Kharma Midi vs. Sonus Faber Stradivari Amati

*I would definitely choose Stradivari over Amati.

*"Musical" presentation: difficult point. What do you mean by "musical"?
IF, on the warm side of neutral, yes the Strads could be that vs the Kharma -- remember the drive units on the Kharma are hard-coned (ceramic) while the Strads' Audio technology & Scans are softer-coned. In theory, the Kharma unit should distort less than the Strad unit; in practise the Strad's drive unit is excellent... In theory, the Kharma should be somewhat more detailed and strident. In practise it sounds just fine and the Strad reproduces just as much detail...

Really, Treemed, if you like the Strads just go for it. If you wait too long, you'll find another rare review for another rave product printed soon :^) Even more confusing!
Cheers

Gregm
did you listen the Anniversarios?

have a nice weekend.

did you listen the Anniversarios

Yes -- but only briefly at a dealer. Powered by YBA Passion (the small stereo).
They seemed to have a leaner lower midrange than their homage brothers (i.e. truer, more realistic -- I don't mean lacking). Also seemed to be more extended on either end of the spectrum (esp. low end) with more articulation. The mid driver is probably a Audio technology & the tweet a Scan; the homage have a scan mid & vifa tweet, I think.

It looks very good, as you'd expect. I listened to classical on it.

I think Greg hit the nail on the head. I've heard both (I owned the Midi Equisites), and I thought the Stradivari was more musically engaging. The Kharma, IMO, is much more hifi-ish in its presentation. It's more extended on top, and the bass is a little faster, but that diamond tweeter can sound a little strident at times. If you want to enjoy every single recording you have--good, bad, or ugly--go with the Stradivari. If you want to eke out the last iota of detail from your recordings, and want the ultimate in transparency, then maybe the Kharma is a better fit. Depends entirely on your priorities. Both are world-class.

If you had the Strads in your system and loved what they do, if it were me, I'd go with them as they are a proven commodity. As a Kharma owner, (the big Exquisites 1 D.E-ds - not the Midis), I obviously like my Kharmas. However, I have heard the Strads and they were wonderful. Hooper and I are buddies who agree to disagree - that is, I don't think Kharmas are "hifi-ish" in any way. I also don't agree that the diamond tweeter is strident at all - rather, it needs to be fed good amplification to take advantage of its incredible resolution and frequency extension.

However, I have heard the Midis a number of times with the same associated gear I use and, at least TO ME, the Midis didn't sound as good as every one claims they do. I listened to them extensively one weekend and then compared them to my bigger Exauisites and it wasn't even close IMHO. The Midis sounded closed in, veiled, small and unexciting compared to the big Exquisites.

Just my $.02 FWIW.