As i said earlier, i know the 300iL, which made me move upwards..
the 300i has not a very good reputation,...
I wish I'd heard of its reputation - I'm assuming we're taking about the latest S300i - before deciding to install it into my system and listen for myself.
except there are some people who say: hold on, you can make very easily something great out of it:
In Germany it is clockwork.de, and I much later heard a modded 300, that was unrecognisably sweet without loosing the punch that I loved so much on first hearing.
Why don't you get in touch with them and see who does similar things in the states?
I do appreciate the tip. Thank you.
FWIW, this is what I think of the Krell: Its presentation is mid-hall, the sound leans more toward smoothness (all around - it doesn't sound rolled-off); it is not harmonically rich nor would I call its sound dry. Not in the least. It's kinda unexciting at first. If anything, its operation doesn't call a lot of attention to itself. Neutral is an often misused term and I won't repeat the pattern. To my ears, it leans just ever so slightly toward warmth. Not hi-fi sounding. It's a presentation that's easy to live with day to day, and I (personally) don't feel like the system is lacking much. A better phono stage and a a new arm, but that's another topic all-around.
Room treatments: I didn't have much experience with the concept, other than installing the audiophile-approved products in the days I sold them. Ethan, thank you very much for the intro and for sharing your expertise. It helped a lot and gave me a bit to go on. I've since installed several products, after quite a bit of experimentation coupled with some book-learnin' and the results are better than I could have ever expected.
I also added a subwoofer to handle (don't laugh) a span of less than an octave. I chose the Outlaw EX. Not much to say about the sub that can't be imagined with a good sense of reality, but the Auralex Gramma platform I used with it was/is a revelation. The bulk of the benefit was floor-driven, but still... I can talk about that a bit more if anyone is interested.
Cheap wire: I mean, cheap. Chinese ribbon-type interconnects advertised as 80% silver from Ebay. Cost of a pizza. I decided to try some, along with a bunch of other wire I can discuss another time. I mention this product for two reasons: One, my home is located within 2 square miles of 9 transmission towers and I prefer LOMC carts. Do I have to explain the problem any further? This Chinese wire (with a bit of dressing) is the single quietest cable I've used in this application (ie. with a Black Cube). Two, it doesn't sound bright, but it certainly isn't mellow. Its mids are a bit thin, but it has the Bass of the Godz (as always, for the price, blah, blah, blah.)
All being said, I'm very happy and I'm having a blast spinning records (buying a ton, too), but, but, with the Krell the CDs don't sound so bad, either. So, I've been playing quite a bit of redbook, and buying those things too. I wouldn't mention that, it it weren't so ...well...shocking in Felix Land, for a lack of a better descriptor.
As a close to this installment of my audiophile saga, I've purchased two cassette decks - the per-requisite Nak and a Tascam pro unit. Inspired by the idea of Cassettivity and its offerings, plus the unyielding fact that I looove tape machines, I'm ready for something new and old at the same time.
