Every time Neli … irks… me I threaten to move the Marten ‘Supreme’ speakers into my office 🙂 Which is at least once a day. 😉
Of course, this does not make her any happier with me at those moments…
But, you know, I really, really,really would like to have the Supremes as my personal little system – and it would TOO fit in my 10×11 foot office [seriously, I think it would do just fine]
But if I am not careful with this negotiation stuff I may end up with these.
JIENAT ‘Mira’
Been meaning to post about this for way too long.
More to come on this SACD & blu-ray music disc combo with some amazing sound and music:
96/24 DSD Stereo + 5.1 SACD
92/24 Stereo + 5.1 Blu-Ray
Blu-Ray Video
Picture forthcoming – but the music itself is, well, here in the U.S. it sounds much like Native American chanting. But unlike Native American chanting that we heard in Santa Fe last August at Indian Market, say, which is filled with anguish and regret – the music on the disc is full of mirth and joy and is quite playful.
Just about everyone who hears it asks where they can get one [even though Neli insists on playing the ‘dog barking song’ – which is really not that weird or funny – nor is it representative – I think she likes to see all the expressions on people’s faces]. The fact that so many different kinds of people [including us by the way!] like this disc speaks well of the music.
The sound is excellent as well. This is fairly complex music – and the liner notes describe to what lengths the recording engineers went through to get it right. A lot of emphasis has been also on the 5.1 surround aspect of the recording – which we were not able to experience. Similarly with the blu-ray music disc – my blu-ray setup is probably better than most but the bar is so low [and comparing it to what I normally listen to thru that system – Comcast Digital Cable TV, the BEST example of why we need anti-trust laws that one could imagine – the bar is just so very, very low. Well, I should probably listen to it there anyway. TBD.]
If you are like us – and have / enjoy a lot of different kinds of music and are always looking for something that is not the same old derivative this or that – and yet at the same time is very very high quality sound – then you need this.
Just an informal poll. Kind of concerns the goings on here and a little husband and wife … discussion… 😉
OK. Personal opinion here… but… the first half of this movie was written by a 10 year old boy for an 8 year old boy [well, British humor… you know. What can a person expect? Outside of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (the books. The 1st and 3rd books.) Red Dwarf, Dr. Who, the Avengers, Sherlock Holmes… The Brits would have nothing to show for themselves on the literary front ;-P]
But the last half hour or so… lots of mid 60s music. Lot of love of good old Rock & Roll, and LPs, and Music with a capital M. I was literally going to just stop watching the movie entirely but I am glad I didn’t [I kind of expected a documentary-style semi-fictional account of some very interesting times… instead what we get is a parody].
Funny, when I hear a lot of 60s music [okay, a little early 70s too] I wonder what we would really miss is we just lopped off the last 45 years of music altogether. Sometimes I do not feel this way… But… seriously – is what we have these days is a wasteland with a few oasis scattered about here and there? Or am I just a product of my generation? [or are the people who disagree just a product of THEIR generation and all music really HAS been pale derivatives and shadows of 60s music since then?]
… is in just a few days, on the 30th through Aug. 1
Audio Note will be there but Neli and I will not. Not sure about our other lines. Constantine Soo at Dagogo is a nice guy [and certainly entertaining :-)] and we hope the show goes well for everyone.
Next year…!
I often describe, to myself anyway, the difference between various appealing but different sounds as “one attracts my heart, the other my mind”.
By mind I do not mean technological wizardry – for that kind of appeal the object under the scope has to be the space shuttle, or the internals of a modern CPU chip, or a particle accelerator. Amps, speakers and CD players? Just don’t impress me. But hey, I might be more impressed if I built a few myself.
Anyway…
One of the main differences between Neli’s and my taste is that she likes sound that appeals to the mind more than I do, and that which appeals to the heart less. Not that we are not both enamored of both kinds of sound. We just have – over the course of time – discovered that we will be accepting of more faults in one type of sound than another.
By ‘mind’ I mean largely what we have called sophisticated sound. Well delineated, precise, accurate perhaps under-stated, certainly not over-stated harmonics, great separation, etc. Although this might remind you of a solid-state sound, we have not heard many solid-state preamps nor amps capable of producing this sound – it requires a deftness, an ability to render fine shades of detail and nuance and most of these are built instead to ‘impress’ (or to be inexpensive to build).
By ‘heart’ I mean a somewhat less precise sound, more concerned with continuousness and harmonics than separation between this very subtle sound and that. This kind of sound is more about the music, but the mind has to take a back seat – it cannot wander the subtle interplay of this sound juxtaposed with that, to hear the minute differences in decay between two chimes, one slightly heavier than the other.
See, I really like both kinds of sounds. And in general I design and build systems here that do both.
But sometimes, when updating my wish list (twice daily, don’t you know?), I really want TWO systems. Indulgent, I know.
Is this just me? Is everyone bifurcated like this but not so self-indulgent that they consider setting up two very, very expensive systems?
I certainly get a lot of flak, and will for this post no doubt, from the religious acolytes of one sound or the other. But struggle as I might, I really love both. Chocolate AND Vanilla. And I am right … smack.. in the middle – with no real preference between the two.
We were sent this nice CD from www.QuartetEquinox.com.
It is definitely audiophile grade. Lots of separation and very quiet backgrounds.
