Kharma 3.2 Owners, your thoughts...

3 feet out is possibly part of the problem. You are at the 1/4 null point of the 12 foot dimension. I would move them forward to 4 feet and spread them a little further apart, probably 6 feet. Side wall reflection is very important and because you are firing on the short wall you really need ample diffusion on the wall behind you--this last point is very important. If you can fire down the long wall that might be better. You can see how these thing affect you by going to our room simulator . These speakers aren't in there, but use something that has similar bass response. You'll see that the placement will change the bass response. By nulling out part of your bass you are tipping the higher frequencies out of balanced--thereby getting that etched sound. Room treatment and position I believe are the biggest culprits here.

Dolphin,

Yes, you are absolutely correct in your evaluation of "Kharma" sound and I am quite surprised and please to hear your voice of sincerity. In Karma paranoia was purely artificially created 3-4 years ago by the US distributors and it was a well-orchestrated event that helped Kharma to get some memento in US. They dumped a huge amount of the speakers in the hands of the “specific people” at highly competitive prices and those “specific people” are the one who overwhelm Internet about their drooling. There are many reasons why “you are in minorities in your vision of Kharma’s Sound but do not worry. Whist their listing rooms, talk with them personally and you will get an unquestionable answer about the primitivism of their reference points.

Ironically the 3.2 was the only one Kharma loudspeaker that was more or less OK (with their 80k plus model as the worst among all Kharmas). Unfortunately it originally cost $6K-$7K and for that money or was pretty good (and particularly if one do not hear anything better). Since Kharma surrounded themselves with a eco of the internet droolers who at each corer began to post their photographs of the shinny Kharmas and the heavy golden chains over their necks they elevated the 3.2 price to $17K and it is shame. It was a wonderful speaker for the beginners but at their new price it is already not interesting.

Rgs,
Romy the Cat

Is this guy for real ?
I bet you still think the Soviets are behind the crappy weather I had this weekend ...

I love the Kharma line.. maybe its not for every one but to generalize on pretty much the whole line with a conspiracy theory ..well..a tad surprising..

Good luck anyway !

Matt

I have just ordered some Siemens 6922 tubes for the Conrad Johnson Preamp. I have been told that the sound of these tubes are vastly superior to the current Sovtek tubes and that part of the issue I'm having with the sound being a bit etched can be directly attributed to the Sovteks which have that reputation. I'm hoping that with a tube change and an eventual interconnect update that my problem will be solved. I will respond on the sound difference the tubes will make when they arrive in about a week.

My bet Henry is that as Rives notes above, the problem is the room. Tubes will certainly make a difference in a system but I don't believe that the etchiness is an issue of the pre-amp but of the acoustic properties in your room, most likely too much reflective energy which can definitely retard an organic cohesive soundfield. I have personally been around on this issue. Often the most overlooked component in the system is the room simply because beyond a certain point, there are no compromises left to make but a better room. You might need professional help at this junction. I have heard the Kharma's albiet briefly and they sure didn't sound etchy to me and using similar components to yours.