sirspeedy/howie, don't blame you for venting at all and I'm not defending the pricing as I certainly believe it is indefensable. Value is certainly becoming a much more relevant topic in these posts as prices go up for both imported and domestic products and things truly are getting out of hand, stoked by the audiopress machinery. Manufacturers seem to keep coming out with more statement products that are intended to open up perception of the value of their lower ended products and get them great press, reviews etc. Unfortunately we audiophools keep purchasing these statement products and it keeps driving lower end pricing as well. Yes, agree that there are some products that seem to get great reviewer coverage due to less than the most apparent reasons but when you attend shows like CES and see the people who are behind the audio heating machinery you do get a feel for what is real and what is part of the machinery. Nobody forces people to purchase any audio product. We all decide how to spend our hard earned money and what really takes us closer to our conceptions of what reproduced music should sound like. There is no gun pointed at our heads, there are also no Ralph Naders in the industry to protect us from ourselves. Only you can decide what makes sense for you in the long run.
For me personally, I actually can't believe how lucky to have bumped into the Kharmas and every day enjoy them more. They allow me to suspend thinking about the "gear" and place more focus on enjoying the music. I have to say every listening session is in my opinion far more rewarding than going to a concert where you may have poor seating, distractions, poor sound systems etc. I'm always front row center and attending a "live" concert in my listening chair every night. Unlike the rapid and frequent procession of other speakers I've bought and sold at a financial loss, the Kharmas to me just allow a focus on the music. Other speakers I've had (unnamed) always eventually pointed out their flaws after some time with them, making me like them less and less. Some more than others, some right away and some took longer. I'm getting the opposite effect with the 3.2's. Will I keep them forever and are they flawless? I'm sure not, but I can't see anything, even "statement" speakers anything but a sideways move at this time. Are they a good value? I don't know. I do know that when I heard them with the Kharma sub, all the pieces came together and they DO become perhaps the most significant high end "value". Whatever that is these days.
Again, this is just my opinion,so don't hang the messenger, but I'd rather have the combination than some of the $60, $75k and $120k well respected by the audiophool press speakers I've heard recently. And it's not even close, folks. YMMV
For me personally, I actually can't believe how lucky to have bumped into the Kharmas and every day enjoy them more. They allow me to suspend thinking about the "gear" and place more focus on enjoying the music. I have to say every listening session is in my opinion far more rewarding than going to a concert where you may have poor seating, distractions, poor sound systems etc. I'm always front row center and attending a "live" concert in my listening chair every night. Unlike the rapid and frequent procession of other speakers I've bought and sold at a financial loss, the Kharmas to me just allow a focus on the music. Other speakers I've had (unnamed) always eventually pointed out their flaws after some time with them, making me like them less and less. Some more than others, some right away and some took longer. I'm getting the opposite effect with the 3.2's. Will I keep them forever and are they flawless? I'm sure not, but I can't see anything, even "statement" speakers anything but a sideways move at this time. Are they a good value? I don't know. I do know that when I heard them with the Kharma sub, all the pieces came together and they DO become perhaps the most significant high end "value". Whatever that is these days.
Again, this is just my opinion,so don't hang the messenger, but I'd rather have the combination than some of the $60, $75k and $120k well respected by the audiophool press speakers I've heard recently. And it's not even close, folks. YMMV