Audio Magazine Review Summary by Mr. Theodore Pigeon 6/12/2003.
(Insert 3 paragraphs of glowing audiophile riddled terms here)
Where I heard the most difference was in MC Hammer's U Cant Touch This title track. The image of Hammer was so precise, that it went beyond the realm of audio. I actually began to see a two dimensional outline of Hammer with his sequined shirt and funky pants dancing in front of me. As the amplifiers warmed up, the visual image snapped into place and took on a third dimension. The image was nearly, but not quite as sharp as the holodeck on Star Trek, TNG. I was so emotionally moved by this musical revelation, I then began dancing along side the holographic Hammer. I busted moves I never knew I had -- I swear to you I could have been one of Hammer's back-up dancers. It was the single most rewarding day of my life. I now realize why I was born and I would like to thank the Kharma guys for the "long term loan".
But, you might ask, how do they compare to other speakers? They were clearly superior to my Vandersteen 2CE Signatures in just about every aspect. But keep in mind that you can get the 2CE's for $998,300 less, so what would you expect?
In short, these beauties are pricey for sure. But they can bring Nirvana to those elite few who can afford them.
Highly recommended. |
If Stereophile gives these a REVIEW, I wonder what CLASS they would put them in.................................. A+ was the last one I saw. Anyway, I might get in on the 10% discount program as mentioned by Twilo, or see if I can spring for the 2ND best and go for the Twin Enigma or Twin Exquisite's. Hey Tireguy, can you help me out here, I'm gettin the upgrade bug, come on !! |
Just wanted to tell people, Kharma is having a big sale, there giving 10 percent off these speakers. So now there only 900,000 dollars. lol |
My church just purchased NORAD to use for a listening room and worship center. For power we are buying a reactor from North Korea and will recover our investment by selling plutonium to Iraq.
Speaking of the Arab states, I understand that the Emir of Qatar just bought a pair in black. He calls them his Qatar Babies.
will |
I hate to think what the Sultan would name them.... |
Now really! What use would a million dollar speaker system be without a 200,000.00 cartridge or a 500,000.00 turntable? |
Saturn nice thread,I believe you I bought themfrom best
buy too.They gave me 100 years of warranty, but I turn
it down.I connected with my new Ferrari engine in my
living room,I use circuit city wire |
Twilo,your thread is sooooo beautiful,I laugh so hard
i dont need to drink maalox all my co2 gas escape
my whole digestive system, I bought this speakers
a year ago but Milli VaneLLi and Roseanne showed up
in my listening room,I got so scared, I have to
shipped them back to Timbaktu, I promise youTwilo
after this experience, I will never try to buy
a million bucks sp. |
Best speaker thread yet. I enjoy music on 4 different stereo systems beginning with a RCA 50's transistor handheld radio (in the garage) :) Nothing like a good laugh...some of you should be in comedy. As for the serious who feel some people have been shamed, defaced and or taken advantaged of.....lighten up. Besides I heard there's a pair on e-pay opening bid of $1.00 no reserve. |
I laughed so hard its not funny, thanks!
Ravi |
Well I hate to bring some reality into this thread BUT, there are only one pair of these in the world at this time- they are in Switzerland in a cave below the owners home- a 30'x60'x25' room/cave. I am told that these are incredible I have not how ever heard them myself but from what I am told the owner is VERY pleased with them. On a lighter note there is a little brother being built called something along the lines of the Twin Enigma or Twin Exquisite, they will have 2- bass drivers per cabinet(11" or 12" I don't recall), 2-8" cermic mid drivers per cabinet and 3 diamond tweeters per cabinet- that is NOT a typo. They will weigh about 1300lbs per cabinet, and production is starting in Febuary- there are 3 perspective buyers- one who already has money on the table. They will retail for $200,000 per pair(a real bargain compared to the Grand enigma)- the one pair that has been ordered is going to be finding its way over to the USA and going to reside in a buddy of mines listening room- so I am looking forward to hearing these to say the least! its only a 1.5-2 hour drive from me :) and we always have great booze to accompany us. OK now you guys can start the jokes again, this was just a small update from the kharma world. BTW I didn't read anything prior to the 12-28-02 posts so I don't know if I am being redundant. |
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4yanx - don't pay that much. I've seen them for $250K used - it made me wonder if there is something wrong with these speakers, being sold so cheap vs. retail price. Shipping was $300K though..... |
Given the date that this thread was started, I imagine one could find a used pair for around $450K or so. A relative bargain, no? At least if you're in the same league as the Sultan - insult, or not. |
The irony of these posts is that that John Q. Public might joke the same way about our loudspeakers. I was once laughed at for spending $2000 for a pair of speakers.
