Wilson Benesch

I listen to a pair of WB Curves and I absolutely love them. The word that comes to mind that describes these speakers is neutral. There is no added sparkle, bloom, smear, veil, etc...I think because of this, they tend to be a little underwhelming at first. The manual states that it takes roughly 70-80 hours of breakin time. I disagree. It's more like 150-200 hours. Once broken in, though, you are rewarded with fantastic imaging and resolution without sounding bright, large believable sound stage, very accurate timbre/ voice reproduction, and solid bass down to about 35 Hz. This is achieved in a relatively small (but heavy) package. The other thing I'm most impressed with is the build quality. Absolutely first class. There was a very positive review on the WB ACTS in Stereophile last month. The Curves come very close to the ACTS but costs much less. People have commented on the lack of bass these speakers produce. I don't listen to electronica, rap, etc., but I did pull out some Kodo CDs last night. The Taiko drums sounded very believable. I'm sorry I can't comment on the Kharma's ( I'm even more sorry I can't afford them. ) Other speakers I have heard before the Curves: entire B&W N line, Dynaudio Contour Line, Special 25's, JM Labs Beryllium stuff, Egglestonworks Fontaines, Martin Logans, Proac 2.5s, Von Schweikert VR2's, VR4JR's, Sonus Faber Cremonas, the list is endless.

I own a pair of the Arcs. Small but certainly not a diminutive sound. I have owned larger speakers that could not keep up in terms of bass, dynamics and over all power. They are very neutral but not boring or lifeless. The are very "un-boxy" sounding , with great insight and coherence. Absolutely the best speaker I have owned. Must be considered one of the best dynamic (box) speaker brands available. Have not listened to Karmas.

Other gear. BAT vk-p5, vk-31se, vk-250, Avid Volvere, Audioquest Cheetah and Kilimanjaro, Shunyata cords and Hydra 8.

I own a pair of chimeras.They reproduce what they are recieving without adding or subtracting.Another thing to think about is that WB makes/engineers their speakers.Most speakers,even expensive ones(ie Wilsons) are 'kit'speakers using "modified" off the shelf components.Most manufacturers use suprisingly cheap components (xovers etc)even in very expensive speakers.Everything in WB's is first class.The only kit aspect to the speaker is the use of the silk dome tweater.If speakers were priced on r&d and manufacturing costs alone WB's would be more expensive than almost all of the very best speakers we all talk about on this forum.