From one extreme to another

The big difference between this speaker and the passive version is even better bass control, depth and integration; having that 200 watts on tap really brings the speaker to life and helps bring out the best in the KID. It gives the iPod sound a cohesiveness that it seems to so sorely lack in other settings.

Even the bass and treble controls - usually so alien to any Krell-loving audiophile - have a place here. Unlike most modern CD recordings, it seems that those squeezed into the iPod comfort zone are compressed at the bottom end and over-emphasised at the top.

Worse, this seems to have become the norm for modern pop and rock releases, perhaps to make them sit more comfortably in tinny little iPod headphones. The mild degree of tone shaping that goes on thanks to the KID helps shape this.

Justifiably pricey

That the iPod can be controlled by the credit card remote is good, but the logic driving the remote is pure Krell - it's not confusing, but neither is it the genius iPod interface.

We've heard many aspiring high-end iPod-based systems, but this is the best of them (it's also currently the most expensive of them too, these things may be related).

In some respects the Purity speakers are perfectly made for the iPod, if using good-quality sound files - the openness of the midrange and smooth, clean and extended treble fit the Apple sound perfectly, where cone-and-dome systems (especially metal dome tweeters) can sound brash and hard.

Also, because electrostatics take the emphasis off dynamic range, this helps take the edge off very mild compression, which always sounds too compressed on dynamic box speaker systems. The Purity designs do have a dynamic bottom end and that also fits the iPod profile.

Disappointing video quality

If there's a limit, it's in the video output.

In fairness, this is as much the fault of the Apple device as it is from the Krell KID, but composite and S-Video connections are relatively weak in today's HDTV world.

Others have shown (although not, as yet, launched) upscaling docks that bring the iPod video quality a nudge toward DVD-grade video goodness, but here the picture quality is indistinct and blocky, on both outputs.

We want to ask whether this system makes you reach for the off switch on your CD player, but this is wholly the wrong question. We doubt this will be the only system for
those who invest in it, and many will be considering the ElectroKID as a useful adjunct or complement to their existing high-end hi-fi.

In that context, the ElectroKID is a remarkable pairing.