Integrated Amps - Ayre vs Pass Labs

4425 we got the Krell K300i about two weeks ago, and it is pretty amazing sounding.  

The dac in it is surprising for a $1k dac board with MQA and Roon capability. Obviously the amp sounds even better with a more expensive dac we just got in the brand new Lumin T2 and that combo sounds fantastic. 

The new Krell XD products are much more organic sounding than any past Krell product, they sound almost like a tube amplifier, clarity is great, sound staging is great, slam is very good not as much impact as the old Krell products. 

The funny thing we have a client with an original KAV 300i and it must be close to 20+ years old and it is still working perfectly.

This will be a fascinating comparison vs the Pass stuff, the Krell is providing 150 watt Class A power for $7k with the Pass INT 60 being 60 watts for $9k.  

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ 

I also heard KX-5 + Dagostino Classic before ending up with KX-VX-5 combo. Dag is a beast. Found it very deep strong and authorative but very slow sound with Neat MFS. not my signature. Im for well controlled, fast neutral sound. Also Goldmund Telos 390.2 is a fantastic amp, very natural and fastest amp ive ever heard, but a bit light for my taste.

audiotroy
I am looking forward in reading more about the new Krell K300i as it settles, blooms, into your system(s).  Happy Listening!

Jafant, did our first shoot out vs the Naim Uniti Nova, fascinating demo.

Both were awesome, however the demo wasn't equil, we had the Nova plugged into an Audio Magic Oracle with a Combaix Power Cord with Isoacoustics footers vs the Krell K300i on a Isotek Sigmas, with an Audioquest power cord and no footers, so it wasn't an apple to apples comparison.

However, the Krell has a more depth to the soundstage, seemed a bit clearer, the Naim sounded Naim like puncher and more dramatic in its phrasing with a bit more midrange bloom, overall felt like the Krell was even better.

The tale of the tape, Krell 150 watts  vs Naim 80 watts
                                 Krell Balanced ins  Naim None
                                 Krell MQA               Naim None
                                 Krell display ok       Naim 2.5 inch LCD
                                 Krell none               Naim Headphone amp
                                 Krell Aptx                Naim Aptx
                                 Krell None              Naim airplay
                                 Krell None              Naim Chromecast
                                 Krell app ok            Naim app better
                                 Soundstaging more depth Krell
                                 Bass control   tie
                                 Clarity a little better with the Krell
                                 Krell HDMI in and out  Naim only in
                                 Krell 3 rca in                Naim 2 rca
                                 Krell coax and opt       Naim 3coax 2 opt
                                 
Summation two early to tell, both of these integrated amplifiers are awesome in terms of both features and sound quality.

The MQA decoding, plus the extra power and clarity makes the Krell very compelling, If you use Roon as your control interface then the quality of either the Naim or Mconnect app is moot. If you choose via jus the app the Naim app is much better. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Krell and Naim dealers