Merlin VSM-M or VSM-MX vs. Kharma CRM3.2 series

Bobby, that's a very interesting response.A while back I heard a very well respected horn manufacturer's speaker that was playing a demo of a drum set. At first listen, I was struck by how amazingly like a real drum set they sounded..Then the manufacturer played various other pieces; to everyone's dismay the speakers just totally fell apart and in fact their sound was enough to drive myself and several others out of the room.
While I am not a musician by profession, I do play several instruments and have the opportunity to play live and then listen to the reproduced. One thing that I am fairly certain you will agree with is that when one hears a live instrument it is instantly recognizable as such. The reproduced sound seems to me to be also just as recognizable;and IMHO they are light years apart. The example of the sax player is interesting, maybe it is impossible to reproduce a sax so that one knows immediately that one is hearing a 'live'sax and at the same time have any chance of reproducing say a violin or piano so that again the same would hold true.
You are right, I truly love music and I am hoping that one day my system will be a little more towards what I perceive as sounding more like a real live 'unamplified'
sound.
Perhaps one of my problems is that I have a very high expectation of what I would like to hear from a true 'high-end' system.

I have heard many Kharma's (more than you thougt) from 1999 and the last one i heard was last month at 2004 CES

I heard the 3.2 with focal at least 4 times in a different set up and room. (Haven't heard the Diamond,though)

I had talked and listened with Charles in San Fransisco 2003 when he had the 3.2 in his room.

If soft dome and 3.5" mid made my ears hot,what do you want me to expect from focal and 7" mid ?

Infact,the 3.5" mids were doing better job than 7" to me in the 500Hz-up area.
Top of the line and higher price is not always better !!

Many or most people prefer the Tennor Hybrid over the OTL,but not all.

Think about it !!

I meant this month : Jan

You said...
Top of the line and higher price is not always better !!

I never said that. I said the 3.2 is levels above the 1.0. musically.

audio999....I have thought about it. We agree to disagree. It is okay to not like what you hear. I don't want your ears to get hot listening to Kharma's as you say.

I really like what I hear as my system gets me closer to the music. The Tenor/Kharma is a wonderful match. Closer to the music for me.

That is what it is all about, right? :^)

Daveyf I can really relate to what you are saying there are many music enthusiasts that feel as you do. I remember well when I heard my first "hi end" system beyond what I felt was the pinnacle of reproduced sound at the time. I was swept away not because it sounded like live but it preserved much of what I hear in live music. Since that time I have come to realize that although the reproduction of music has improved, it still doesn't sound live regardless of the components used. There are many music enthusiasts that recognize this and don't even bother with hi-end systems feeling spending the money on such gear isn't worth it. All you can do is find the gear that gives you enjoyment and try to stay away from the "live" comparison. Having said that I guess what I like about the Merlins is that in many of the aspects I find important in reproduced they excel, dynamics, tonality, space between instruments and immediacy, things that remind me more of live. The imaging, soundstaging aspect which they also excel at are decidely less important to me in a real sense but a characteristic of reproduced sound that we have come to expect from our audio systems. Again it comes down to choices and priorities. Thanks Bobby for your very lucid explanation, well said!