Kharma Exquisites

i own the Kharma Exquisite 1ds. i use the Tenor 75Wi OTL monoblocks.

Avnut, the Exquisites you heard at CES was the 1A, which has an external crossover, compared to my 1Ds, which are also bi-ampable but have an internal crossover.

i spent considerable time at the Kharma room at CES. although i enjoyed it, it did not compare to my room in bass extension or musicality. the Tenor is on another level compared to the ss Lamms. i have not heard the Lamm ML2 or ML1 on the Exquisites so i can't comment on that.

as far as bass performance is concerned i could make a few comments. even though my room is relatively small, i get true 25hz performance and -3db at 22hz. every visitor to my room comments that the bass integration is the best they have ever heard. i would say that the Exquisites do not have "rock concert" bass. it does not do "slam" like the Wilson watt/puppy 6s i had. but they do real world bass. instead of calling attention to itself the bass serves the music. the Tenor OTL have no dynamic limitations whatsoever on the Exquisites.

on the Exquisites music just "happens".....totally seamless and coherent; amazeing macro and microdynamics. i have had quite a few industry "experts" thru my room and so far they have all left under the spell of the Exquisite/Tenor combo.

i can listen to these beatiful works of art all day long and never get fatigued or tired of it. i consider it an honor to have the Exquisites. with the Exquisites it is about the music and not pieces of the sound. you concentrate on the performance and the musical content. you will find that small differnces between recordings or formats become much more pronounced. differences between cables and sources are bigger. i have always tried to go for neutrality in all my gear and the Exquisites are the ultimate neutral speaker.

Bill, if you want any details e-mail me and i would be glad to answer your questions.

Avnut, i will difer to Jtinn as far as number of truely high-end systems heard. but i can say that the Kharma Exquisite/Tenor in my room was so incredible when i first heard it......it actually intimidated me. i had to have 6 or 7 experienced listeners in my room and get their feedback before i would allow myself to accept what my ears were telling me.....kinda scarey.

comparing the Rockport/Tenor to the Kharma/Lamm is tricky. my take would be that the amazeing Exquisites have such a special openness, mid-range purity, and coherence that it creates a very unique reality that no other speaker can touch. i could tell that the Lamm solid state amps held back the Exquisites from the supreme musicality and clarity i hear in my room with the Tenors.

as good as the Rockport Hyperions are, in comparison with the Exquisites, they are less open and refined. the ceramic mid-range of the Exquisites is so fast and uncolored even another state-of-the-art speaker like the Hyperion is exposed as less fast and slightly veiled. the Tenors were not a perfect match for the Hyperion and there was a slight loss of speed and snap......a loseness. with higher powered amps the Hyperion might have been better in this area but not as musical as on the Tenors.

consider my heavy bias toward the Exquisites and Tenors in my comments.....i can't help it.....as i sit here listening to them..... they never cease to beguile me.