The Sultan od Brunei (sp?) might find our posts insulting. |
I auditioned the Kharmas at my friend's palace in Saudi Arabia. He had a dedicated listening theatre. They were absolutely stunning. One of his slaves initially had them set up wrong, so we had him executed. I couldn't get a
center listening seat, because all of them were taken up by his 133 wives, but it seemed that the imaging, depth of field, dynamics, realistic image size was without peer.
It also seemed like the sound was slightly more rich
and harmonic with my head tilted back while being fed grapes by one of his slaves. Later, I heard his home theatre system, which has five Kharmas - each wall was a speaker, plus the ceiling. When we played The Terminator on his DVD, I could feel the cold steel of Arnold's robotic grip around my throat!!
We were completely affixed to the realism of the acoustic environment, coupled with the sharpness and detail of the IMAX sized screen, until a slave interrupted us. So we had him executed. Now it was time to try SACD through
the two channel system. OH MY GOD!!! The detail, the realism, the astonishing sense of "you are there"!!! I was walking between performers and shaking hands. I even helped Kenny G play his Sax. This is a true to life, visceral,
3D experience. After we had completed our audition, my friend decided to purchase the whole system. When the Kharma team who came with the speakers to assist in set-up -handed him the bill. He couldn't believe what they wanted. So he had them executed. Kept the speakers, though. |
Hello, just bought these speakers. After connecting 14 Mark Levison 33's in series, I felt I had enough power for these bad boys. If they think 30 thousands watts of power is enough, they're sadly mistaken. It required an illegal power generation plant in my backyard, to provide the power necessary power. I've got the cash and the moxy to see the project through. Once I got the water flowing and the generators on line, these Speakers sounded incredible. I put on a Milli Vanilli CD and Guess What, Milli Vanilli actually sounded like they were singing for real. The DEA has now asked me to transport these speakers to Columbia. We are going to use them in a new plan, to drive druglords from their hideouts. We'll hook them up and play Rosanna Bar singing the national anthem, turned up all the way, where the DrugLords are hiding. The Drug lords will never be able to take Roseanne singing. After Roseanne Barr, will play Rob Lowe singing Proud Mary |
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Gotta say reading this thread sure lightened up my day. Sorry Lotuss4, but Monica should have realized that there could be serious consequences for having an affair with the President. Also, the 50's fall out shelter may not be a bad thing to have depending on how the Florida recount goes. |
I auditioned the Kharmas at my friend's palace in the Arab Emirates. He had a dedicated listening theatre. They were absolutely stunning. One of his slaves initially had them set up wrong, so we had him executed. I couldn't get a center listening seat because all of them were taken up by his 133 wives, but it seemed that the imaging, depth of field, dynamics, realistic image size was without peer. It also seemed like the sound was slightly more rich and harmonic with my head tilted back while being fed grapes by a concubine. Later, I heard his home theatre system, which has five Kharmas...each wall was a speaker, plus the ceiling. When we played The Terminator on his DVD, I could feel the cold steel of Arnold's robotic grip around my throat!! We were completely affixed to the realism of the acoustic environment coupled with the sharpness and detail of the IMAX sized screen, until a slave interrupted us. So we had him executed. Now it was time to try SACD through the two channel system. OH MY GOD!!! The detail, the realism, the astonishing sense of "you are there"!!! I was walking between performers and shaking hands. I even helped Kenny G play his Sax, and had sex with Sade! Don't try this on your Linn Tukans! This is a true to life, visceral, 3D experience. After we had completed our audition, my friend decided to purchase the whole system. When the Kharma team who came with the speakers to assist in set-up handed him the bill, is was more than he could afford....so he had them executed. Kept the speakers, though. |
Actually, there's a picture of it on the website. Imposing, to say the least. If you look closely, you'll see the Bose Acoustimass system hidden around it, which Bose dealers use to demonstrate the BIG sound of their systems. |
