Does anyone have any recent experience with Kharma loudspeakers?


I had the opportunity to demo the the Kharma DB9S and DB11S speakers a few weeks ago and was very impressed with their sound.  Are their any Kharma owners out there that can add any likes/dislikes with your own Kharma's?  Has anyone had the chance to hear these speakers?  Would be interested in any feedback.  Thanks in advance.
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xwoots
twoleftears ironically I heard them at Suncoast when I was there earlier in April.  I was shocked to see them on Jay's YouTube right after I was there.  
 
FWIW, I have a thread in which I give my quick impressions of many speakers I auditioned.   Here's what I wrote about my Kharma audition:
--------------

Back in the day when they became something of the new rage among well heeled audiophiles, I'd heard several models, including in one gentelman's super high end set up. They impressed me with a combination of transparency, smoothness, richness, soundstaging...almost the whole ballgame. But overall I found the tone just a bit too much toward the "dark" side to really warm up to them.

Nonetheless a dealer suggested I listen to a used pair of Kharma CRM 3.2 FE speakers that he had for sale. I researched Kharma again and got quite excited at the prospect of owning a pair - great looks, good size for my room, wonderful high end pedigree in terms of construction, reputation etc. And it was a newer model, so I wondered what the Kharma sound was at this point.

What I heard again was that recognizable Kharma sound. For the size, the 3.2 threw a huge, transparent soundstage with full-bodied, rich images. The transparency and detail was superbly natural and unforced - effortlessly untangling the layers of sparkling guitars on, for instance, Johnny Cash's Solitary Man and I Won't Back Down, and making each distinct. Never with ear fatigue.

Unfortunately I found it veered a bit too much in to the "polite" terrifory, and the sound lost some of the excitement I was familiar with. The tone was also, as before, a bit too into the darkish territory for me. Finally, the bass wasn't nearly as tonal and controlled as I'd like. It was a Big Fat Bottom of a sound, probably great for filling out a big room. Unfortunately they were played in a room that was no doubt too small for them.

The CRM 3.2 FE is a 20 year old speaker.   The Kharma’s I’ve heard at shows over the past few years are extremely musical and engaging.  I’m certain, like other manufacturers, they’ve come a long way in the past 20 years.  Kharma Loudspeakers have been consistently some of my favorites at shows (even in crummy hotel rooms).