Kharma EXQUISITE MIDI User manual

EXQUISITE GRAND COLLECTION
KHARMA
OWNER’S MANUAL
EXQUISITE MIDI GRAND
EXQUISITE GRAND
EXQUISITE EXTREME GRAND

CONGRATULATIONS
Awaken your senses
You are now a Kharma Loudspeaker owner.
Your new Exquisite loudspeaker system, properly
installed, will give you all the satisfaction and enjoyment
you expect from Kharma. Technically at the fore-front of
current loudspeaker design, the Exquisite will reveal the
full emotional range of music and will do so with vivid
dynamics and detail.
As with any high quality product, special care must be
taken to install and operate your new speakers. Please
read this manual carefully and totally prior to installation.
Important
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert
the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance
(servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product.
CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK,
DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK).
NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.
REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
Important
Warning!
The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within an equilateral
triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of un-insulated
« dangerous voltage » within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient
magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK,
DO NOT EXPOSE THIS PRODUCT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
2 Safety instructions
3 Congratulations
5 Introduction to the Exquisite Collection
6 Part list
7 Unpacking
10 Connection
12 Positioning your loudspeakers
13 Using your Kharma loudspeakers
14 Taking care of your speakers
15 Specifications
16 Warranty
Diamond concave tweeter
The diamond tweeter that is used in the Exquisite series is
a true technological wonder. The tweeter has a diamond
cone which has been realized by the so called CVD
process. With this process incredible stiffness is reached
with a minimum of thickness of only 50 μm. Notice a
human hair is in the range of 17 to 180 μm. The cone is
the most essential part of the tweeter and because this
cone is made of Diamond the tweeter is capable to create
impressively pure high frequencies.
Kharma Omega 7 driver
The midrange of this speaker is formed by our in-house
developed Kharma Omega 7 driver, where the number is
referring to the 7-inch size of this carbon based driver.
The new cone technology used for the Omega 7 driver is
based on Ultra High Modulus carbon fibers, which is the
best fiber available on the globe today. The use of these
ultra stiff carbon fibers and an unique resin displaces the
break-up frequencies of the cone, in comparison with a
standard cone material, to a whole other level. These
increased break-up frequencies ensures the cone is free
from almost all resonances in the intended frequency
range for this midrange driver. Moreover, the cone shape
is optimized with a finite element analysis to utilize the
full potential of the carbon material. This combination of
the best carbon fiber and an optimized cone shape has
resulted in a near perfect behavior for the Kharma
Omega 7 driver.
Kharma Omega 7-F driver
Some of our systems (EXQ-MDGR-3.0-S, EXQ-GR-3.0-S
and EXQ-EXGR-3.0-S are equipped with our exclusive
Kharma Omega 7-F mid range driver. In case of the
EXQ-MDGR-3.0-S also the Omega 11-F woofer.
The F stands for 0-Foucault currents, which is a novelty in
the audio world, because for the first time no iron is used
in the magnet motor-system, avoiding any interaction.
Normally the voice coil induces a Foucault-current into the
iron parts and that current induces back distortion into the
driver-coil which will distort the original signal by definition.
This is now completely gone and the result is a higher
resolution, more micro-dynamics, more macro-dynamics,
faster transients, more richer spectrum of tonal variations
from the music itself, more natural sounding, more
explosive sounding, more realistic sounding.
Nomex-Kevlar driver
The woofers off the Midi Grand Exquisite and the
Grand Exquisite have 11 inch and 12 inch sandwich-
honeycomb-Kevlar cones which also again are completely
free from structure born resonances in the used frequency
range. For the 15 inch driver used in the Extreme Grand
we have developed our own special high modulus carbon
sandwich driver, which has a thickness of no less than
10mm. The optimal ratio of stiffness and weight for this
impressive woofer.
Cabinet
The cabinets of the Grand Collection loudspeakers are
constructed of an array of 40mm thick high pressure
laminate panel.
Crossover
This Exquisite loudspeaker can only achieve astonishing
musicality by using complex crossover techniques, which
can be seen as the beating heart of this loudspeaker.
This complex in-house developed crossover will lead
all drivers to the right music composition. Therefore
the crossover can be seen as an orchestra conductor,
which will have to turn the information received through
the loudspeaker cable into a musical spectacle as if it
was read from a music sheet. Kharma has mastered the
art of retaining musical wholeness with the proprietary
crossover technique used throughout the Exquisite series.
This technique is seldom used by other manufacturers
because of its complexity. This results in a Kharma
crossover where there is simply no gap in information.
Stand
Mechanical residual vibrations of the cabinet are
terminated by the Spike Disk Suspension System (SDSS)
by minimizing the contact area between the cabinet and
the floor. The SDSS stand also provides a fixed and
levelled orientation for the cabinet drivers,
INTRODUCTION TO THE
EXQUISITE GRAND COLLECTION
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PART LIST
Important Please read the manual thoroughly before taking further steps.
Each crate contains:
• Exquisite Loudspeaker
• 4x Spike Disc
• 4x Gold insert piece for stand
• 4x Felt pad
In addition you have also received
• Manual
• Burn-in CD
• Registration form
• Quality Certicate
• Certicate of Authenticity
Opening the crate
Upon opening the crate, inspect the crate carefully for any
sign of transport damage. If there is damage, immediately
call your dealer or the trucking firm that made the delivery.
Do not delay in reporting the damage. Please store the
crates for future use.
Step 1: remove top cover
UNPACKING
6 7

