Bought a kav300il from ebay, first impressions, heavy! fantastic quality and build, with great sound. In retrospect I think it was a well used one as the volume buttons on membrane remote were breaking up. I noticed it gets hot possibly a bit too hot and on listening well into the night I noticed what I can only describe as a slight occasional shwish sound in the silence between tracks. Also the volume control stopped working a few hours in when its good and hot. I decided to take a look inside and with the power disconnected overnight, lifted the lid. I sprayed deoxit contact cleaner on either end of the ribbon cable which runs between the main amp board and the front control panel. Gave it a good clean up and closed it back up. Result, it doesn't get so hot, the sound is even better and the shwish sound has gone, but drat the remote still stops working after 2 hours but I think I can live with that. For me the krell is faster and can kick harder than my previous amps and at the money I paid it is cracking value. If anyone knows a fix for the remote receiver I would love to know.

None I can think of. In terms of having a very cool looking low profile amp that really grooves its unbeatable. I doublt anything new at the price, would beat this.

Absolutely wonderfull Amplifier. The lower hz are wonderfull, precise and warm. The imaging has a deep Sonic impact with a very good stereo image.
I decided to share the change I did weeks a go, regarding the cables. I used xt 400 Qed to feed my Shahinian Arc s , and now I have Kimber 12TC wich I strongly recommend!! Ad much better controla and overall balance. The sound became so natural and The extreme frequencies are beautiful and never tiryng. This is a perfect marriage for this wonderful amp.
If you want excelent results, go for Kimber 12TC! It changes to another beautiful world where the music sounds for it self and makes you forget your audio sistem. Silver cables are not ok for Krell 300iL.

Unbelievable!!! I have tried many different separates and integrated amplifiers from many of the top rated brands. Creek, Naim, Consonance, YBA, Bryston, Etc., etc.

my current system consists of a Cambridge Audio Azur 840c CD Player, and Dynaudio Contour 1.3SE monitors. Alll that I can say when I first heard this combination is WOW! I am not a Krell guy, or an anything guy. I have just been looking for that special amplifier. I have found that magical amplifier that I have been looking for. I do not get the Krell detractors, if you like tubes you will not like Krell. If you like the truth presented smoothly, powerfully, dynamically, without fatigue and grain, you will absolutely love this astounding piece of equipment.

I am basing this review on my massive music collection, which consists of nearly 2,000 CDs and 800+ records. I listen to everything from Beethoven ,Diana Krall, Fleetwood Mack, The Beatles, to Metallica This is no one trick pony. It has incredible soundstaging abilities in both breadth and depth. I feel that this is in that 90th percentile. To gain better performance you are going to pay dearly, very dearly.

At the prices that these can be had for now to not buy one borders on insanity. Leave those new integrateds on the shelf where they belong. BUY ONE OF THESE ASAP, anfd enjoy your music anew all over again. Kudos to Krell For producing such a fantastic piece of audio engineering!

BTW: The power output is 200wpc 8ohm, 400wpc 4ohms. This website has the power output mistated. Also realize that the 300iL is the basic twin to the 400 xi except for the selector knob instead of pushbuttons. A definite step above the original KAV 300i. You will probably never need but a fraction of its imense power.

All about sound and it's look

will be warm after 1 hours and if you run it hard sound will be losed.

All i should to say : I love it. Krell is a bragin in all respects. bass slam, open and natural mid with smooth high. sounds superb for how love solidstate design. for tube lovers it maybe alittle cold but not forward. If you want listen to it you should use highend speakers and source. I recommend listen SACD with it because you can not recieve all of it's performance by 16 bit audio CD. If you be a musician you will enjoy for it's exceptional timing and if you love pop/rock music you can turn up volume without breaking sweet and if you love vocal it's mid is pure krell.

Similar Products Used:

300i, FPB 400CX, KAV 2250

Lots of power, detail, soundstage,does a great job at reproducing voices, bass, 3D. Nice looking unit

Runs warm, could probably simmer eggs'

If you bypass all the labels that you have heard about Krell being harsh and cold and just listen to the amp you will see what a fine product the company has produced. I have bypassed the pre-amp section and I am using a Audio Research LS15. This has proved to be a great combination! Nice sweet tube sound with lots of power and the famous Krell bass slam. The detail on these little units is amazing. Great soundstage and 3D detail. The only thiing that I would enjoy better is the Krell KSA 250. I do have one gripe. The fringing remote does not work! Fortunately it is not an issue because of the pre-amp that I use. It goes directly through the theater bypass, which is also a great feature. I used to have a Linar Audio 250 amp (new Victor Sima). The Krell produced a more bigger soundstage and provided much more detail. So this one is a keeper until I can get my hands on the KSA250 or the 300FBP.

Similar Products Used:

Jeff Rowland, Linar Audion, Conrad Johnson, Aragon, Mark Levinson

Powerful amp, no problem with virtually any speaker Amazing detail reproduction Solid bass

Too "cold" for some people, not a forgiving amp with bad recording Cheap speaker terminal(for the price paid), cannot proper hold banana plug and bigger spade connector

This is a very detail amp, in term of musical presentation. It faithfully reproduce whatever is recorded on the CD. Details, positioning of the instrument, you will be amazed by the details you hear. Many people do not like the sound, some of my friend judged it as cold and non musical. But isn't this what Hi-Fi supposed to be, to faithfully reproduce whatever is recorded? This is a very good amp (if not great), but need good matching and good recorded source... Highly recommended, but audit before you buy to see if it suit your taste...

