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AVseparates
Review:KenKessler
L a bR e p o r tP
: auM
l iller
debate that's been raging sincethe dawn
of hi-fi,Integratedvs Separatesboils down
to this: the former's benefitsover the latter
includethe removalof a pre-to-powercable
connection.the need for one lessAC outlet. lessshelf
spaceand - above all - the knowledgethat the two
sectionsare optimisedfor each other. Separates,
however,counter with truly dedicated power supplies
for each section,as well as isolationof the pre and
power amp stagesfor lesspotentialfor undesirable
interaction.Traditionally,
the higher you go up the price
scale,the more likelyyou are to opt for separates.
Over the decades,milestoneintegratedswould
appearthat upsetthe formula:Sugden'sA48, specific
modelsfrom Rogers,Mclntosh,AR,ef a/. And now, most
assuredly,Krell'sintegratedsare so good that they could
affect the entry-levelseparates.
Here'swhat you get tor L24OOwith the S-300i
integrated,comparedto three times that for the
least-expensive
(but admittedly more powerful)pre/
power combination:a fully-balanced,
ClassA preamp
sectionand a 2x150W stereo amplifier,employingthe
Current Mode technologyfound throughout the range,
right up to the nut-caseEVOmodels.
Yourfirst realisationthat this is no ordinary
integratedis its weight. Although compact at
438x1o1x444mm (whd), it tips the scalesat nearly
20 kilos.A good portion of that is a gigantic,typically
Krellish75OVAtoroidal transformer,supported by
38,000 microfaradsof storagecapacitance.This is not
your normal integratedamp's power supply.
FEATURE PACKED
BecauseKrell,early on, realisedthat some audiophiles
live in the real world, this unit is bereft of nothing,
features-wise.
The S-300ihas an iPod/iPhoneinterface
(with a cable included)that derivesaudio from the
fully differentialoutput includedin iPodsand iPhones;
accordingto Krell,no other manufacturerdoes this.
A hefty solid aluminium remote operatesall functions,
includingthose of a connected iPod or iPhone,as well
as KrellCD, SACD,and DVD players.But you'll love the
feel of the machinedaluminiumvolume rotary and the
KRELUSBESTIT'TTEGRATED
YET?
Krellearlierintegrateds,
the S-300i'spredecessors,
were all 'genuine'Krellproductswith few evident
compromises.But what we havehere is a weird
paradigmshift,inattitude,as if Krellsawthe credit
crunchlooming.I askedRicardoFranassovici
how he, asthe distributor,was dealingwith
this time-bombof a bargainand he said,'most
manufacturers
would restrictthe performanceof
an entry-levelproduct not to impact on the more
expensive
units.DanDAgostinoisn'tlikethat. He
set out to build the best integratedamp he could,
and it turnsout that the priceis right for the times
we'rein.'Toobad Danisn'trunningour banks.
tiny pressbuttons,so it may spend lesstime in your
hand than you'd expect.
The S-300ifeaturesa number of control menus,
viewed via the front-paneldisplay,for accessing
customisableparametersand functionsincluding
b a l a n c e i,n p u t t r i m , i n p u t n a m i n ga n d m u t i n g l e v e [ .
Also includedis a home cinema pass-throughfor
unadulteratedtwo-channelintegrationinto a
surround-soundset-up.
At the back panel are three single-endedRCAinputs,
a balancedXLRinput, the socketfor the iPod/iPhone
cable and genuineWBTspeakerterminals.Eventhough
this handsome,silver-finished
baby standsshorterthan
a CD jewel box, some may chooseto hide it in the sort
of equipment rack used by custom installers;generously,
'ears'for rack-mounting.
Krellsuppliesa pair of
Also on an installation-friendly
note, the S-300italks
to after-market,upscaletouchscreencontrollerssuch as
those from AMX and Crestron,while the back panel also
i n c l u d e s3 . 5 m m j a c k sf o r l R i n p u t a n d 1 2 - v o l t r i g g e r
input and output, as well as an RS-232connector.
ABOVE:One
balanced(XLR)
and three singleended (RCA)
inputsare joined
by a multi-pin
iPodconnection.
An unbalanced
preamp out is
joined by single
sets of 4mm
speakerbinding
posts.Fulltrigger
and RS232
control is also
offered
'Suchwallop!SuchextensionlSuch
mass! The S-300iis like a smalldog
unafraidof somebig, Iopinghound'
ift sourvoAsA HouND
Slippedin between the RestekEposand MarantzCD-l2
CD players,and RogersLS3/5As-plus-A1
subwooferor
SonusFaberCremonaAuditor Elipsa,connectedwith
Acrolinkcables,the S-300imade itself known from the
get-go with a sound so full and so rich that I would have
believedyou if you said it was an EVOin drag. I'd used
enough of the Krellflagshipmodelsto appreciatetheir
commanding lower registers.I simplydidn't expect it
from a unit so compact and so relativelyaffordable. .
Suchwallop! Suchextension!Suchsheer mass!The
S-300iis simplypugnacious,like a small dog unafraidof
some big, loping hound. But that's not to say it's scrappy
or yappy,merelythat it punchesabove its weight.
With big bands,from JoolsHollandback to some
classicin-housecapitol sessions
from the 1950s,
this amplifierconveyedthe requisitemajestywith
both realisticlevelsand convincingdimensions.My
'Vistavision'
references- the MclntoshMC2120, Quad
two-eighty and the like - matched it rather than beat it,
the Krellagain playingTardis.
