living environments. At slightly over 4 inches high, its profile rides as low as
that of many mass-market DVD players. With only eight tiny buttons and one knob
on the front, it looks far more elegant than a typical over-festooned A/V
receiver. The S-300i will draw no stares, and I consider that to be a refreshing
change from typical high-end audio products, many of which are styled to call
attention to their owners’ exotic taste in gear.
Krell also designed the S-300i to complement normal listening habits. While
audiophiles love turntables and high-end CD or SACD players, average listeners
these days gravitate to computers and iPods. To accommodate the tastes of the
masses, Krell included an iPod cable. But this isn’t a typical stereo cable that
plugs into the iPod’s headphone jack. Instead, it has a multipin connector that
interfaces directly with the iPod’s internal electronics. The S-300i’s remote
even offers rudimentary control of the iPod; you can start it, stop it, and skip
tracks.
The S-300i presents so few buttons because Krell has engineered many
functions into a menu system. You access the menu through the volume knob, a
menu button, and an alphanumeric display. You can use the menu to control
balance, input and balance trim, input naming, and several other lesser
functions. It can also activate Krell’s Theater mode, which lets you use the
S-300i to handle the left and right channels of a surround sound system while a
surround sound processor or A/V receiver handles all of the other channels.
You can tell from a glance that the S-300i is more robust than any A/V
receiver. Even though it has only two amplifier channels, it weighs 43 pounds
—more than a lot of receivers with seven amp channels. The chassis is rock-solid
and beautifully manufactured. All jacks attach directly to metal panels rather
than to a circuit board, which makes them more rugged and reliable. Touch the
power button and your room lights will likely dim as the huge capacitors in the
S-300i’s power supply charge up.
SETUP
Because the S-300i is a two-channel analog product, setup is simple. Just
connect two speakers, plug in a few audio sources, attach the iPod cable, and
hit the power button. You might want to get into the menu system to name the
inputs or tweak the balance setting, but none of those functions is
essential.
The one setup complexity that the S-300i poses involves the Theater mode,
which requires you to go into the menu and select which input you want to
designate for it. Once you connect the front left and right line-level outputs
from your receiver or surround processor to that input, you calibrate the levels
using the receiver’s test tones. To enter Theater mode, just select the input
you chose in the menu system. This mode bypasses the S-300i’s volume and balance
controls. It’s a lot like hooking up an external amp.
The downside to the Theater mode is that it occupies one of the S-300i’s
inputs. The upside is that you can use the
S-300i to listen to any stereo
source connected to the receiver.
Krell left off one feature that would have made setup easier for me: a
subwoofer output. Lots of audiophiles use subwoofers now, but anyone who wants
to use one with the S-300i might face a complicated cabling job or the addition
of an external subwoofer crossover. A sub output isn’t a common feature on
stereo integrated amps, but it belongs on a forward-thinking design like the
S-300i.
One other caveat: While the S-300i’s low profile helps it fit into spaces too
cramped for most Krell products, its 171⁄2-inch depth might leave it hanging off
the front or back of some shelves and racks.
PERFORMANCE
The way I see it, Krell is going after two buyers with the S-300i: the
customer who might otherwise choose one of the few stereo receivers on the
market or the customer who already has a surround sound system and wants to
upgrade its two-channel section. So I decided to shoot-out the S-300i against my
current surround sound rig, a Denon AVR-2809ci receiver connected to an
AudioControl Savoy 7-channel amplifier.
I did hear a difference between the Krell and the Denon/AudioControl system.
What surprised me was how consistent the difference sounded as I roamed through
my CD collection.
I began with my all-time-favorite all-purpose test track, “Train Song,” from
Holly Cole’s Temptation. “Train Song” has it all: brutally deep bass, a
soundstage that stretches far beyond the outside edges of the speakers,
intricate percussion wandering back and forth, and Cole’s clean, clear voice
anchoring the anarchy. Through the Denon/AudioControl system, it sounded great.
Through the S-300i, it sounded one or two notches better. Instruments such as
cabasa and cymbal seemed to take on sonic outlines in front of me. When I closed
my eyes, it was almost as if, like the comic-book hero Daredevil, I could sense
their position and shape. I tremendously enjoyed this effect, although I’ll be
disappointed if my newfound power leads to Ben Affleck playing me in a
movie.
