Kharma CRM 3.2F vs. Avalon Eidolon and Diamond

Hello Fmpnd, may I ask that you list the Accuphase, Levinson, and Wadia's CDP models that you listened in your system. Thank you very much

Regards

I haven't followed this thread for a while but if Audiogo2000 is still following it, the front ends I had through my doors for audition were:

Accuphase DP85

Levinson 31.5 and 390S and

Wadia 860

Well this is what makes the world go round. The best tweet I have heard so far would have to be the Raven 2.0.

Best regards,
D911

Although I live in the Netherlands I have no experience with the Kharma but I own Avalon Eidolons for 2.5 years.
The woofer of the Eidolons is very laid back, stiff, somewhat reticent : you need a big amplifier to diminish the reticent/dull character. I have a Spectral 250 power amplifier which is very open, fast but the authority is missing.
I tried a Pass 250.5 briefly and even this small Pass amplifier has more authority at low frequencies.
But the Pass gives a dryer ambiance and is less smooth and is somewhat static. I think that I prefer the Pass for big classical orchestras and the Spectral for vocal and jazz.
I heard that diamonds have the same woofer but with a stronger motor which is 2 dB more efficient. Total efficiency remains the same (87 dB/1 Watt) however.
Furthermore placement is critical: I prefer different distances to the backwall for classical and pop: if the distance is one inch to much the sound becomes too thin (midbas) for classical and if the distance is one inch less I get too much bas with pop music.

I own Eidolon for almost nine years since it was introduced to the market. It is highly sensitive to placement and room accoustic. I remembered, for once, changing my backdrop curtain - a slight more thicker fabric, and the sound got suck up so seriously. It is also that sensitive to placement, even up to a slight move. With proper placement and the best electronics components you can feed, it never sounds thin to me. I have enough bass, deep and extended. The mids and reproduction of human voices are spooky and neither sounded thin to me ( a strong evidence to rebut mediocre mid bass of a ported design). It is so highly sensitive provided if only you hit the right "sweet" spot in term of right combination of components, placement and room accoutic, you would never able to exploit its full potential performance. When it comes to this level of performance, I believe it is more of a personal taste and choice. So, sorry to say that, it is absurb for someone to put so much negative comments to these speakers without hearing one with better setup.