What is it with this amp? lt's as if it has a Napoleon
complexand needsto keep provingthat it can hang e>
AI'DIO
FItE
Stereo
integrated
amplif:€r. Rated
at 15ow/8ohm
Made by: Krell
lndustries
Supplied by:
Absolute Sounds
Telephone:
o20 8971 3909
Web:vwwv.
krellonline.com
FEBRUARY
2oo9 | www.hifinews.co.uk | 55
.f{
ABOVE:No simple volume control but a
rotary encoder that navigatesthrough the
input, balanceand volume menu options
with the big boys.Small,delicateworks likethe Buffalo
'SadMemory' offeredthe
Springfield'sgorgeous
realisticscalerequiredto reproducea singlevocalist
and an acousticguitar,with all of the woody harmonics
presentand accountedfor with chillingveracity.
And when the Neil Young solo -'recorded across
town'- came in. the tremolo effect was as liquid as I've
ever heard it.
AND DETAIL TOO...
'Bluebird'- 'all
Then came the layeringof the guitarsin
f
l
e
x
e
s
i
tsmuscles
t
h
e
S
3
0
0
i
1 1 . 3 8 6o f t h e m ' - a n d
in another area: retrievalof detail. Becausethe sound
spaceis so huge, wall-to-walland stretchinginto the
sonicvanishingpoint behind the speakers,you can
listen in to layering,imaginingthe studio wizardswho
applied guitar after guitar. Fuzz-tone,banjo, acoustic,
and thunderousdrums and bass.The smallestKrell
shiftsgearsfrom gossamerromanceto rock-hard
hard-rockwith the grace of a Bentleyleavinga
motorway for a windy road.
Throughoutthis drama,there's an overwhelming
senseof composure,the amp never putting a foot
wrong. No buzzes,no noises,no clipping-related
nasties.True, I didn't try this with the sort of speaker
aimed at its beefiersiblings,but a part of me believes
that this wouldn't balk at big Wilsonsor Magicosor
corner-fillingTannoysor the mightiestThiels.
integratedand as
But this is, after all, a sanely-priced
speakers.Tackit
such will be pairedwith similarly-priced
or like-pricedMartinLogans,and
on to some Quad ESLs,
you will know the meaning of 'bargain'.O
5-300by nameand 5-300by power,this
slim but incrediblyheavyamplifierdoes
'Stereo'315W4ohm and
indeeddelivera
195W8ohm.At its rated 2x150/8ohm,
the S300iis drawingsome595W from the
wall,a figurethat fallsto 65W at idle and
45w in standbymode.
a not insubstantial
Underdynamicconditions[seegraph,
below leftl the amplifierhassufficient
headroomto muster235W and 435W into
8/4ohmbeforefallingbackslightlythrough
currentlimitingto 280W and 135W into
lower 2/ l ohm loads.Thisis equivalentto a
1omseccurrentratingof 1 1.64 at < 1%THD,
so the S-300iis evidentlynot quite as load
tolerantas its biggerKrellbrothers!
As ever,Krellhasmanagedthe S-300i's
skill,keeping
distortionwith commensurate
it veryconsistentat around0.015%from
100Hzto 1OkHzand only increasing
extremes
veryslightlyat the bass/treble
[seegraph,below right].Distortionalso
slightlywith increaslngoutput,
decreases
from 0.04%at 1W8ohm to 0.026%at
a t 1 O O WT.h ea m p l i f i e r ' s
10 W a n dO . O 1 1 %
responseis alsosubtlytailoredfrom
-0.1 8dB/20kHzto -2.5d8/100kHzand,in
the deepestbass,rolledslightlyawayto
-0.6d8 at 5Hz.There'sa minimalchange
to loading,fallingto just
in this response
-0.55d8/20kHzwhen drivingjust 1ohm
for example,in linewith its moderate
-0.085ohm output impedance.
'character'thenthis
lf the s-300ihasa
is manifest;nthe 74.5d8A-wtds/N ratio,
'average'
about 1odB belowthat of the
integratedamplifierand composedof a
smoothwhite noiseratherthan a hum.Will
this havethe effectof an innocuousdither?
Readersare invited to view an extensive
QCSuitereportfor Krell'sS-300iintegrated
amplifier by fogging onto wvw.hifinews.
'Download'
co.uk andclickingon the red
button. PM
E
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HI-FINEWSVERDICT
We find ourselveswith a
product that challenges
accepted wisdom: this isn't
merely a solution for people
short of shelf space,or
lacking a spare AC outlet.
The S-3OOiis so good that
it will cause problems for
Krell, not just its rivals,
becauseit behaveslike a
f50O0 pre/power combo.
The distributor won't thank
me for saying that, but this
is an inexplicable,insane
give-away. I love it.
56 I www.hifinews.co.uk
I rrnnunnvzoos
ABOVELEFT:Dynamic power output versusdistortion into Sohm (black
'lohm (green)loads;ABOVERICHT:
trace), 4ohm (red),2ohm (blue)and
Distortion versusfrequencyat lOW/8ohm from 5Hz to 40kHz
Power output (<l %THD,8/4ohm)
1 9 5 Wi 3 1 s W
Dynamic power {<1%I HD, I I 4 I 2 | 1ohm)
23sW/43sW/280w/13sW
Output impedance lzoHz-2okHz)
Frequencyresponse(20H2-10okHz,Bohm)
-0.O4dBto -2.53d8
Input sensitivity(for 0dBW/150W)
65mV i 8oomv
A-wtd S/N ratio (forodBW/150W)
7 4 . 5 d 8/ 9 6 . 3 d B
D i s t o r t i o n( 1 0 W 8i o h m , 2 O H z2 0 k H z )