I have tired many preamplifiers and pros. So many mono blocks amd tube amps from many audio companys. After buying a krell amp I was hooked. My kav500 runs two energy 2.3 speakers and one DD10 Sub.Wirh a center speaker. I recently Added a Krell HTS ver1 and was floored. Amazing sound from my Oracle Delphi table. Thank you Krell. Stunning. Cd is a meridian 506. Cables red dawn. And mit mh750 wires

Switching has been fast. Remote touchy on volume. Will add one more krell kav500 3 channel amp.

I decided to take a huge step "backwards" in technology. I mean, I run ALL video sources directly into my plasma TV, so why do I need a video switcher degrading the signal? And they ALL degrade the signal. I don't use room correction or EQs either. And I run my analog sources (namely my turntable) through the analog stage completely avoiding any processing. My Marantz AV7005 had tons of features including HDMI switching an ARC HDMI input and lots of streaming options, Audyssey Room EQ, etc. The only thing I used was the ARC from streaming Amazon Prime Video from my TV to the preamp. All the other features were a waste. So I started studying about 6 months ago. I should say I'm a happy owner of two Krell power amplifiers. A KAV250a and KAV250a/3. So Krell seemed like the logical choice. What I love most about the 7.1 is the ability of a 5.1 analog input (unbalanced). And a 2ch balanced input. This covers blu-rays, SACDs, DVD-As and the balanced from my Oppo is a high quality DAC into the Krell. And all the reviews I've read about the analog stage in this HTS have been true. It is remarkable indeed! It's the single largest upgrade purchase I have ever made. The biggest noted difference was in movies. The dynamic range, clarity, realism and most importantly, the panning/imaging. I know it's an old cliche, but I truly hear things I've NEVER heard before in my Blu-Ray movies. And the panning is amazing. True surround sound like I've never witnessed before. Anywhere! SACDs have been taken up a few notches. From the timbres to the imaging. Snares (I used to play the drums for many years) have an amazing realism. It's easy to hear the crack, resonance of the shell and the decay of the drum heads. Love it! Love it! Love it!
And for my favorite past time. Vinyl playback. Ahhh, there is an added clarity on top of everything but it's never bright or shrill sounding. Just more revealing. You've probably read the reviews that this preamp is neutral and that is in fact accurate. The bass is much lower than it was through my Marantz. As in, it felt like I upgraded my speakers. And solid speakers they are - Legacy Audio FOCUS. Those (6) 12" drivers are finally really reaching down into the 20Hz zone and with tight punch! The midrange is silky smooth and you can follow the bass guitar notes very distinctly. The air around the vocals is superb. They carry and carry off to the sides like they're singing in a huge auditorium. Again, I've heard these LPs dozens of times but never have I heard how much air was in these recordings before. So any flaws that this unit has - like setup, features, etc, are far outweighed by it's musical prowess. A fantastic steal on the used market!

When I review a piece of audio equipment the purpose is to find out how well it sounds, and ease of operation. I have owned many Surround processors over the past 15 years. I will list a few notable ones. Aragon Stage One, and the Aragon Sound stage. Integra Research RDC-7 and the RDC-7.1. The Sunfire Theater Grand I and III. The Bryston Sp-1. The Lexicon MC-4, Lexicon MC-8, and Lexicon MC-12. And the Krell Show case. My current Surround processor is the Krell HTS-7.1. Let me just say it is somewhat clunky in the user interface. Global crossover settings for all speakers, unable to set different crossover setting for different speakers. Very small front panel display, remote volume control commands extremely fast. However, this beautiful sounding processor makes up for the clunky interface. Now let me try to describe the sound. Detailed, transparent, and robust. When playing it loud it maintains its composure effortlessly extracting detail, and subtitles from very complex music without congestion. It's a very clean, and clear sounding Processor. The bass is tight, and detailed, the midrange is smooth, and articulate while the treble is extended, but clean and never bright. “BRIGHT NEVER.” No listening fatigue ever no matter how loud the volume is set. The soundstage width, and depth are very good, 3-dimensional good focus. In addition to being best imaging Pre/Pro’s I have heard. This is by far the best Surround Sound Processor I have owned.

