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Krell is Likely Done

FutureAudio

FutureAudio

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Friends,

Did you hear the sad news about Krell?

Rondi, Dan's ex-wife, fell and died about two weeks ago. I JUST SAW her in Munich. She didn't have good color to her skin but she was SUCH a kind person.

Sadly, I heard her new husband is suffering with dementia and the company is in potential trouble. The head designer quietly left for Emotiva and he designed most of the gear since the 1980s for Krell.

I recently spoke with the new President of Krell but he barely was on board when Rondi died. Months at the longest

I don't like to report on dead Baby Boomers at FutureAudiophile.com, as it is depressing, but this is a big news story for a lot of Krell fans and Krell owners.
 
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FutureAudio said:
Friends,

Did you hear the sad news about Krell?

Rondi, Dan's ex-wife, fell and died about two weeks ago. I JUST SAW her in Munich. She didn't have good color to her skin but she was such a kind person.

Her new husband is suffering with dementia and the company is in peril. The head designer quietly went to Emotiva (he didn't check with Walter Schofield before doing that - I hope he is happy working with the women who run that company).

I recently spoke with the new President of Krell but he barely was on the job when Rondi died.

I don't like to report on dead Baby Boomers as it is depressing but this is a big news story for a lot of Krell fans and Krell owners.
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I did not hear about this. I have always had a soft-spot for Krell equipment, although the equipment I would want is very much out of my price-range.
 
I remember when they were one of the bigs of high end audio. Great name to match the performance. I wish them all the best. All good things must end though. There are names now that were not so well known 30 years ago. I hope the industry is evolving, not dying.
 
Isotonic said:
I remember when they were one of the bigs of high end audio. Great name to match the performance. I wish them all the best. All good things must end though. There are names now that were not so well known 30 years ago. I hope the industry is evolving, not dying.
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To me they were Lamborghini with Levinson being Ferrari.

Both don't hold the same market position anymore, sadly.
 
It was also a sad day when Mr. Mcintosh passed away. Paul Klipsch, Rudy Bozak, and Saul Marantz, too. Fisher is gone, H.H. Scott, the founder of AR speakers, KLH, and on and on. They are all gone. James B Lansing, Don Davis of Altec and Syn-aud-con fame should not be forgotten either. I was so fortunate and got to shake all their hands at seminars and factory rallies. But the man who was very special was Paul Klipsch with his wicked sense of humor and the way he would drop very profound points of wisdom about hifi as if it were common knowledge to all under his breath quietly.

I installed a system using a Klipsch 3 channel system using corner horns and a cornwall driven by a 2105 and a MC 250 in the game listening room. Paul came for the open house. The doctors wife had built in Concert Grands bi- amped, driven by 2100's. . Paul heard his Klipsch speakers and made a few recommendations. He let it drop quietly that he preferred the Grands and the acoustics of the den system. That too was only for me to hear. It was 1970 as I remember. He was big on having the proper room acoustics. He used only 2 track tapes at home and detested LP's.
 
It's not easy making a living on other peoples desires..

And I imagine developing products that are exceptional, and at prices that exceed the pocketbooks of the majority, it is extremely difficult.

The sad truth IMO, is the dreams of the founders of anything isn't necessarily going to be the dreams of those they leave it to..
 
Swokie63 said:
It's not easy making a living on other peoples desires..

And I imagine developing products that are exceptional, and at prices that exceed the pocketbooks of the majority, it is extremely difficult.

The sad truth IMO, is the dreams of the founders of anything isn't necessarily going to be the dreams of those they leave it to..
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I try to remember that change is generally good. There is a lot of great mid fi out there. All types of products. And as far as hifi, there seems to be more than every. Overall, sound quality has slowly creeped up for us all. There are many bargains out there. A salute to our past though.
 
Sad to hear. I can't imagine a name like Krell will just disappear though. I can see it being purchased by one of the big audio conglomerates and kept alive in some form. Unfortunately sometimes when that happens, quality takes a nose dive, but not always. Sometimes it's actually an improvement because they get increased funding and engineering available to larger companies
 
Given how the other audio companies fared after being
swallowed up by big investors, things don't look good.
A lot of quality audio companies aren't going to be around
In the next 5 or 6 years.
 
They always kept there design info close to the vest, so they had exclusive upgrade and service. I hope if they don't carry on they make it available to the public.
 
nj pheonix said:
They always kept there design info close to the vest, so they had exclusive upgrade and service. I hope if they don't carry on they make it available to the public.
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They happily sent me the schematic for an older model. I don't think there's anything proprietary about the circuits - of their '80s and '90s amps, anyway.

I had them repaired by third party. Build quality is industrial, and the power supply just keeps on giving regardless of the load. That was always their USP, and what you were paying the extra for.
 
jayvis said:
You can always buy one of the Chinese Krell clones that some on AK are raving about. :rolleyes:
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^^^
I've purchased some chi-fi stuff to play with, some of it is pretty incredible but it's new..

One of my customers as an example, not Krell hifi but Yamaha midfi..

A new RX 396 at a 24/7/365 self serve gas station.. The Yamaha has never failed, not once..
I had to replace the DVC surface mount speaker under the canopy once(it's exposed to the elements, indirectly)
 
I remember seeing Krell in the audio mags when I was in my late teens and early 20s and kind of wanting one. Never have gotten one though. It's too bad about the people behind the scenes, but, it's part of life, sadly.

twiiii said:
It was also a sad day when Mr. Mcintosh passed away. Paul Klipsch, Rudy Bozak, and Saul Marantz, too. Fisher is gone, H.H. Scott, the founder of AR speakers, KLH, and on and on. They are all gone. James B Lansing, Don Davis of Altec and Syn-aud-con fame should not be forgotten either. I was so fortunate and got to shake all their hands at seminars and factory rallies. But the man who was very special was Paul Klipsch with his wicked sense of humor and the way he would drop very profound points of wisdom about hifi as if it were common knowledge to all under his breath quietly.

I installed a system using a Klipsch 3 channel system using corner horns and a cornwall driven by a 2105 and a MC 250 in the game listening room. Paul came for the open house. The doctors wife had built in Concert Grands bi- amped, driven by 2100's. . Paul heard his Klipsch speakers and made a few recommendations. He let it drop quietly that he preferred the Grands and the acoustics of the den system. That too was only for me to hear. It was 1970 as I remember. He was big on having the proper room acoustics. He used only 2 track tapes at home and detested LP's.
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How old are you? Jim Lansing died in 1949.
Paul Klipsch was a very interesting man.
 
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