Excellent sound for the price and for any price

None really for the price.Oh, yes, maybe the price itself makes it too accesible!

This is a message to the webmaster to pay, occasionally, a little attention to what people actually review here and to remove, for good, those "reviews" posted by people such as the one below who absolutely don't know what they are talking about!As I said, for good, if you really want to maintain at least a minimal credibility of this site.
Basically, this amplifier is not meant to be associated with really low-fi speakers because it's revealing.What is that?
It presents a great deal of details.Is that good? Well,not for some speakers because they are very bright and they distort a lot.For such speakers you really want to wash out the details using a less transparent amp. With or without radio.They are low-fi speakers needing a low-fi amp.
At the very opposite end, there are those high resolution speakers which are hard to drive, such as the big Thiels.
This amp would not be a good choice for these speakers, either. But used with high-end, small or not very demanding speakers such as the smaller B&W or the smaller Thiels this amp really, really shines! The musicality, the level of detail, the soundstage are nothing short of magic, with a delicious recreation of the original event.Really! Easy to demonstrate and repeatable. No doubt about it. A very poor recording sounds bad on a high resolution system,also, because it reveals its defects. Put it on a boombox which will wash out the details and you have , somehow, a listenable recording.Easy as a, b, c. The biggest weakness of this little Krell is that it's too accessible and it reaches people who don't know what to do with it! Please, no ofense, just an easily and repeatedly demonstrable fact.

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Too many to mention here

I've owned Krell KAV-300i for about two years. IMHO the best things about the 300i is it's versatility and ease of use. I've never had any harshness in the highs as some (in this forum) have claimed. The biggest fault in the KAV 300i is the "laid back" character in it's sound. I'm not saying that the bass is "muddy" or slow, on the contrary. I've even played those insane Telarc records with uncompressed cannon shots with high volume levels. The dynamics are awesome! (Actually my Von Schweikerts blew some wool filling out from the reflex ports!) Every kind of music is presented in a laid back manner even though the dynamics and rythm seem to be there. For some music this is ok but in some cases the music lacks the emotional involvement. This causes listener fatique (yawn).
If I could go two years back in time, I brobably wouldn't buy Krell KAV-300i. I'm not saying that 300i isn't a good amp. I just want a better one!
Nowadays I would go for a Wadia (with volume control) directly connected to a power amp. If my Wadia had a volume control, the Krell would have been long gone! Unfortunately upgrating both the amp and cd player at the same time is a bit too expensive for me at the moment.
My equipment:
CD: Wadia 23
Amp: Krell KAV-300i
Speakers: Von Schweikert VR4 gen II
All in all. If we take the versatility, care free use, reasonable price (at least in the US) and the quite good sound quality, I still give it four stars (speakers).

300i is soundwise excellent (4th revised version type D ser# 879711xxxx). However the RCA in/output terminals are of mediochre quality! - the outer shells tend to stuck to the WireWorld Golden Eclipse III/Electrocompaniet (Neutrik Profi) phonocontacts when retracted from the 300i. However, they may easily be put back onto the plastic peg. I have been informed that the newer 300i/300r are equipped with more sturdy RCA contacts. (The 300i XLR's are of decent quality Neutrik type 3FB-K). Sorry to say that also the output terminals could be of better quality at this price (NOK 33.000,- = US $ 4.400,-); the banana option is too shallow go get a good grip/fit. Spades are highly preferable. Anyway, this is of minor importance - the audible output is still top notch! I subtract one star for the cheap quality phono contacts/output terminals. Recommended!

I bought a used Krell KAV300i and for the past 6 mths it had been left in a corner. The amp produced awesome amount of bass from my Totem 1 but the mids was hard and treble though detailed was unbearably bright, I can only describe it as unlistenable, sadly my AV Sony amp sounded better! All that changed when I reintroduced the KAV300i back into my system with changes to cable and interconnect. My cable changed from AudioTruth Clear III to JPS Superconductor Petite and interconnect from Audioquest Diamond 2X RCA to balanced XLO Type 2.1 Signature interconnect. Now the amp really sings, the mids are no longer hard but musical, highs detailed, airy but definitely not bright. The whole soundstage is a shade clearer and my Totem images like crazy. Now I would definitely promote it from 1 Star to 5 Stars. I can only conclude that the Krell KAV300i is fussy and the produced sound depends greatly on the cable,interconnect and associate equipments.

Nice little amp just don't run it to hard. Clip's hard and fast compared to big krell's and the high's will have you scrambling for the remote. The blue light by the power switch should be toned down it's to bright and is hard on the eye's. Still a good value for the $$$$

Bass and detailed highs. Highly Recommended with speakers that are laid back sounding.

Could sound aggressive with forward/bright speakers.

Very musical amp. I like this amp more than the 100S. Don't fall for the Krell bashers. I have owned many solid state amps. This amp is what a lot of speakers need. System matching and of course your taste in music is essential. I really do like this amp!

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resolution and power

can sound forward with the wrong associated equipments

I refrained from buying this amp from my bad experience at a hifi dealer 4 years ago. The dealer was using the amp with a proac response 1 speaker. The sound was uncomfortably bright and forward.

I had this amp on loan from a friend (who keep it as a spare, he bought the ML 383) because my Bow int amp broke down. I can't beleive that it is actually an excellent amp! Very powerful, no sign of strain! extended highs and lows. Very smooth with my speakers -Sonus Faber guaneri- not forward at all. I begged my friend to sell this to me, and I'm a very happy owner now.

Try it out!

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This thing is unreal

doesn't come with speakers attached like "My First Sony"

I truely apologize for my behavior in the previous reviews, you see I didn't have both speakers attached. This thing is beautiful and I'm a dunce, and I now wish I had made the payments on time.
Davey "fudgepacker deluxe" Walthram

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Many I can't spell without the box in front of me.

Clean, clear high, good & tight extended bass, good soundstage & imaging.

depending on source and recording, can be analytical

I bought this amp after a number of auditioning from various source with different hook-up and system, at first I was not impressed with it, for the price you have to dish out to pay of this amp compared to other make (a new 300i will cost US$4500). I would agree on one thing, it need proper matching of equipment to get the best out of it.
I was fortunate to be able to audition it at home with my own set-up, and wow, I was very impressed with it, it gave me a new meaning to hi-fi. The soundstaging, the imaging, the tight bass and musicality is completely astonishing. Truly an amp into the high-end stuff.

My system:
Krell 300i
Marantz CD6000 OSE KI Signature
PSB Stratus Mini
Cable: Ultralink interconnect and speaker cable.

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Transparency, speed, honesty.

Can't drive insane loads.

I tend not to like gear that sounds aggressive. This amp *can* sound bright or hard, but if so, it's just the recording, upstream gear, or speakers. For example, the Mobile Fidelity remaster of Eric Clapton's Slowhand sounds buttery smooth and crystal clear, while Steely Dan's Aja (remaster, same label) exibits a little hardness in the cymbals here and there. That hardness in the cymbals has been glossed over, either more or less, by different components I've heard over the years (aja is a long time reference disc for me).

System:

Martin Logan Aerius i
Krell KAV-300i
Sony DVP-9000ES (check one out!)

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