I don't understand why people talked bad about this surround sound preamp. this was the first time I used Krell products. I bought the DVD Standard used before I bought this preamp. I fell in love with the sound quality of the DVD Stand and then bought this surround sound preamp. They are perfect match. I love how Krell sounds, very detailed and transparent, big sound stage, clear and tight bass but not muddy. I am a long term tube fan and I always think that tube products sounds better. Right after I owned and listened to the two kell's I will change the perspective of enjoying HI-FI.

-OK the avs krell was krells first avs.They cannot repair them.They say they have no more parts for it.Its a shame I only know one person that can repair it.shipping alone was 200 there and back.I had it playing for over 2 yrs. was a great item.
Know while I'm here ,The fpb-600 is scary Load and sucks the electric out of the wall .I had a 30 amp fuse for it. My dumb ass electrician put in a 20Amp. blew it on the first day.He came back . I want to hear a concert sound live.This is the amp you want.For the todays price its a steal and simple to repair caps.Buy this amp you wont be unhappy when this was new it was 12500.00.anything under 5000 grab

Sound, build quality, connectivity.

Just about everything else.

I bought a Krell HTS based on the company's reputation for great sounding and nearly indestructible gear. It is both of these things, but a joy to own it is not.

The on-screen display function is actually a "non-function." It is finicky and so non-"user freindly" that you could aptly call it "user-hostile." The manual is even worse- it doesn't even tell you how to use the "non-function," but instead references some pamphlet/accompanying materials which the manual refers to as a "Read Me First" flyer. Too bad I'm not rich because if I were the HTS would be a "flyer" to- right out my freakin' window.

Perhaps even worse is the 2 second long silence when a CD starts up. Purportedly it takes the Krell a little while to "lock on" to the signal (bla bla bla). Funny- the cheap Korean-built DVD player/home theater combo I bough for my Mother's 19" TV has no problem "locking on" to the signal from the get-go. Must be because it cost $400.00 instead of $5,000.00. Superio "American engineering" my keester.

Luckily Krell's tech support folks over in Connecticut are very helpful. If you like having somehting work right out of the box, and having a manual that is accurate, complete, and easy to use, you might look to another manufacturer.

Customer Service

Good.

Similar Products Used:

Chiro (by Kinegetics)-even worse, Lexicon, Sony ES, Denon, Pioneer Elite, Rotel, NAD.

everything!

none, all weakenesses resolved with hts-2 upgrade!

Exceptional unit in everyway. Nothing even comes close for the money. Hts2 upgrade is the best sounding unit on the market! Go listen if you do not believe me. Pre-amp section is incredible! The processing is just as great!Must get the HTS2 or upgrade for zone2 control and better dacs plus 7.1channel input.

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bryston, lexicon, arcam, proceed, rotel, marantz, moon, conrad johnson,Theta, b+k, parasound Halo, carver, etc....

Build Quality, All the Bells and Whistles, GREAT SOUND and that's all that counts in the world of Hi-Fi.

Remote. No back lighting

I have previously review the HTS ver. 1 back in 2000 and I recently took advantage of Krells generousity by trading in my old unit for $4000 and purschasing the HTS 7.1 + 4000. I thought things could not get much better than I already had it but boy was I wrong. The first and most notably difference is the bass control. The 7.1 allows to adjust the crossover, in the old unit is was locked to 80. This reallt made a big improvement because I dropped the crossover down to 60 and that made my Velo a non factor in Two channel listening. The second thing and I believe the most significant is that it has a "PREAMP" mode which allows your analog signal to go directly through the processor without being converted into a digital signal only to be sent back as an analog signal. This kind of smoothed out the Krell's upfront and in your face approach which I still don't mind but it's nice to have more options for your listening pleasures. The third major difference was the depth, soundstage and bass. As stated above, I thought I had this but the 7.1 really, really enhanced the music that was coming out of my Martin Logan Odyssey's. Home Theater is superb! No need to go any further than that regarding the 7.1's performance. The old unit had a 2lb. remote made out of steel. The unit's remote is waffer style and no back light. I already had everything programmed into my Pronto from the old unit so nothing had to be changed. Overall, for those who have the older version of this unit I would recommend plunking down the 4K to get the best processor on the market.