Steely Dan’s “Aja” (from the album of the same name) revealed exactly the
same effect: Everything in the recording sounded subtly more vivid. I could hear
a little more of the breath in Wayne Shorter’s saxophone and Donald Fagen’s
voice, a little more definition in the bass, a little more clarity in the
cymbals and the piano. I found only a few pieces of music where the difference
between the S-300i and the Denon/AudioControl system wasn’t apparent — mostly
jazz cuts that didn’t emphasize percussion or bass.
Like Krell’s $1,500 KID iPod dock, the S-300i’s iPod interface taps what the
company says is a little-known balanced-
output capability of the iPod. In
theory, this capability should lower noise and improve performance in other
minor ways. I tried connecting my iPod Classic simultaneously through the
S-300i’s included interface cable and into one of its other inputs through an
adapter cable with a 3.5-mm headphone plug on one end and two RCA plugs on the
other. When I switched between the two inputs, I did hear a difference, but it
was so subtle that I almost didn’t bother trying to hone in on it. More focused
listening revealed a slightly more detailed treble when I listened through the
iPod interface. I detected a faint improvement in midrange clarity, too. These
weren’t huge differences, but better is always better.
BOTTOM LINE
No high-end integrated amp can match the functionality and bang for the buck
of an A/V receiver since the whole M.O. of receivers is to cram everything
you’ll ever need into one box. But some people don’t always base their decisions
on such practical concerns. Whether they’re buying a wine, a watch, or an audio
component, they seek out the unusual and the unique, the exotic and the elegant.
For those who desire such lofty goods but never imagined they’d be able to
afford anything wearing the Krell brand, the S-300i will come as a surprise and
a delight.
Few components strike fear in an audiophile’s
lumbar region like the heavyweight electronics from Krell. Its current lineup
includes the Evolution series of electronics and LAT speakers. And no one will
forget the Master Reference subwoofer, an overwhelming 400-pound homage to
on-demand seismic energy. But there’s another side to Krell, as exemplified in
the S-300i. This integrated amplifier is little more than four inches high, but
this powerhouse is pure Krell through and through.
It may be modest in profile but sciatica
sufferers should cautiously bend those knees when trying to hoist it. At 43
pounds, it outputs 150Wpc and doubles that rating into 4 ohms thus likely making
the S-300i the most powerful amp in this price range. Whereas many integrated
amp have trouble driving loudspeakers that drop below a nominal 8-ohm impedance,
the S-300i merely yawns at such challenges.
In sonic personality the S-300i could very well
be the Lance Armstrong of integrated amplification. Like the physique of the
Tour de France champ, the S-300i’s sonics are conveyed with muscular definition
and not a single ounce of flab. Its sound is built for speed and for the
critical analysis of a recording—not a rough translation. The result is a drier
tonality that’s not exactly sweet but rather sweetly exacting. If your biases
tend toward the lush, florid, romantic, or, goodness knows, euphonic, the S-300i
may not entirely win your heart. However, if it’s precision-cut images and
transient acceleration you’re seeking, you’ve found your ride.
To that end the Krell
really shines on a solo acoustic guitar recording like Laurence Juber’s
LJ Plays The
Beatles [Solid Air Records]. From the
instant Juber began playing his transcription of “Yesterday,” I could hear the
sound of his fingertips and nails striking the strings. From this slightly
softened transient it was apparent that Juber wasn’t using fingerpicks which
typically create an annoying clatter. The S-300i reproduced the full body and
bloom of this close-miked recording in a way that was comparable to some of the
best amps I’ve had on hand recently. Don’t look for it to flatter an edgy
recording with a peaky hard vocal or the aggressive winds and strings in an
orchestra. However, a highly naturalistic one like cellist Pieter Wispelwey’s
version of Bloch’s Kol Nidre [Channel Classics] produced
rewarding string tone and a full-bodied representation of acoustic space. I
could hear a velvety midrange smoothness slipstreaming alongside the speed and
immediacy of this marvelous recording. And the imaging on this track was
wonderfully precise—as good as I’ve ever heard it and that’s saying something.
The S-300i seemed to relish diving into the middle of the orchestra plucking out
low-level details and timbres with ease.