I listened to this system in my friend's greek archipelago. The speakers are positioned in the center of the isle, slightly toed-in for greater effect. They are driven by a 2,000 MW gas-fired electric plant, and the front end is Luciano Pavarotti, who is chained to a rock and fed 10 lbs of fetuccine every day. I don't know about high frequency accuracy but last time he hit the first high C in La Donna e Mobile two of my friend's oil tankers were sunk. The midrange is clear and transparent all the way to Egypt's coast, hundreds of miles away. Just don't ask me about time coherence in those cases. Finally, the bass is unbelievable. As proof, the other day a 27 hz note hit by Pavarotti caused a minor earthquake in Crete. It is unclear whether such a lowbass note was included in the score or was caused by excessive sauce in the fettucine. |
The drivers must cost $100K each! Right? |
I think we should all agree to grow up by at least using our usual posting names, not a made up one passing as a slam. And, while I'd be happy to poke fun at $50M mansions and people who buy $1M toys merely to impress their friends, it wouldn't be about A/V, so I'll pass. |
KILLER FUNNY, ALBERT!!! I need to get a database of those! |
Monica enters a newly constructed dry cleaning establishment, places her dress on the counter and looks across at the employee. Unaware that the attendant is hard of hearing, points at a spot on her gown and asks, "Will you be able to get this stain out with one try?" The attendant replies "Come again?" To which Monica replies, "No, its only Mayonnaise this time." |
Redkiwi-- if you were an American, that joke would be an itsy bit irreverant, but as you're not, it's funny as hell :-). Cheers. Craig. |
Albertasteve - I bet this joke is a real old one since I imagine they take a while to get from the US to NZ, but here goes. Bill dies, and for his sins gets to go to hell - but wait its full. But because Bill is so deserving, the devil decides to make room by kicking someone out and that Bill should get to choose who. So the devil takes Bill to the first room where George B Snr is being boiled in oil - and Bill decides George should stay. And he also decides Newt should stay when he sees him tied to the ground and being nibbled at by rats. In the third room Bill finds Mr Stark chained to the wall with Monica kneeled in front of him. Bill perks up at this point and suggests to the devil that he feels he can handle this kind of punishment - to which the devil responds "OK Monica, you're out of here." |
Thanks guys. Press is cheap but you're worth a million. Kharma. |
hi waldhorner, if ya got one-o-dem new toyota hybrids, it definitely cost toyota more than ya paid for it! ;~) no argument w/the wife/kids assessment... :>) regards, doug |
Sedond, You may have something there. Do you think my old Toyota might actually be a $100,000.00 car done for only 10 grand? There's one thing I am certain of though. My wife and daughter are priceless. |
Redkiwi. I can't wait much longer. Let's have the Monica joke. I'm sure it's worth close to a million bucks. cheers steve |
hey waldohomer - mebbe those kharma's *are* 10 million dollar speakers, & they *did* do it for 1 million! ;~) doug. btw, i *also* enjoy music on cheap radios... :>) |
If growing up means recycling one's sense of humor into a judgemental and boring sensibility, then my vote is against "growing up". |
Grow Up: I take it from your bitterness that you cannot afford the $300.00 mini system. This thread is basically a j-o-k-e by the way and is as funny as you are clueless. ROFL. |
Nice to have a grown-up present for a change - but first, this is about opinions - preferably about audio, not fellow posters (but I will have my turn as you will see). I, for one, cannot take a million dollar pair of speakers seriously. If you can, then no doubt you are organising a demo as we speak? What I find amusing is that we have at least two posters here that take these speakers and Monica so seriously that they are offended by some light-hearted humour. |
Well Grow-up....why not a 10 million dollar speaker? It may be magnificient. But I would have a difficult time accepting that a reasonably brilliant design team couldn't do it for a lot less...even if it were "only" 1 million. It's simply that a million dollar speaker is a funny concept to many of us. I happen to enjoy music on my portable radio when it's what's available. However, if you have it, it's certainly your perogative to spend it. |
ewe nailed it, grow-up... doug |
