 Krell
DVD Standard DVD Player
One of the least acknowledged but
most pernicious shortcomings of the whole review process is the extent to which it leads
one into the "newest-and-latest" trap. We all like to read about new gear, of
course, and high-end A/V companies are always looking to develop new wrinkles -- it’s
kind of what we expect from ’em.
Products that make genuine breakthroughs are exciting, but gen-you-wine
breakthroughs are far rarer than press releases or gushing advertorials might suggest.
Most high-end A/V components offer performance that’s satisfactory -- at the very
least -- and the good stuff continues to do so long after the new wears off.
So when I was offered a chance to experience Krell’s
DVD Standard DVD player ($8000 USD), I didn’t even think about the fact that
it’s been available since 2002. I could tell it would be swell, it was a . . . oh
heck, I won’t even go there. Let’s just say that, based on word of mouth and
Krell’s reputation and past performance, I expected that the DVD Standard might be a
benchmark product, even a few years after its launch. I suspected that, in a world of
disposable sensations, the Standard might be one for the long haul.
Set high standards and few limitations for yourself
The DVD Standard is a monster -- it measures 17.25"W
by 5.65"H by 16.45"D and weighs just a shade over 19 pounds. Its post-and-panel
construction makes it resemble more a shopping-mall branch bank than your typical A/V
me-too box -- and if that sounds like a putdown, it isn’t meant to. I simply mean
that it, ummm, stands alone out in the wasteland.
Central to the DVD Standard’s performance are two
pieces of technology sourced from Faroudja: FLI 2200 line-doubling and FLI 2220 (DCDi)
enhancement. Lots of companies license Faroudja technology, but Krell has gone to great
pains to ensure that the DVD Standard’s video processing is exceptional. For the D/A
conversion of the interlaced 4:2:2 8-bit video signals, Krell employs an Analog Devices
chip that contains six 10-bit DACs. For its progressive outputs, the Standard uses an
Analog Devices multiformat encoder, which gangs three 11-bit DACs to feed the RGB, VGA,
and component-video outputs.
On the audio side, Krell has taken a novel approach. The
Standard offers no surround-sound processing -- it simply passes the digital signal
downstream to a preamp-processor, Krell having assumed (correctly, I think) that an $8000
DVD player will very likely be paired with a state-of-the-art pre-pro. For the
Standard’s performance as a CD player, however, Krell went all out, using
24-bit/192kHz Burr-Brown DACs in its proprietary balanced, discrete, pure class-A topology
to produce an effortlessly musical sound.
What the Standard does not have on the audio end is
SACD or DVD-Audio capabilities, presumably because it was developed before either format
showed any sign of longevity -- and come to think of it, they’re still not
looking too lively. (Wasn’t it Sun Tzu who said that the best thing a leader can do
in most cases is nothing at all?)
The DVD Standard is fed by a huge, honkin’ power
supply that’s regulated out the wazoo -- Krell cautions audiophiles not to
connect the Standard to a power conditioner. (Not recommending line conditioners is
Krell’s default position; they pay particular attention to the power supplies of all
their products.)
Because the Standard has so much real estate, its rear
panel has acres of space for all kinds of connections. It divides its video outputs into
two columns. One contains the interlaced options (composite, S-video, and standard Y-Pr-Pb
component); the other, the progressive choices of component RCA and RGB/HV BNC. (Actually,
RGB/HV: red, green, blue, and horizontal and vertical sync signals; but you can configure
the output to carry the synchronization over the green signal lead if that’s what
your display requires.) The progressive RGB/VGA output is also carried through a DB-15
connector. The progressive outputs are switchable, but all of the interlaced outputs are
active at all times. And the Standard allows the user to switch between PAL and NTSC
output.
For two-channel audio, the Standard offers coaxial and
TosLink digital connections in addition to stereo balanced XLR and single-ended RCA analog
outputs. The rear panel also has an IEC power connector, RS-232 and RC-5 inputs, and 12VDC
input and output triggers.
The DVD Standard’s front panel offers an easily
readable red LED display that politely falls into sleep mode shortly after receiving a
command. The important control functions are all present.
Then there’s the remote -- one of those tiny
membrane-over-switches "credit card" jobbies. It’s not so much an
afterthought as an acknowledgment that an $8000 DVD player will probably be used in a
system that includes some form of fancy home automation system -- so why include a big
ol’ remote that the consumer won’t use? I can’t argue with this logic, but
between my sausage fingers, middle-aged eyesight, and the darkness in which I typically
watch movies, I found the Standard’s remote, well, sub-standard.