Many enthusiasts admire Krell's bank vault-like styling
themes
In bass response, the S-300i doesn’t have the
bone-chilling footprint of Krell’s colossal flagships—it won’t dredge the bottom
of the low-frequency lake and it lacks the bass bloom and decay that define the
most elite amps in this segment. But dynamically it’s no shrinking violet
either. Its strength is its excellent low-frequency control; for example, during
Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” it produced those popping electric bass lines
with the kind of pitch and texture that might even redefine the integrated
amplifier in this price range.
It loses just a little
steam and finesse at the margins. Thus harmonic information in the upper treble
seems a little more earthbound, more finite. There’s a slight rigidity during
the Paul Simon/Linda Ronstadt duet of “Under African Skies” [Graceland,
Columbia] that I didn’t hear with mondo-integrated amps like the Pass INT-150
and ATC SIA2-150—both priced north of $6500, I should add. It also won’t plow
through percussive dynamics with quite the energy of these well-regarded amps or
duplicate the scale or weight they impart to a symphony orchestra. Finally,
there’s a modest reduction of depth and soundstage width—an example would be the
background voices on Simon’s Graceland album, which should be located
at the furthest extremes of the speakers’ side panels.
Krell is a company I don’t ordinarily associate with blue-plate audio values.
I had to continually remind myself that the S-300i is only a $2500 amp; yet I
was comparing it to amps twice the price and more. What blew me away was the
balance Krell has struck between the sonic expectations of traditional
audiophiles and a new generation of hobbyists whose priorities also include
modern functionality and features. Choosing an integrated amp just got a whole
lot more complicated. But remember to bend your knees.
__________
KRELL
UNCOVERED
The S-300i is a smooth
operator from a company that knows the territory. Its functions and
configurability illustrate Krell’s crossover expertise in home cinema and the
high end. Fit and finish are stunning-. Wholly designed in Orange, CT, and built
in China to Krell’s specifications, the casework is seamless; edges and trim are
smoothly rounded. Borrowing some of its styling cues and ergonomics from the
S-1000 controller, the richly polished aluminum front panel houses buttons with
hermetically sealed push-button switches that engage with a reassuring click.
The machined aluminum volume/navigation wheel generates just the right amount of
feedback to the hand. It also accesses the S-300i’s control menus, which can be
viewed on the unit’s front-panel display. The menu system controls such
functions as balance, input trim, input naming, and muting level. Krell also
gets the adjustably illuminated display just right-—readable by human beings,
not eagles. The rear panel includes three RCA line-level inputs, a balanced XLR
input, and an iPod/iPhone interface (a cable is supplied) that taps audio from
the fully differential output. Unfortunately the interface does not export the
iPod’s metadata to the front-panel display—an oversight in my view. Naturally
there’s a theater pass-through mode. External control systems such as AMX and
Crestron touchscreens haven’t been forgotten either—the S-300i provides 3.5mm
jacks for IR input and 12-volt trigger input and output, as well as an RS232
connector. High-quality speaker cable terminals complete this well-equipped
package. A full-function remote is provided.
No shortage of clout in
the power department, either. The S-300i combines a fully balanced discrete
Class A preamplifier circuit controlled by an R-2R resistor-ladder volume
control and a discrete output stage rated rated at 150 watts per channel into 8
ohms and 300 watts per channel into 4 ohms. Its circuit borrows the Current Mode
technology used in Krell’s top-of-the-line Evolution amps and preamps. Krell
touts its massive 750VA toroidal transformer and 38,000 microfarads of
capacitance as among the more potent ever incorporated into an integrated
amplifier. –Neil Gader
__________
SPECS &
PRICING
Krell S-300i integrated
amplifier
Power
Output:150Wpc into 8
ohms, 300Wpc into 4 ohms
Inputs:Three RCA,
one XLR (all line inputs)
Dimensions:17.25” x
4.20” x 17.50”
Weight:43
lbs.
Price:$2500
Krell
Industries, Inc.
45
Connair Road
Orange, CT 06477
(203)
799-9954
www.krellonline.com
Associated
Equipment
Sota Cosmos Series III turntable; SME V pick-up arm; Ortofon 2M Black, Benz
Glider Wood cartridge; JR Transrotor Phono II; Esoteric X-05, Sony DVP-9000ES;
ATC SCM20-2, Sonics Amerigo, Paradigm Monitor 9, Tara Labs Omega, Synergistic
Tesla Apex, Nordost Baldur, Kimber Kable BiFocal XL; Synergistic Tesla,
Wireworld Silver Electra & Kimber Palladian power cords; Synergistic Tesla
Power Cell