It's quite interesting to see the responses here, given that most people in here are supposedly audiophiles. So everyone thinks that it is appropriate to ridicule a $1 million speaker that nobody has actually heard? True, there are not many people with the means to spend $1 million on speakers, but in the ultra high-end, as long as there are no better overall speakers out there for less than a million, then the Grand Enigma would represents fair value, to those that can afford it. To a few extremely wealthy individuals, $1 million is pocket change. Heck, if I was a billionaire, with a $50 million mansion, I would buy the Grand Enigma, and would build a 45,000 square foot listening room on my estate to put them in, if just to brag to my other billionaire friends that I own the most expensive speakers on the planet. Money is no object. But I've also noticed how bloody defensive some of the same individuals are about the stuff they have in their own system. So why is $20,000 for a pair of Sonus Faber Amati speakers acceptable value whereas a $1 million for a pair of speakers is subject for ridicule? Going the other way, it is the same snotty audiophiles that sneer at people listening to mass market $300 mini-systems and preach from their high horse that the 'regular folk' knows nothing about music. While audiophiles feel that their own $5000 speakers represent incredible value for money, non-audiophiles question the sanity of certain people who spend more on a single power cord than most people would spend on an entire system. |
Let,s see. A million dollars. You could surely rent the services of a major orchestra at least once a month for a year (that is, if you could convince the resident maestro to work free). If you prefer a smaller scale, a major chamber ensemble (string quartet, jazz ensemble,rock group etc.)could probably be heard weekly for that year. On the other hand, perhaps a kit version could be had for less. Or perhaps the mfr. will make a similarly sounding set of headphones. Since I can't afford any of those options, I'll just wait for the Radio Shack knock-off. |
Excuse ME !!! My name is Kimmy Kharma. I designed and built the Grand Enigma and I am very insulted by the negative comments on this website. How dare you pass judgment on my product without even listening to it ?? And some of you are critical of the retail price. Well, let me tell you that there are not very many really good speaker systems available for under a million dollars these days. I know, I have listened to them all and there is no question that the Grand Enigma is the best by far. Just name one system that can reproduce sound at a distance of 25 feet and still sound real !!! See, it's not so easy, is it ?? And poor Monica L. You treat her so badly. Don't worry Monica. I will name my next system after you. Monicas' Enigma Variations. Yes!!! It is perfect. And I will raise the price to 2 Million Dollars just so the riff-raff can not purchase it. They will die of envy. And we shall dance in the streets !! |
Yes, the poor little rich girl that got rich off being infamous...the poor thing, we should all just let her run for the US Senate or something, and learn to love her again! How silly of me, I have learned the error of my ways... |
I heard a great joke about Monica and Bill today, but I sense this is not the right time to tell it. |
I never thought of someone doing Dick, or was it Bill, a mistake. Well maybe if he was married, it's a hard call. |
No, I am not her father... but you are right, let's make more jokes and let's find a way for us to really keep her buried in shame for the rest of her life! Let's take her out and really beat her up some more! that'll make our lives much better. |
Lotus, you need to chill out on the Lewinsky thing. Who are you, her father? |
Now, I could buy an underground room and share it with a large pair of speakers, or spend the million on buying an island in Fiji. It really is hard to take that choice seriously Lotuss4 - by the way, does this mean you own a series 4 Lotus? I used to race Lotuses and the series 4 was manufactured here in NZ for a while - a very crazy vehicle indeed. |
YOU GUYS HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON YOUR HAND!!!!! |
I believe the 1 million includes the construction of an underground room. Does it have a sauna, too? |
Saturn99: Lewinsky: do you realize that behind your jokes is a real person with feelings that can be hurt? How is your humiliation of this person going to make humanity better? It is much harder to have compassion for those who have made mistakes than to simply condemn. Her mistakes aren't even towards you! what harm has she intentionally inflicted to you? All this happened a long time ago, and I am sure this human being is trying to move on with her life. How long will you continue to prosecute her? her family? how long will you have fun at her expense? Have you made any mistakes when you were her age? Please do not take my suggestion as a direct insult, but consider her right to live a life- whatever is left of it. This may even make you a better human being. |
