Price Paid:  $950.00 from audiogon

Summary:
a terriific cd player....does have some quirks ...will not play cdrs....and so far has refused to play one pre-recorded cd....my rotel rdd980 transport is staying in my setup because of these quirks, but that is saving me from being ripped off by the absurd trade in or sale offers I have been receiving for such a quality transport...that being said, I have to admit that the sound from the 250cd is breathtaking, the detail brings out the best in my Nautilus 805s, I find my self playing all my cds just to experience how great they sound,the unit is very solidly built, a little red display light comes on when playing HDCDs, which also sound terriffic , uses Pacific Labs processing for HDCDs,....quirks aside, this cd player is highly recommeded, there are some great deals popping up on Audiogon for this player....it is money well spent and mine was 950 which at this point I feel was a real steal...one listen to this player and you will understand

Strengths:
Great sound detail,very smooth, makes cds sound like live performances....plays HDCDs

Weaknesses:
will not play cdr's....also some pre-recorded cds

Similar Products Used:
rotel rdd 980 transport

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from AudioClassics

Summary:
This is my first Krell product and my first serious audiophile purchase. I auditioned 6-7 different cd players and no player is more honest and thorough. The build quality is second to none. It also offers the ability to upgrade to a seperate DAC. My one concern is that lesser quality cds sound like just that, second rate. I am in the process of buying a turntable, so I will write back with a comparison. But as far as Hi Quality cds such as XRCD, hdcd and the like, no player plays them better.

Strengths:
Musical, full complete sound. Honest representation of the music. Very honest, no coloration.

Weaknesses:
maybe too revealing.

Similar Products Used:
myryad, cal audio labs, nad, rega, arcam, adcom

Price Paid:  $1100.00 from used

Summary:
wonderfully natural sound.
this machine can bring out an amazingly detiled sound without any fatigue.
a true quality krell product.

Strengths:
detailed, extremely natural.

Weaknesses:
has trouble with cheap CDRs. works perfectly when using qulity CDRs.

Similar Products Used:
Creek cd-53, NAD s500

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from spearit sound

Summary:
I recently bought a factory reconditioned KAV-250cd to upgrade from my Rotel player. The rest of my system consists of the Krell KAV-300i integrated and B&W CDM7SE speakers. I love the sound of the player; compared to the Rotel player the sound is fuller (dramatic difference in mid-bass) and in fact the system sounds a bit warmer with the Krell. I noticed the comment from one reviewer about the problem of reading discs. I too have experienced this, but not to the same degree. About 10% of the time, my player will not start properly at the first track - it will often skip to the 17 second mark or so. If I restart (with or without reinserting the disc), the problem usually does not recur. However, I do have one disc that always skips to the 17 second mark, and this disc plays just fine on the Rotel player. The problem has not been bothersome enough for me to send it in for service though.

Strengths:
Solid build, great sound

Weaknesses:
Problems with reading first track

Similar Products Used:
Rotel RCD-951

Summary:
I bought my first unit in 1998, together with a KAV 300i amplifier and JmLab Megane speakers. At first things were fine, everything needed to settle in (aka break in), and the look and feel of the Krells certainly constituted a positive element of our living room. The remote is a bit on the flimsy side, but one can order the brick heavy aluminium remote, which amplifies the perceived solidity of the equipment.
Well, and this is were I deviate from all other reviews, things started to turn bad after about 4 or 5 months, when a disproportionate percentage of my CDs (some old, many new) wouldn't load, and the player wouldn't read any information off the inserted CD, let alone play the first title, or any title, for that matter. I took it into the shop, they confirmed the situation (we were using a 300CD as an aletrnative, which had no problems whatsoever with the CDs the 250CD had rejected to read), and shipped the unit, together with one of those particular CDs, to Krell. Well, Krell service calibrated the laser lens and the underlying mechanism to exactly that one CD, which was nice, but it didn't solve the overall problem. It continued to refuse to play much of my favorite music. In my desparation I started to hook up our Sony DVD player to the 300i to get any music at all, and had the shop exchange the 250CD. A new unit came indeed, and had much the same problem right from the start, though not as bad as the old one. I am unhappy to report that this second player now puts me into the same situation in that it refuses to recognize or play CDs which I just bought, say, last week. My peace of mind is really quite disturbed at this point, and if somebody else out there has had a similar problem with these players (serial # starts with 9599...), please let me know.
The sound is otherwise quite fine, lively, and detailed, though I have heard better single box players, too (Audio Research for example). But I am not complaining about the sound, it is the reliability of a unit I have payed deerly for, and which does not keep its promise. I am very disappointed, and actually think of dumping the 250CD in exchange for a decent Quad or Meridian. Any suggestions on the cause of this recurrent problem are welcome (yes, the laser lens is cleaned regularly!)

Strengths:
Not quite sure...

Weaknesses:
This player drives me nuts! See below...

Similar Products Used:
Quad, Denon 2700