Very very good bass. Very very sweet highs. Terrific sound stage and imaging

The volume on the remote goes up and down too slow (I' m being nit picky )otherwise absolutely NOTHING

This is an absolutely amazing Integrated amp. Before it I had a Copland CSA 14 that was modified to the tune of $1500 and I had it for about 3 years. I really didn't think I would ever get rid of it because It sounded so incredibly good. But I bought a new pair of speakers that were harder to drive(Focus Audio FS78) and I knew the speakers were very good but I needed more power to get the most of them. I brought the Krell 300iL home and fell in love with music all over again. I don't know how other reviewers can say that this is a bright sounding unit. It certainly is NOT bright and i like my music rather loud. Maybe their sources are weak. I have a Meridian 508-24 and with the Harmonic Tech balanced interconnects and Focus Audio speakers this Krell 300iL is all anyone would want providing your source and speakers and cables are all up to the quality of the Krell.

Similar Products Used:

Copland,Bryston,YBA,Sim Audio,NAD,Naim,Cairn,Redgum etc. etc. etc.

Build quality, functionality

Bright upper frequencies. Too cold and analytical for my tastes

I personally did not like this latest offering from Krell. I actually felt that the original 300i was better sonically. Krell gets the bass as well as the soundstage right, but the upper octaves IMHO have always been their Achilles' heel. Listener fatigue set in for me almost immediately. Yes there's resolution, but at the cost of musical enjoyment. Others have stated that they loved this piece so maybe it's a matter of personal taste, but I urge anyone interested in the 300iL audition it in their own system before they buy. I guess you either like the "Krell sound" or you don't. In this case I didn't.

Similar Products Used:

300i, KSA 200S,

Tonal balance, bass control, endless power for any speaker (even hard electrostatics), astonishing micro and macro-dynamics, musicality and non-fatiguing sound. Reveals all the features of the source and the speakers, for good and for bad. Built to last, nice finishing.

It heats like hell at moderate to high volumes, but at 105 dB(A) at 2m for more than 1 hour didn't fail (despite I couldn't even touch the chassis). Only one tape loop (problems if you have headphone amp plus a tape recorder and a CD-RW) and only 1 balanced input. Very deep, hard to fit in average racks (I had to order a custom shelf for it). Rear signal inputs are placed too close, when using big plugs it's a little bit difficult to change conections. No balanced preamp outputs.

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT: MF Nuvista 3D CDP Project RPM9 TT with Van den Hul MC10 Special cart. EAR 834P Phono stage Sonus Faber Amati Homage speakers. Assortment of VdH cables and Transparent Audio. This integrated is one of the best you can find out there at any price, is expensive, more if you don't live in the States, but it's worth its price. I own mine since february 2002, now is fully burnt-in and I could make an extensive review pointing the whole range of music from hard rock to vocal solos, piano... I'll save you that, it's simply great, gives the best bass I have ever heard on any integrated, deep, controlled, tight with slam and it does with the Amati's but also did with my former JBL 4312A and with Proac Future 1 I tryied at my dealer's place as well as with SF Cremona and B&W N802. Mids: Delicate, detailed, real, musical... the best note decay on real piano, the "just" amount of delicacy and bit on strings, you should hear I Musici playing Albinoni or Vivaldi. And voices, he he, you get in front of you Miss D. Krall, can even hear her tongue slapping on her palate just before she starts the phrase. Highs: They are all there, not etched, nor analytical, with amounts of air and space, you get that airy sensation with good or not so good speakers (more the better they are), if speakers are analytical (like the Nautilus 802) the highs are, if the speakers are more neutral, highs are then balanced and airy. I have compared this integrated with MF A3cr pre-power combo, Primare 30's pre-power combo, MF Nuvista M3, Classé (600w power with pre) and Chord integrated among other more esoteric combinations including tube amps. Well, the only one that is better in the power endless sensation is the Classé beast but for me it's more analytical and less musical (and much more expensive). The Nuvista M3 is a great integrated, perhaps is more musical than the Krell but this has more bass control and better tonal balance (more neutral). The theatre throughput feature is great, it allows you to use the power section without using the pre-amp, I use it with the EAR phono section which has volume control and some more detail and stage focus can be achieved. If you're looking for a high-end integrated with amounts of power to feed ANY speaker, great balance with superb bass control and believable stage, you should hear the KAV 300IL, won't regret.

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Luxman LV-117 integrated. Musical Fidelity A3cr pre-power combo and MF Nuvista M3 integrated. Classé Audio Omega power monoblocks with Omega pre-amp. Primare A 30.2 power with PRE 30 preamp.

Looks good Sounds good

Runs hot at medium volume. Fails if you play it at high volume.

Sounds good, but for the money, it should. I am not use to having Amps fail on me. I am on my third KAV-300iL in two months. This amp runs very hot at medium volume and when you play it loud, it melts down. I asked their service dept. for the maximum operating temperature, ventilation requirements, etc. They are not technical, not professional but they do respond rappidly (with useless information). I do not want to have this amp after the warranty expires.

Similar Products Used:

Meridian Classe