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CD drawers and Transports:

The Good Old Days of Solid Engineering
Krell
Krell KPS-25S
Retail price approximately 28.000 euro

Completely reworked from the KPS20: different electronics and different

transport. What remained was the overengineering.

hifi-advice.com - info and reviews - Christiaan Punter - April 2015

Krell KPS-20i
Retail price approximately $9000

A friend of mine owned a KPS20i, which he graceously loaned to me for a review.

This is a very heavy player, with super-sturdy build. Interestingly, the KPS-20i
didn't sound as muscular as I expected, instead sounding superbly fluid and
refined, and even a shade too polite, with deep yet woolly bass, but that could
also have been caused by ageing caps or the ageing Philips CDM-9 pro transport
inside.

Interesting Links:

Christiaan Punter

The transport section of the KPS-20i is based on a Philips CDM-9 Pro mechanism.
Not Philips' best swing arm transport, more like one of the least reliable ones,
but still a well-performing and very good sounding unit.

The laser-pickup assembly is mounted in a cast-brass block weighing 3kgs. This

block holds the laser pickup, spindle, disc, and disc clamp. The whole assembly
sits on additional isolation mounts attached to the chassis bottom. The entire
chassis is further isolated by the unit's external supporting feet, which are
designed to neither store nor transmit energy to the transport mechanism.

Krell don't use the standard CDM9 spindle but replace it with a custom-machined
type as they found that they can reduce the tracking servo activity by reducing
the effective disc eccentricity with their custom spindle. Krell claim a twofold
reduction in disc eccentricity with their spindle compared to the stock Philips unit.

A star-shaped clamp, which extends to the CD's outer edge yet has very low
mass, holds the CD to the spindle magnetically.

When I compare my findings to a review I read recenlyly in Stereophile (carried

out with a new unit), it is clear that my unit wasn't 100%, as it apparently should
have had very tight and articulate and super-powerful bass.

Extensive Review
________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
Krell KPS-25SC
Retail price approximately 33.000 euro

I'm not a Krell expert, but I do know that the '25 came with new DACs when
24/96 became the hype, and perhaps there were even more than 2 versions of
the Sc. However, not being a Krell expert, I'm not sure what the differences are
between the KPS-25S and KPS-25Sc, apart from the obvious changes to the
exterior (that bold nose in the middle and shiny aluminium knobs). It's not CAST,
as this is also present on the earlier 25 model. From what I could find, I'd say
that they are likely very, very similar inside, apart from the DACs used.

The CD and transport mechanism are bathed in the light of green LEDs, which
you can see when you open the motorized door which covers the disc-playing
chamber. Krell claims the presence of green light helps the laser recover the data
from the CD, and improves the sound quality. The disc-playing chamber is sealed
from outside light by the motorized sliding door.

After the CDM9, Philips started making every cheaper transports, and Krell wisely
looked elsewhere. In their literature they speak of a data-grade and professionalgrade transport, exclusive to Krell in North America. And indeed when searching
online there are precious few players using this particular laser assembly (JVC
EXU-901A OPTIMA-4 /40S), the only ones being by JVC, Reimyo and Phase
Tech, and of course the Krell KPS25S and KPS25Sc. I have no idea of these
lasers' longevity, but given the players' age, buyers of second hand should take
note of this scarcity.
The heavy prismatic acrylic cover over the transport mechanism contains an
electronic LCD shutter. Transparent when the transport is stopped, it turns
opaque when a CD is playing, thus protecting the discs data integrity from the
effects of stray light.

The rest of the transport mechanism is also unusual, and apparently high-spec.
The data-grade transport, exclusive to Krell in North America, is anchored to a
massive copper plate. The high-torque disc motor, a cog-free design, benefits
from rare-earth neodymium magnets. The laser assembly itself rides on a beltdriven (actually the laser assembly is thread-driven, whereby the thread itself is
driven by a belt coupled to a motor), high-mass sled and is under the constant
control of precise microservos. Disc clamping is handled by a electrolyzed
aluminum weight that both flattens and stabilizes the disc. It is held in place by
magnetic attraction when placed on the drive spindle over a disc. An ideal
amalgam of high mass for stability and high torque for quick response, and
decoupled from both internal and external vibration by precisely tuned elastomer
mounts, the entire assembly provides the highest level of accuracy by eliminating
almost all significant causes of data error.

http://hifi-advice.com/CD-Mech-Masterpieces-Krell.html
Krell KPS-25SC
Retail price approximately 33.000 euro

I'm not a Krell expert, but I do know that the '25 came with new DACs when
24/96 became the hype, and perhaps there were even more than 2 versions of
the Sc. However, not being a Krell expert, I'm not sure what the differences are
between the KPS-25S and KPS-25Sc, apart from the obvious changes to the
exterior (that bold nose in the middle and shiny aluminium knobs). It's not CAST,
as this is also present on the earlier 25 model. From what I could find, I'd say
that they are likely very, very similar inside, apart from the DACs used.