Thank you all!!! These are some of the most useful comments and advise I ever got.
Of course I know it would be the best to have speakers at home and audition, but there is no dealer in Chicago area and I don't know anyone who owns them. I listened to Stradivari at my home and loved them. They were just a tiny bit too much in the low end, and imaging was not as impressive as my current Audio Physic Caldera. But musicality was there. Anniversario with a bit smaller woofers and narrow design might be a perfect fit.
I fell in love with Sonus Faber sound 10 years ago when I heard Extrema. I owned it for three months, and it was the most musical sound I had a chance to listen to, up until that point. I can't explain what I mean by "musical." I'm first a musician in my soul and then, a distant second, an audiophile.
When Michael Fremer wrote in Stereophile review of Strad:
"It was, however, the most emotionally communicative speaker I've ever heard. Can a speaker have "soul"? I don't know, but this one comes the closest to making me think so."
That's exactly what I feel... that the Strad elicited certain level of pleasure response in my soul comparable only to playing a live instrument. Well, it's not exactly there, but it's closest to it. And I don't think you can label it "euphonic." Strad was creating comparable effect to what very good single-ended amp can do. Most SE amps are way too euphonic to me. I couldn't stand Cary Audio 805's, just way too syrupy. But there are good SE amps that don't do that, and still illuminate the music in a unique way.
So, what was the purpose of my post? I don't change my gear every few months. I would like to get set for years to come, so I was just wondering if Kharma conveyed similar level of emotional, musical soulfulness as SF, and at the same time bringing greater coherence than the Strad. But that doesn't seem to be the case, at least with Midi, according to your comments.
Gregm: When you say: "I would definitely choose Stradivari over Amati"... Did you listen to old Amati or new Amati Anniversario, and was it in the same room where you heard Stradivari? Can you expand a bit as to why you preferred Amati over Strad?
Of course I know it would be the best to have speakers at home and audition, but there is no dealer in Chicago area and I don't know anyone who owns them. I listened to Stradivari at my home and loved them. They were just a tiny bit too much in the low end, and imaging was not as impressive as my current Audio Physic Caldera. But musicality was there. Anniversario with a bit smaller woofers and narrow design might be a perfect fit.
I fell in love with Sonus Faber sound 10 years ago when I heard Extrema. I owned it for three months, and it was the most musical sound I had a chance to listen to, up until that point. I can't explain what I mean by "musical." I'm first a musician in my soul and then, a distant second, an audiophile.
When Michael Fremer wrote in Stereophile review of Strad:
"It was, however, the most emotionally communicative speaker I've ever heard. Can a speaker have "soul"? I don't know, but this one comes the closest to making me think so."
That's exactly what I feel... that the Strad elicited certain level of pleasure response in my soul comparable only to playing a live instrument. Well, it's not exactly there, but it's closest to it. And I don't think you can label it "euphonic." Strad was creating comparable effect to what very good single-ended amp can do. Most SE amps are way too euphonic to me. I couldn't stand Cary Audio 805's, just way too syrupy. But there are good SE amps that don't do that, and still illuminate the music in a unique way.
So, what was the purpose of my post? I don't change my gear every few months. I would like to get set for years to come, so I was just wondering if Kharma conveyed similar level of emotional, musical soulfulness as SF, and at the same time bringing greater coherence than the Strad. But that doesn't seem to be the case, at least with Midi, according to your comments.
Gregm: When you say: "I would definitely choose Stradivari over Amati"... Did you listen to old Amati or new Amati Anniversario, and was it in the same room where you heard Stradivari? Can you expand a bit as to why you preferred Amati over Strad?