realworld experience: Kharma subwoofer + 3.2 CRM

some interesting and varied responses ...

first, it doesn't seem that anyone has any personal experience beyond hearing it at the show ... is there anyone who actually owns the combo who would care to add anything ?

second, Exquisites Midi's or 1D's are out of my budget ... therefore, I'm primarily interested in knowing how the subwoofer/3.2FE CRM combo compares to some of the more "affordable" speakers (e.g. CE 2.2 or the Grand Ceramique Midi)

there does seem to be varying opinion as to whether the sub intereferes with the soundstaging of the 3.2 and how well they integrate compared to a more full-range Kharma speaker. J Valin in the Aug/Sept TAS suggests : "the 3.2s and their sub made a terrific combo-far more "of a piece" than I would ever have guessed ... " He then concludes: I could live with the Kharma 3.2/sub, and probably will." ... interesting ?

Any further thoughts. What about playing the combo reasonably loud vs. the 2.2 or Grand Midi ? (Even the Grand Midi is out of my budget, unless I buy a demo/used one).

Tim,

Do they really break that often ??? Are both the 7" and the 4.5" prone to this ? How much is a new midrange driver ?

Tim isn't the first person who has told me about problems with the midrange ceramique drivers. I have heard this may be especially true with the 3.x series speakers, where the 7" driver is also the bass driver.

On the other hand, last month I was truly mesmerized by a recent audition of the Kharma Exquisite Midi's paired with the Tenor 150HPs and AA Capitole MK II CDP. In all of my auditioning of various speakers, I have never experienced the wall to wall expansive soundstaging, the remarkable disappearing act, and the glorious midrange like I did with that Kharma. Overall, they were extremely moving and musical, just a thrill to listen for hours on end. As much as I would love to get a fraction of that Kharma sound with the lower priced Grand Ceramique or Ceramique speakers, I am not too happy to think that they are prone to frequent driver failure as Tim suggests. I am curious just how big a problem this really is ? Does the warranty cover this for 5 years ?