While the 3.2's bottom didn't extend as deeply as some other speakers', the Kharma delivered rhythmic clarity and outstanding bass definition…
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Not for nothing did I name the Kharma-Lamm room at Home Entertainment 2002 the "Best Sound in Show." Show attendees slotted it 17th best [see September 2002, p.59—Ed.], behind other rooms to which I also gave high marks—mostly larger rooms featuring far bigger loudspeakers—but to me, the sound emanating from the Kharma Ceramique 3.2 ($19,000/pair), driven by Lamm electronics, possessed a sublime balance of sonic qualities heard in few other rooms.
All internal wiring is of Kharma's latest cable technology, all solid silver and gold, handmade at the factory using carbon "holding isolation" (dielectric?). Particular attention is paid to minimizing wire lengths and numbers of joints, and all connections are made with high-quality silver solder. AVT compound is used to minimize the effects of vibration on the crossover. Kharma machines the biwirable binding-post terminal from a solid block of aluminum and fits it with double pairs of deluxe WBT five-way posts. Upgrades include a diamond tweeter and Kharma's Enigma crossover, cryogenically…
Sweet, Rich, Problematic Bass
Many speakers—some big, some small, some front-firing, some side-firing—have delivered excellent bass in my room. But no matter what I tried, I couldn't get satisfactory bass performance from the Kharma Midi-Grands. I understand why Bill Parish had trouble deciding where to place the speakers in my room. Out in the room, the transition from midbass to midrange was cleanly rendered, but the low bass had all but disappeared and the sound was thin. Pushing the Kharmas back toward the front wall increased the low-frequency response but added a subtle layer of…
Many speakers—some big, some small, some front-firing, some side-firing—have delivered excellent bass in my room. But no matter what I tried, I couldn't get satisfactory bass performance from the Kharma Midi-Grands. I understand why Bill Parish had trouble deciding where to place the speakers in my room. Out in the room, the transition from midbass to midrange was cleanly rendered, but the low bass had all but disappeared and the sound was thin. Pushing the Kharmas back toward the front wall increased the low-frequency response but added a subtle layer of…
When I ran my (admittedly primitive) frequency-response test on the Midi-Grands using the 1/3-octave bands on the old Sound Check test CD (gold, SPCD 15), produced by Alan Parsons, I was only somewhat surprised by what I found. Outside the frequency extremes, the overall response was impressively flat and free of peaks or dips. The response was ±2dB from 500Hz to 10kHz, except for a +4dB reading at 3.15kHz. That's probably the flattest response I've measured over that wide a bandwidth.
From 500Hz down to 20Hz there were the usual lumps and bumps related to room interactions, with a +4dB…
In terms of dynamics at both ends of the scale, low-level resolution, delineation of inner detail, harmonic integrity, transparency, and every other performance parameter, the Midi-Grand delivered the goods you'd expect from a speaker costing $32,500/pair. When I listened at low, late-night SPLs, the full picture and musical expressiveness remained intact. When I cranked them up loud, there was no hint of compression or strain. This big, expensive speaker did the heavy lifting where it counts.
When the Midi-Grands were gone and the far smaller, much less expensive Audio Physic Avanti…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, floorstanding, moving-coil loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" inverted-dome titanium tweeter, 7" concave ceramic-cone midrange, 11" Nomex/Kevlar-cone woofer. Crossover frequencies: 150Hz, 2kHz. Frequency response: not specified. Nominal impedance: 4-8 ohms. Sensitivity: 91dB/W/m.
Dimensions: 45" H by 20" W by 16" D. Weight: 170 lbs.
Finishes: Piano Black, Aubergine.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: GRCE-M-1.0-US-O3 & 04.
Price: $32,500/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 6. Warranty: 5 years parts & labor.
Manufacturer…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Simon Yorke, Nottingham Audio Analogue turntables; Graham 2.2, Immedia RPM2 tonearms; Lyra Helikon SL, Helikon mono, Transfiguration Temper Supreme Lyra Titan (prototype), Audio Tekne MC-6310 cartridges.
Digital sources: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 3D CD player and Tri-Vista SACD player.
Preamplification: Hovland HP-100 preamplifier, Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 300 integrated amplifier (preamp section only), Manley Steelhead & Lamm LP2 phono preamps.
Power amplifiers: Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300, Music Reference RM-200, Halo by…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
At 87.5dB/2.83V/m, my estimate of the Kharma Midi-Grand Ceramique 1.0's voltage sensitivity was somewhat lower than the manufacturer's specification of 91dB. Partly this will be explained by the speaker's mid-treble frequency response (see later). Its impedance (fig.1) doesn't drop below 3.5 ohms and is almost always above 4 ohms, which, in combination with the generally mild phase angle, will reduce the stress on the partnering amplifier. As indicated by the saddle in the magnitude trace in fig.1, the tuning of the large rear-facing port lies at 23Hz, implying…
Say "Type A" to a group of psychologists and they immediately think "hard-driving, workaholic executive." Speak the same phrase among audiophiles, and the late Peter Snell's (1946-1984) flagship loudspeaker comes to mind. The model reviewed here is the seventh iteration of Snell Acoustics' Type A, and this is the 12th published review of the product in American audio magazines. (The last one published in Stereophile was in March 1996, Vol.19 No.3, of the Type A Reference.)
Peter Snell might not recognize the new XA Reference Tower's distinctively thin columns as his Type A at all. Long…
Tuneable Tower
As David Smith completed the design of the crossover network, he discovered that a handful of crossover component values, if varied, could control the XA Reference's balance across the acoustic spectrum. For example, the primary tweeter input capacitor, if varied, modified the output between 1500Hz and 7kHz. By using five switches on the XA Reference's back panel, the owner can vary the response of the entire system ±1.5-2dB in four frequency bands, from 100Hz up, in order to tune the speaker to be truly neutral despite room effects and associated equipment. The lower-mid…
As David Smith completed the design of the crossover network, he discovered that a handful of crossover component values, if varied, could control the XA Reference's balance across the acoustic spectrum. For example, the primary tweeter input capacitor, if varied, modified the output between 1500Hz and 7kHz. By using five switches on the XA Reference's back panel, the owner can vary the response of the entire system ±1.5-2dB in four frequency bands, from 100Hz up, in order to tune the speaker to be truly neutral despite room effects and associated equipment. The lower-mid…