Kharma Midi vs. Sonus Faber Stradivari Amati

I think Greg hit the nail on the head. I've heard both (I owned the Midi Equisites), and I thought the Stradivari was more musically engaging. The Kharma, IMO, is much more hifi-ish in its presentation. It's more extended on top, and the bass is a little faster, but that diamond tweeter can sound a little strident at times. If you want to enjoy every single recording you have--good, bad, or ugly--go with the Stradivari. If you want to eke out the last iota of detail from your recordings, and want the ultimate in transparency, then maybe the Kharma is a better fit. Depends entirely on your priorities. Both are world-class.

If you had the Strads in your system and loved what they do, if it were me, I'd go with them as they are a proven commodity. As a Kharma owner, (the big Exquisites 1 D.E-ds - not the Midis), I obviously like my Kharmas. However, I have heard the Strads and they were wonderful. Hooper and I are buddies who agree to disagree - that is, I don't think Kharmas are "hifi-ish" in any way. I also don't agree that the diamond tweeter is strident at all - rather, it needs to be fed good amplification to take advantage of its incredible resolution and frequency extension.

However, I have heard the Midis a number of times with the same associated gear I use and, at least TO ME, the Midis didn't sound as good as every one claims they do. I listened to them extensively one weekend and then compared them to my bigger Exauisites and it wasn't even close IMHO. The Midis sounded closed in, veiled, small and unexciting compared to the big Exquisites.

Just my $.02 FWIW.

Thank you all!!! These are some of the most useful comments and advise I ever got.
Of course I know it would be the best to have speakers at home and audition, but there is no dealer in Chicago area and I don't know anyone who owns them. I listened to Stradivari at my home and loved them. They were just a tiny bit too much in the low end, and imaging was not as impressive as my current Audio Physic Caldera. But musicality was there. Anniversario with a bit smaller woofers and narrow design might be a perfect fit.

I fell in love with Sonus Faber sound 10 years ago when I heard Extrema. I owned it for three months, and it was the most musical sound I had a chance to listen to, up until that point. I can't explain what I mean by "musical." I'm first a musician in my soul and then, a distant second, an audiophile.
When Michael Fremer wrote in Stereophile review of Strad:
"It was, however, the most emotionally communicative speaker I've ever heard. Can a speaker have "soul"? I don't know, but this one comes the closest to making me think so."

That's exactly what I feel... that the Strad elicited certain level of pleasure response in my soul comparable only to playing a live instrument. Well, it's not exactly there, but it's closest to it. And I don't think you can label it "euphonic." Strad was creating comparable effect to what very good single-ended amp can do. Most SE amps are way too euphonic to me. I couldn't stand Cary Audio 805's, just way too syrupy. But there are good SE amps that don't do that, and still illuminate the music in a unique way.

So, what was the purpose of my post? I don't change my gear every few months. I would like to get set for years to come, so I was just wondering if Kharma conveyed similar level of emotional, musical soulfulness as SF, and at the same time bringing greater coherence than the Strad. But that doesn't seem to be the case, at least with Midi, according to your comments.

Gregm: When you say: "I would definitely choose Stradivari over Amati"... Did you listen to old Amati or new Amati Anniversario, and was it in the same room where you heard Stradivari? Can you expand a bit as to why you preferred Amati over Strad?

Fmpnd is right about the Kharma's diamond tweeter. It's not really strident per se, but it definitely needs the right amplification. In his system, it sounded extremely good, but I've heard it other systems--particularly with solid-state amplification--where it did indeed sound strident. As for the Midi, I owned it and sold it pretty quickly. As Fmpnd indicated, it sounded lifeless and closed-in.

"Yes -- but only briefly at a dealer"

Hooper,
Anniversario is a new speaker I don't think your findings are the right ones for now. The speaker needs a burn-in and as a new model some time to integrate with different equipment.IMHO.