Krell KCT/FPB-300cx vs. Pass Labs X1/X250.0

The Krell is a magical solid state peace. It really does NOT get any better.

Dave,

I do not know what Krell service is like currently (no pun intended) as I thankfully have not needed service. But the problems I have read about seem to involve products with moving parts, e.g., CD, SACD players, where some of the components, e.g., transports, are sourced from OEM's. I have not heard about any problems with their amps or pres, current or legacy.

Best,

Neal

The Krell SACD standard units are suspect and plagued with transport problems. They have gone through three versions of the SACD standard and many of the first two series owners had to deal with major problems - some without adequate service from Krell. This is very un-Krell like. I have owned several of their amps (mostly FPB series). Never had a problem, but have contacted them several times with questions. Always have gotten straight up and fast responses. Never had any issues with their amps, so knock on wood.

As for the initial posed question? I would recommend the Krell Combo you have listed over the Pass combo you have listed. I think a better comparison is the X-1 with the 250.5 or much better yet, the XP-20 or XP-10 with the 250.5. The prior Pass amps (150, 250 etc. . . prior to the .5 versions) are no where near as good as the ,5 versions. This is based on my ownership.

I think the comparions between the Pass XP-20 (or 10) with the Pass 250.5 versus the Krell KCT/FPB300CX is going to come down to a matter of taste more than one being better than the other.

I know two places where you can get a Pass X-10 preamp for about $900 off the list price (one is new and the other is almost new). Neither are mine, but both were offered to me for sale.

I presently have the Krell FPB 300 C (no X) and Wilson W/P 5.1 speakers. I have gone through many preamps and to me this is my toughest component. I am looking for a new preamp at the moment (in the meantime I am running my Krell HTS 7.1 (new from dealer 1.5 years ago, for direct 2-channel operations, this unit uses a preamp based on the KCT and is supposed to be very close (90%) to the KCT, which I did compare at the dealership and agree with - both run balanced vs. with cast) until I find something else. I am surprised by how good the HTS 7.1 does as a preamp (better than many of the dedicated 2-channel preamps I have tried/owned).

Since you have been mighty impressed by what you have heard with the Krell equipment in the past and the Pass is unknown, I would go with the Krell equipment. The sound between the two is not better vs. worse, but a little bit different - a matter of personal preference.

Don't fault Krell for the troubles with their SACD player. Krell was one of several vendors, including Krell and Cary, to get burned with a faulty drive unit sourced from Phillips. Phillips hung the vendors out to dry and discontinued it without ever really fixing it. Lesson learned is to shop for a CDP with a reliable drive unit, like the VRDS-Neo available in Esoteric's CDP's and OEM'd out to others, and Marantz's in-house built units for their CDP's.