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Kharma ceramic blow up

Has this happened to anyone?

I went to listen to the Kharma Exquisite Reference today paired with Soulution preamp, Soulution monoblocks, and the dCS Scarletti stack. I really enjoyed it until I put in Bela Fleck's "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" track #4 which is very bass punchy/heavy.

The ceramic midrange proceeded to blow up BOOM and shatter! Is this common with ceramic midranges? I mean the whole driver literally blew up and shattered into pieces.

Usually a speaker blows up because of amplified distortion which causes the speaker piston movement to become non linear, but I highly doubt the Soulutions or dCS somehow caused this.

Nothing against Kharma, as maybe this was a one off thing. I did really like this setup though. The music was beautiful until it happened. I've been listening to setups from Rockport Altairs, Wilson Maxx3's, TAD Reference 1, and now today the Kharmas.

Should I be wary of about this? I don't want to spend so much money and have problems like this. Do you think this was just a one-off? Again I thoroughly enjoyed the Kharma's until then (but still needed to listen longer to get a better sense of the speakers).

Cheers.
changster

Showing 2 responses by rtn1

rtn1
535 posts
 
The Kharma Exquisite Reference is an excellent speaker. It can truly portray that sense of scale. Unfortunately, Kharma is too much money in the US, which I think is a by-product of currency and importation costs.

Aren't all ceramic drivers made by Accuton/Thiel? Who else makes them?

I think the key to a speaker with a ceramic driver is to have a woofer which properly balances the midrange and tweeter.
rtn1
535 posts
 
Accuton/Thiel makes thousands of ceramic drivers each year for dozens of speakers. What is particular about Kharma that makes them susceptible to failure? Is it cross-over design or in-house modifications?

I would not jump to the conclusion that this is an inherent property of ceramic drivers at all. We are dealing with pure anecdote, and no one has mentioned any other speaker. Even if someone did, it still would not necessarily indicate a systemic design flaw. I would agree that what Agyro dealt with from Kharma is absurd and absolutely unacceptable.

On another note, many drivers, regardless of material, may fail under the correct (?incorrect?) conditions. They just do not make such a dramatic statement. Leave your speaker grills on, folks, or wear protective goggles.
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