Speakers using ceramic drivers....differences?

I have been fascinated with the new Marten Coltrane for some time. I checked the specifications and using a simple math formula the twin 9 inch woofers in the Marten are 509 square inch drive area compared to 530 square inch drive area for the Kharma Exquisite 1D's single 13 inch Nomex-Kevlar sandwich.

Factor in that the woofers in the Marten are by Accuton and made of the same ceramic as their 4 inch midrange, the Marten has the potential to produce faster more coherent integration between bass, mid bass and mid frequencies.

Both systems (Kharma Exquisite and Marten Coltrane) use Accuton diamond tweeter. The Kharma uses a 1 inch Accuton diamond and the Coltrane uses the 3/4 inch Accuton diamond.

Both systems claim bandwidth from 20 to 100,000K, plus or minus 2 DB. We all know specs mean nothing, so tomorrow night I (finally) get to hear a pair of Kharma Exquisite 1D's on a system with IDENTICAL components as mine. (Yes I'm partially responsible for that :^)

I plan to fly to California and listen to the Coltrane this summer if my work goes well. If I can't afford the trip I will have to wait for an audio show.

The main reason I am interested in the Coltrane is price. $50K is indeed expensive, but the Kharma is $120K, so if they are even close, it's no contest because of the price difference.

Last thing, the Coltrane's are 448 pounds lighter (per cabinet!!) Due to a new carbon fiber construction technique.

Perhaps the greater mass of the Kharma works an advantage and perhaps not. I plan on listening to both and try to dismiss the price difference when judging.

Albert,
You like these drivers?
I have heard some of the, for want of a better word, exotica, but find myself gravitating back to the 'natural' products, except for my SL.
The magnesium drivers are very good, but have a 'sound' in some of the applications that I have heard.
Best

I have heard excellent mids and highs from the diamond tweeter in the Kharma, Marten and Avalon Eidolon. The mids in the Kharma are very clean and disperse almost equal to Soundlab, so there are some things they do that are excellent.

My problem will be if they do great mids and highs but won't do bass. Overall tonal balance is as important as resolution to me. That's why I always defend Vandy's, they get the tonal balance right even though not the highest resolution speaker out there.

I will likely never part with my Soundlabs. Considering they have been my reference for 15 years. However, I always play "what if" and look at each new offering (especially cone speakers) as a potential replacement.

Albert

Thanks for your insight.

I too would be interested in your Kharma/Marten listening comparisons. I also am thinking about the Coltranes or Coltrane Altos. Any word on the significantly less expensive Usher AC-10/20's recently praised and honored by Soundstage for musicality and coherence (using 1" ceramic tweeter, 4" ceramic mid and 10" conventional woofer(s)...1 or 2 (AC-10/20)

Brian

We have the Marten Coltranes here and, as you suspected Albert, they have a very tight, top-to-bottom tonal and resolution consistancy, very similar to the Vandersteen in this respect (in particular the Vandy 5... my old 2ce, well, it did OK... :-) .

Compared to the Kharmas, the Martens are more real, neutral and detailed, not quite as easy to drive (though we run our Coltranes off the Kegon 22 watt SET monoblocks to good effect), slightly more musical, with deeper and more detailed bass, but without that oh so effusive midrange of the Kharmas.

The same comparison more or less goes for the Avalons as well, though the Avalons are much harder to drive than either the Marten or Kharma. The LumenWhites have just been updated, as I understand it. In the past they could be a little crispy and a little on the cool side at times.

I have heard good things about the Venture - but have not actually heard them myself.

We have at times seriously considered carrying all of the above speakers - they can all be made to make a very satisfying sound (some easier than others ;-)

As always, "Use the ears, Luke".

If any of you are ever up near Denver town, you are welcome to stop by and hear the Coltranes with your own ears. And Albert, I'm afraid you can only up here after our @#$%^ remodel is done :-) We would love to hear your impressions of the Edge 800 watts NL Reference 'pyramids' on the U1s, along with your impressions of the Martens.

-Enjoy!
Mike (Marten Design dealer)