Standard time
I used the Krell DVD Standard in my home-theater system,
which comprises an Anthem AVM 20 v2.0 preamp-processor, five Musical Fidelity M250 monoblocks, a SIM2
HT200 DMF projector, a Hsu Research STF-3 subwoofer, and a Magnepan
MMG W/MGM C speaker system. To assess the Standard’s two-channel audio
performance, I installed it in my listening room with my Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista preamp,
darTZeel NHB-108 Model One power amp, and Aerial
Acoustics Model 20T speakers. The A/V system was connected with Shunyata
Research Constellation Series Aries interconnects and Lyra speaker cables; audio
connections were via Audience Au24 interconnects and speaker cables.
Raise the standard
Other than that remote -- and I don’t want to harp on
that because I suspect Krell is correct in assuming that few end-users will actually ever
have to use it -- the DVD Standard was a dream to use. Menus are large and
logically laid out, although the manual was a tad skimpy on details concerning the
"TV Modes of Operation," which include settings called Standard, Cinema,
Animation, Sports, and Black and White. I could see that the settings changed the amount
of dark-on-dark detail. But with my projector, the differences weren’t astounding, so
I mostly watched using Cinema, which was detailed and handled those low-light details
superbly.
The Faroudja enhancement circuitry ramps from Off to Low
and through 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, to High. These will probably be most useful on less than
optimally set-up displays (God knows there are plenty of those) -- I found that
anything above Low exhibited too much edge enhancement for my taste. On the other hand, I
dislike edge enhancement so intensely that I am, perhaps, hypersensitive to it. But having
all those degrees of adjustability is unquestionably a good thing, even if I
don’t use ’em.
Once I got the Standard set up, I was captivated by its
image quality, especially through the progressive RGB/HV output. The picture was sharp and
clear, without the excessive sharpness of edge enhancement. The Standard’s retrieval
of detail in dark scenes was perhaps the best I’ve ever experienced, almost making
the interior shots of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World a new
experience -- and certainly making them a richer one.
With well-lit scenes from films with exceptional transfers
-- say, The Fifth Element or The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Platinum
Series Special Extended DVD Edition) -- the Standard delivered a progressive image
that was sharper and more stable than any I have ever managed to coax from any other
player. Whatever Krell did to augment Faroudja’s processing, it showed onscreen. This
is what HT is supposed to be about and seldom is. If you think that all DVD players do
essentially the same job, do not audition the DVD Standard or you will be seriously
bothered. I was -- hot and bothered. And this from an "older" product!
Jazz standards
You expect an $8000 DVD player to do a good job of playing
DVDs -- at least, you do if you’re not too cynical. What I didn’t expect
was how well the DVD Standard performed as a CD player. That’s an area where most DVD
players, even expensive ones, fall short.
Not the DVD Standard. It possessed a liquidity I have not
previously encountered in Krell’s digital products, which I’ve always
appreciated more than loved. I’m more than a tad smitten by the Standard, however. It
presented Geoff Muldaur’s Futuristic Ensemble with wall-to-wall presence when I
played Private
Astronomy: A Vision of the Music of Bix Beiderbecke [Edge 90702]. Rather than
presenting the Ensemble as a scaled-down replica of itself, the Standard gave the
musicians flesh, blood, and breath. That was particularly impressive considering that Private
Astronomy is one of those reference discs that walks the borderline of shrill -- any
misstep by the CD player will rob the disc of its warmth and body. The Standard made
Martha Wainwright sound very much alive and very, very warm. It done good.
Of course, almost 25 years into the Age of Krell,
we’ve come to have certain expectations of what a Krell component will sound like.
Chief among these is impressive bass performance, and the Standard did not disappoint
there in the slightest. My usual test for bass acuity is the Jerome Harris Quintet’s Rendezvous
[CD, Stereophile STPH013], which, experience has taught me, will sound bass-shy unless a
player can suck every bit of bass off the disc (so to speak). Well, the Standard
had Jerome front and center at his own shindig, not 30 feet behind the other guys. I
produced that disc, and that’s exactly what it’s supposed to sound like.
The nice thing about standards is that there are so many
of them to choose from
The Krell DVD Standard does what its name suggests it does
-- it sets a standard that few other components can even aspire to. I’ve mentioned
that it’s not a new product, but that’s a tad disingenuous -- Krell is in the
habit of performing upgrades on its existing products, and has done so with the DVD
Standard (I guess that makes it the Revised Standard Version). Still, for a
state-of-the-art DVD player to remain on the cutting edge of performance for as long as
the Standard has, it has to be pretty special.
I think the DVD Standard is pretty special -- and,
assuming you’re lucky enough to be able to pay the rather hefty price of admission,
you will, too. If this is Krell’s Standard, I can’t wait for their Above
Average.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhometheater.com
Krell DVD Standard DVD Player
Price: $8000 USD.
Warranty: Three years parts and labor.
Krell Industries
45 Connair Road
Orange, CT 06477-3650
Phone: (203) 799-9954
Fax: (203) 891-2028
Website: www.krellonline.com
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