Krell's $65,000 heavy-metal speaker flies high!
The Modulari Reference is a two-piece system.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)Well, not exactly weep, but while I was reviewing these incredible speakers an executive from a respected American speaker company dropped by my apartment. To say he was bowled over by the mighty Krells is an understatement; he couldn't take his eyes off them. Then he ran his fingers over the exquisitely machined metalwork and asked to play a couple of tunes. Talk about shock and awe; he said, "They're $65,000? [EXPLETIVE DELETED], they're really good!" I've never seen one manufacturer so visibly shaken by another's wares.
The Krell Modulari Duo Reference has that sort of effect on people. Even folks who couldn't care less about high-end audio "get" these speakers. The sound all but reaches out and grabs your most sensitive parts and shakes them. My full review is in Home Entertainment magazine.
The Modulari Duo Reference is a blatantly original, thoroughly masculine design, but at 44 inches tall, 11 wide and 29 deep, it can fit in average size rooms. But the floors better be up for the job. Each speaker weighs 345 pounds; it's fair to assume the bulk of the weight can be attributed to its thick-walled aluminum construction. The speaker's heavily ribbed flanks contrast nicely with broad expanses of beautifully machined metal. There's a clear aesthetic kinship with Krell's electronics.
The Modulari Duo Reference is a two-piece system. The top speaker, available separately as the Modulari Primo ($20,000/pair), is a two-way design featuring a 7-inch aluminum woofer and 1-inch ring radiator tweeter, with a rather lethal looking point in its center. The lower cabinet houses three 8-inch aluminum woofers in its vault-like enclosure. All of the drivers are displayed behind acoustically transparent rubber "string" grilles.
Gold plated metal bars connect the top and bottom parts of the speaker.
(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)The Modulari Duo Reference gave me a new appreciation for "Led Zeppelin II." Oh, man, the band was a gigantic rhythm machine, and John Bonham's drums, unleashed by these amazing speakers, took my breath away.
The Modulari Duo Reference as an ambitious, no-holds barred assault on the state of the art, a guilty pleasure of the highest order. Your heart will beat a little faster when the Modulari Duo References are on the job.
Granted, only a handful of Audiophiliac readers could ever dream of buying a set of Krell speakers, but that's true of silly expensive cars like Ferrari, which saw sales increases last year. Revenues were up 15.2 percent over 2007's record year. So far, 2009 looks good.
Apparently, movie stars, sports heroes, rock icons, and CEOs are still swimming in cash.
Steve Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to magazines and Web sites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
Don't forget Wall St. investment banker "retention" bonuses.
With our tax dollars being used to pay perks to those dedicated individuals, these Krells are likely to end up in AIG exec's homes. Around 650,000 Americans lost their jobs last month. Do the math: that's only a dime-per-layabout to help a hard-working AIG executive get his speakers.
Different audio compression bit rates and their sonic characteristics (e.g. comparison of 128 vs. 192 vs. 256 vs. 320kbps mp3's.)
How to get the best sound from a computer or media server a stereo (including a comparison of sub-$300 DAC's and tweaks recommended for AppleTV and other media servers.)
Recommendations for a sub-$2,000 or $3,000 audio system (which you've promised but has yet to appear.)
A review of sound processors (if that's the right term, and I know these are heretical to some audiophiles) such as Behringer's DEQ 2496 and other ways to improve the audio experience on a budget.
Also a good speaker system company out there is www.axiomaudio.com Axiom has some great systems they get good reviews in Sound and Vision magazine.
Audiophile-targeted articles are so focused on the very high end that they leave people with incomes within 3 standard deviations of the mean behind. It would be nice to see reviews of respectable components that most people could actually afford.
Maybe you should have your own column I am thinking CNET maybe looking for someone if this keeps up !!
Don't bother flaming me because I really couldn't care less about your desire to upgrade your mp3 collection. If you haven't decided what your ears like best by now, this blog isn't likely to help you, so, go maybe you should find one that can.
You want products for the masses? Then why the eff are you bothering to even read this column?
It's time to kill off the Audiophiliac blog. Its target audience has disappeared and it's taking time away from your larger responsibilities, Steve. If that means you'll not be writing for Cnet...have a nice life.
You want mainstream reviews...why bother? Most of that category of gear performs pretty much the same regardless of the number of HDMI inputs or whatever the heck it is that's the nifty thing it is these days about A/V. Considering that this is an AUDIO column, I think it's YOU whose expectations are left of center.
Maybe you should take your head out that warm, dark and moist place where you've parked it and look at the stuff that Cnet reviews. Almost all of the gear, including audio equipment, is targeted at the mainstream consumer. Apparently there is sufficient differentiation in price and performance points for mainstream audio equipment that Cnet thinks it's a good idea to review the gear, AND has found an active, intelligent audience for its reviews of the stuff.
Bottom line: the reviewers think that all mainstream equipment doesn't perform the same, and the readers agree. Looks like YOU are OTL.
Finally, I ask Steve and others the same question: what makes this piece of equipment worth the price listed? Speaker design has been evolving since the time of the gramophone. What design revolution or exotic material or bleeding-edge construction technique can these Krells claim to fully justify the price? Consumer electronics have seen relentless downward price pressure for decades; last year's $1,000 device will cost half or one-third that today. Yet we have these over-hyped, pseudo-scientifically based speakers like the Krells that never drop in price...because the target audience is a bunch of SUCKERS.
Thanks Steve...I appreciate the reading, whether i can afford it or not.
almost gotcha?
- by KrellEvos May 16, 2009 11:57 AM PDT
- I get so tired of this type of blogging. I know, I know.....your $5 dollar watch tells the same time as a Patek Philippe......your car has more truck space than a Ferrari 599......here is the bottom line (from someone who started out as a middle class kid from Indiana, and now lives on the ocean in California at age 38)..........I own a complete Krell Evolution system (including the Modulari tops as one of my sets of speakers.....yes, you are correct they are not for sale yet .... but, I bought a demo pair and have been using them since February)..........until you hear a complete Krell Evolution system, properly set-up, just keep your mouth shut.......once you hear it, if you don't care about it or can't tell the difference......you are likely the kind of person whose sensibilities will prevent you from ever being able to afford the finer things in life anyway......so continue spending your life watching more television......
- Reply to this comment
-
(25 Comments)