The music itself is a mix, mostly quiet jazz but a few numbers are, well, now as quiet. Still, every song would do well at an audiophile show. Sort of in the Diana Krall kind of genre but without any singing.
I played this for a group of people the same night we heard the new Frampton and new Hendrix.
This Quartet Equinox SACD is definitively a very high quality recording. As good as the new FIM? Yes, could be. A little hard to tell with just this one CD, and with not very complex music. But it is indeed very close… a contender!
.. on the oil-spill.
Or, more precisely on the coverage of all the birds and crabs etc. covered in oil.
See, all these people are upset… upset that some of these animals might die…
…upset that they might die and nobody gets to EAT THEM that is.
🙂
Meat-eating announcers moaning over ‘innocent’ animals being potentially harmed by what is to large extent an act of God, who then go home and eat cow tummies and chicken breasts that night which we slaughter by the millions.
Oh, the irony. The Irony!
🙂
[Sorry, I know sanctimonious TV news is all the rage . We’re green and love the environment more than most – putting our money where our sentiments are – but seriously… if you ain’t vegetarian (or vegan) you should probably focus your whining on the plight of the fisherman and tourist industry – and leave the whining about animals to us veggies.]
😉
[now that Neli is logging in and editing my posts – let’s just see how long this post stays here :-)]
[yes, back to audio. We have a few CD reviews coming up, and the M9Phono / S9 have just returned to the big system …]
Actually most of the entries are just expensive speakers [and the Supremes are $350K, not 180] and they left out the Kharmas [I emailed them, but people only have so much time to put into each article, don’t I know it :-)]
Interesting, though, some of these make sense, some of these shock me, some of them I roll my eyes at, and some I hadn’t heard of and would love to hear sometime 🙂
[Neli is still torturing me. But eventually she will relent 🙂 From the snippets I have heard – Kharma now has 2 speakers above the old (~$260K) Grande Exquisites and one immediately below.
Kharma has indeed added some new loudspeakers to the Grand Exquisite line. Above the Grand Exquisite are the Grand Exquisite Extreme ($390K), and the Grand Exquisite Extreme, Limited Edition 25 ($520K), the ultimate realization of the Grand Exquisite.
Kharma has also introduced the Midi Grand Exquisite ($145K), smaller cabinet suitable for a (somewhat) smaller room. These were the ones shown in Munich.
Kharma now makes their own ceramic drivers, the Black Label series (and so no longer use the old Accuton/ Thiele & Partner ceramic drivers – which have been exceedingly hard to come by lately). These new drivers have membranes that are black in color.
This fall, Kharma will introduce the new Elegance line. One of the smaller Elegance loudspeakers, configuration similar to the 3.2.2 CRM, is shown below. These use a new Kharma-designed and developed carbon fiber driver and a new (also Kharma-designed and developed) beryllium tweeter. Pricing for the new Elegance speakers is still being set.
Corrections to this summary, and pricing, and labeling of the photos will be forthcoming… right Neli? :-)]
A quick note on pricing. Kharma’s pricing in Euro has remained remarkably stable over the last years. Prices here are based on a conversion rate of 1.30 USD / 1 Euro, which is either … an insane opportunity, or the new normal.
Looking into the Munich show room from the outside …
wish we were able to attend, we are so happy to have these pictures sent to us from Kharma …
First glimpse inside.
These are the Midi Grand Exquisites, with the Exquisite Sub (active, 18″ long throw driver) and the new Exquisite MP-1000 mono power amplifiers.
Side view of the room, RixRax Grand Hoodoo and a pair of Exquisite Mini with the new black label drivers (more below).
Kharma owner and chief designer, Charles van Oosterum, with the new Elegance 3.2.2, with the grille on. Grilles are now mounted magnetically.
Rear of the Elegance 3.2.2, in Aubergine. The port is reminiscent of the Exquisite Mini. Note the removable back panel.
These loudspeakers can be made active by changing the binding posts to signal cable connectors (XLR/RCA) and mounting one of the little Matrix amplifiers inside.
New Kharma beryllium tweeter and carbon fiber mid/bass driver.
‘Elegance’ series badge on the side. Cabinets and cabinet finish look quite similar to the CRM 3.2/3.2.2.
Streamlined Elegance series stand with floor protectors.
This is a nice reminder that we should always level our loudspeakers …
Another nice view of the big Munich system with the Midi Grand Exquisites, the new MP-1000 mono amps ($52000), and the Exquisite sub ($32,500).
Closeup of one Midi Grand Exquisite. Makassar veneer with piano black finish. Nice view of the dual diamond tweeters, and of the new black-label ceramic midrange drivers.
Even nicer view of the Makassar …
Beautiful view of the Exquisite Mini (what a lovely, lovely loudspeaker, sonically even more than visually), with standard Walnut trim and the new black label drivers. Since the speakers are not playing, the diamond tweeters have got their little magnetic protective grilles on.
The MP-1000 with carbon front panel.
Best view of the front end. Top shelf, Metronome CD transport. Second shelf, prototype/beta version of the new Kharma PA-1000 preamplifier (expected $39000), third shelf is a DAC from Audio Note Japan (thanks Metralla) KSL-DAC. And, on the bottom shelf, what I think is the power supply for the Metronome.
Happy listeners ….
