I don't know of anyone who has reviewed the SACD standard since they quit using that JUNK Philips transport. I heard something about HiFi+, but I don't know...

Whoa !

Philips made ( arguably ) the Best CD mechanism available. ( Krell would not have designed it in, if it was "JUNK." )

Given the low business volumes & their manufacturing costs for the product, Philips pulled the plug on this product line.

This sent many CD & Transport manufacturers scurrying to look for alternates. Krell had to infact stop production till they found a substitute...

CD drives have always been a 'problem' for high end manufacturers.... the market for high end, CD mechs is small.

I recall reading that Ayre's owner has morgaged his house to stock up on CD mechanism for production and service, over the years !

Philips did have a good reputation for making a great product, but when it made the transport that went into its own SACDP and the Krell something went terribly wrong.

I have owned Philips transports and the past and had no trouble with it, but that generation was extremely problematic. The Sony SACDPs that came out at the same time have retained their value, while a Philips and even some Krell are hard to sell. The Philips unit is almost impossible to sell.

The Sony SCD 777ES will bring about $1500 while the Philips will bring about $500 if you can prove you haven't had any issues with it.

I'm not knocking Philips, but they really had a bad run at that point.

This is somewhat dated, and I am sure you are aware by now, but in case you missed it the April/May The Absolute Sound has a review of that unit.
To me, it sounds like a piece of junk.
The old Phillips drive "had notorious reliablity problems" while the new one (made by who???) "produces a loud grinding noise" with some discs and was generally "very noisy". Sounds like they have a real winner now!!
Also, "after a few seconds of a track, the track number disappears from the display and you have to stop and start over if you want to know what it is".
Sounds like something to avoid at $200, I would say; $4000?!?!?; we ARE kidding, right?
What really cracks me up is that the poor reviewer tried to end the review on a positive note; God only knows how he managed to even try. If I had been in his shoes I would have politely kicked them where they need kicking.
This sounds like a real great unit for $4000; only a masochist could consider buying this overpriced collection of second-rate engineering and problems! I can't believe Krell had the balls to put something so flawed on the market at any price. It makes me think real hard about buying anything with the Krell name on it. They are realy hurting their reputation with this mess.
They need to start over with a clean sheet of paper and try to repair the damage.

The Krell SACD standard, when it worked correctly, or when the transport worked was a great sounding CDP. I'm not sure what happened with the review you referenced, but I have heard the Krell and I would buy it. Actually I tried to get the local dealer to sell me one, but he's such an %$&@ that I decided against it.

I have never had a problem with my Sony other than reading the TOC taking too long.

I would still buy the Krell, but I don't know how it would sound compared to my modded 777.

If you read the article in The Absolute Sound, and you still want to buy the Krell...hey...it's your money and there is nothing in the bill of rights prohibiting anyone from throwing their money away.

I can't imagine anyone reading that article and wanting to buy the thing; it sounds half-broken right out of the box!

A reliability nightmare is what I would expect, based on its past history and what the reviewer experienced; but don't let that stop you. It's your money.

By the way, for what it's worth; I have two of the SONY

CDP-777ES players (one in my city house and one in my desert house) and have operated them for six years with no problems...yet...lol.

Not all of the original Krell SACD Standards were problematic. As I thought I had explained, I have spent time listening to the Krell. Stereophile magazine (maybe you've heard of it) listed the Krell as one of the best sounding CDPs they've heard. When the units worked as intended, Stereophile is right. If I cared what anyone from TAS said, I guess I would subscribe, but since I don't care about their opinion, I don't!

"It sounds half broken out of the box." <--- How does something sound half-broken? Either it's broken or it's not broken.

Expectations about reliability are rank speculation. I don't work for Krell, I don't own a single piece of Krell gear, but based on what I HAVE HEARD I would buy it, and I would recommend it to someone who was asking out it.

Sorry, I can't afford a desert house in which to place a second Sony SCD-777es, but if I could afford it, I'd buy a Krell SACD Standard instead.

According to the review, it played the CDs but was either noisy or, with some CDs "made a loud grinding sound".
Sounds semi-functional or "half-broken" to me, but I guess I don't have your silver tongue to help me cope with the intricacies of the English language....
Glad we have you to keep us poor mortals on the straight and narrow path.
Enjoy your CDs if you can hear them over the loud grinding noises.

With respect to everyone: It's my responsibility to keep this forum on the straight and narrow path, and I'm beginning to think I'm not doing a good enough job.

Let me remind everyone: The Stereophile forum is a place to exchange ideas in a productive and respectful manner. Every opinion, as long as it is voiced responsibly, with respect and consideration, is valid. We're here to have fun, share, and learn.

Please play nice. Thanks.