Similar Products Used:

MC-1, HTS ver 1

The best sound for movie sountracks PERIOD.

Krell's lies about upgradeability

Hello all, This review is for the Krell HTS-1 I have been searching for either a Pre-Pro or receiver over the last eight months or so and during this process I have had in my home at least one week for each piece each of the following Theta Casablanca, Theta Casanova, Lexicon DC-1 version 4.0, B&K AVR305, Pioneer Elite VSX-45tx, 47tx, 49tx, and a Marantz SR7200 so as you can see I have tried things from the most expensive pre pro to about down to the mid to low priced receiver and the Krell absolutely blows them all away and not by a small margin I mean when my wife notices the difference that,s amazing I have read many times where people say they are hearing things that they never heard before in movies they have watched many times and with all the pieces that I have tried I never experienced this until I got the Krell this thing extracts every single bit of information off of a DVD it's just unreal and it is also by far the simplest one to set up I have used it takes maybe ten minutes and I have not experienced any of the two second delays or loss of audio during layer changes or switching tracks on CD's everyone here talks about and someone here mentioned that Pro Logic could not be applied to mono movies but I have not had any problems using Pro Logic with anything I have played on it I like this unit so well it makes me want to get the new 7.1 version but that will have to wait a while as far as receivers go at least the ones I tried I would have to say that the best one for the money spent is the Pioneer Elite VSX-45tx anyway if you are looking for a pre pro you really must try the Krell HTS-1 as it is the best there is at extracting every single detail there is in a movie soundtrack period and two channel just sounds absolutely fantastic also. The only complaint I have is the fact that Krell advertised this piece as being future proof and then never came up with any upgrades for it they just introduced a new model which made anyone wanting to upgrade spend a huge amount of money all over again which I think was kind of crappy of them.

Similar Products Used:

See above listed

Looks good with my other Krell stuff. When it is finally used for dvd surround AND fine control for the volume doesn't matter, it is pretty nice as a theater processor. Mine does DROP the audio during a movie 2 or 3 times usually, forcing me rewind the DVD. While in rewind, the processor goes into NO SIGNAL again and takes a few seconds to restore sound again, making this process really ANNOYING. My old SONY ES NEVER DID THAT.

Noise in digital mode and that delay is terribly annoying. It makes me hate this thing. I have to go back to old preamp for music. It is that bad.

I have an HTS 1. BUGS! BUGS! BUGS! in this POS. There is a delay every time you change channels in SAT mode. This unit mistakes the brief lack of sound as a lost signal and takes a few seconds(!!!!) to restore the sound. They need to spend more time on the software before shipping this stuff out!!!!! Also the hissing noise at higher volumes is substantial when in digital mode. Also the volume level goes to at least 99, but in actuality it shouldn't go above 38 or so unless you want to arc weld your voice coils. 38 levels sounds OK until you consider that you can't hear anything until you get to around 18 or so on the level. This leaves a whopping 20 levels for volume. I find myself desiring levels between the 20 offered, so that others in the home can sleep, and I can hear. Way too much hissing noise and clicking relays for a Krell. By the way, the unit has been tested and it is working up to specs. I think some of these reviews are written by Krell dealers and/or Krell, because there is no way Krell people are happy with the HTS 1 in terms of sound.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 801's, Krell KAV 500, Krell KSA 250, Krell Kav 250 CDHD and a newly dusted off old Krell stereo Preamp.