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Review 4 of 4 Summary:
Monster Rumble
Krell's Master Reference Subwoofer follows their tradition of concrete heavy amplifiers that exhibit the control of an uptight blue blooded matron. Their Reference Subwoofer is the size and weight of a pirate's chest and with its $28,000 retail price tag requires some serious pirating and treasure to obtain. Krell calls it the "worlds ultimate subwoofer." And perhaps it is.
The subwoofer has two fifteen-inch drivers firing out the side of the metal clad chest. They are driven by a Class A amplifier producing an amazing 2,600 watts. One inch slats of solid billet aluminum encase the amp and woofers in the 420 pound chest. The 15" guns fire with pulse up to 3" long. Should any idiot be foolish enough to stick a finger into the grill, say during a depth charge scene in U-571, for example, to feel the excursions, there is a very good chance that the sheer power and force of the bass drivers could cut or bruise the finger. (I am okay, the tiny cut didn't require bandages and sucking on my humiliation added realism to the battle scene.)
The monster chest is capable of accurately reproducing such musically important sounds as the pedal stomp on a kick drum, the splash of an incoming depth charge and the life threatening groans of submarine walls straining against pounding assaults. The Krell monster reference deep sub-bass woofer tops the hard to beat output of the Velodyne F1800. It reproduces the ridiculously deep earth tones at the 20 cycles per second frequency, up to the ridiculously loud 120 dB level. It is beyond the class of such performers leaders as the KLIPSCH KSW300, MISSION 700as and B&W asw1000 models.
For this is not just bass that you can locate with your ears. It is not just bass that growls beneath your seat. This is bass that even in a listening room twice as large as most living rooms, still smacks you in the face, warps walls, massages your scalp, shakes cobwebs off corners and frightens small creatures for miles away. This is volcanic tremor bass. It is tsunami wave bass. It ominous, portending of imminent danger.
And it is live and tangible. When the depth charges on the DTS movie explode so close that they flex bow of the U-boat, the Krell monster sub flexes you. Your shirt sleeves flap, a wind brushes the back of your hair and tidal wave of sound blasts past. Your first instinct is to turn and flee.
Good sub-woofers go beyond the auditory to add tactile information to the enjoyment of music and movies. Great subs go beyond that. They stir our souls at the very depths of our fears; sounding alarms when doors creak, awakening dormant instincts when bad guys loom near and tightening our nerves as the climax approaches.
This is a great sub. When so many top-of-line, state-of-the-art musical components claim to open new doors and create new vistas for tweaking audiophiles to explore, the Krell monster reference sub does just that. It isn't merely steak when you are used to eating burgers, this is the full course dinner served at the palaces of kings. If you already own a yacht or jet, your Majesty, this toy is for you.
Most of us are out of this league. It is beyond our experience. Thankfully, deep bass sub-woofers at the $1,500 price point do much of the same work of the monster sub at a fraction of the price. This makes the typical top-of-the-line deep-bass sub-woofer appear to be an enormous bargain (think I will order four of the Velodyne or Klipsch, one for each corner, since they are so comparatively cheap).
At $28,000 a pop, the Krell monster deep-bass sub is the family sedan of American dreams; it should be exemplary. It should excel like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods playing a kid on the corner. And it does. This dark gray box, as impassive as the Washington monument, delivers all of the volume, punch and sheer energy of the full size movie theater into your living room.
Strengths:
tsunami wave bass Weaknesses:
price, price and price Similar Products Used:
Klipsch LF10 with KSW200
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