Step 3: Guide the speaker to final position
Step 4: Protect stand
Before tilting the speaker, put a protective foam
on the ground.
Step 2: Unscrew bottom
By unscrewing the crate at the bottom side of the
speaker, a ramp will be created to be able to pull the
speaker out of the crate.
Step 5: Tilt speaker
Tilt the speaker and leave the cart on the ground.
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At the rear of your loudspeaker you will find the high-end
Kharma Connection Terminal. Be sure you use the same
brand, type and length of speaker cable on each channel.
Mixing different types and/or lengths of speaker cable can
upset the precise timing and balance of your speaker.
It’s important to connect your speakers in phase, which
means that the drivers are moving in and out in the same
direction and at the same time, in order to obtain the
best localisation of instruments and voices as well as the
deepest, most natural bass.
Always turn off the power of your entire system before
making connections to your speakers.
Your Kharma loudspeakers can be equipped
with one of the terminals as shown below.
Terminal with switch
In case you only use one pair of amplifiers or one pair of
cables the switch should be set to SW (single wire).
Please contect the cable to the left terminal.
CONNECTION
ImportantImportant You will nd a short wire xed to the connection terminal. This wire is xed to protect the
speaker drivers during transport, make sure to remove this wire before installing your cables.
Please make sure that your oor is protected sufciently.
The spikes can damage your oor.
Step 7: placing the goldplated Kharma logos
Step 6: placing the spike discs
With your speakers a set of felt pads is supplied,
which can be xed to the bottom of the spike
discs. These felt pads are optional. We advise to
use these pads when you have a hard oor, e.g. a
tile oor or a wooden oor.
Push the speakers to one side so the spike disc
can placed under the spikes. Make sure they
are exactly centered underneath the spikes.
The weight of the speaker can easily damage the
surface of the spike disc. Then push the speaker
to the other side carefully to position the other
spike discs.
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In case you are going to use two pairs of cables or two
sets of amplifiers, the switch should be set to BW (bi-wire).
The left terminal will control the tweeter and midrange
driver, the right terminal will control the two woofers.
Please see the scematic view below.
When you want to setup your system with only one set of
loudspeaker cables or amplifiers, you will have to install the
Kharma bridges as indicated in the picture on the right.
For best sound quality we advise to connect the cable to
the mid/high connector.
In case of bi wiring or two amplifiers, please remove the
bridges. The left terminal will control the tweeter and
midrange driver, the right terminal will control the two
woofers.
Terminal with bridges
Important
1) Switch SINGLE WIRE / SINGLE AMP - switch position to the left
2) Switch BI-WIRE / BI-AMP - switch to the right
3) To preserve contact-quality, use switch only in non music/current situation
4) CAUTION! Do not choose SINGLE WIRE / SINGLE AMP in a bi-wire or bi-amp situation
Room Acoustics
A good listening room has just the right amount of reflec-
tion and absorption. The performance of any loudspeaker
depends upon the speaker’s location in the room and the
acoustical conditions in that part of the room. Furnishing,
size and proportions all effect tonal balance, imaging and
bass characteristics.
In order to test the sonic balance of your room, stand in
the location where the loudspeaker will be installed and
clap your hands two or three times. If the room is rever-
berant, you will hear a sharpness or echo. If the room is
dull, the sound of the clap will decay rapidly and there
will be little or no echo. Large areas of glass, mirrors and
wood-paneling will reflect sound waves and often result in
brittleness and extreme brightness.
You can correct this by breaking these sound-waves with
softer surfaces; for instance, draperies or wall hangings.
In general try to create random reflections.
Positioning
We recommend experimenting with loudspeaker
placement in order to obtain the best spectral balance,
openness and perception of depth. For good results,
the loudspeakers should be no closer than 45 cm from
the rear wall with at least 70 cm to the side walls.
The space between the loudspeakers should be free.
Ideally the space should be symmetrical in the area
around your loudspeakers.
Moving the system towards a wall will increase bass level
while generally reducing openness. Moving loudspeakers
too far into the room can result in a “thin” overall presen-
tation with loss of bass foundation. The loudspeakers will
normally work well straight out and not angled toward the
listener for accurate sound staging. The wide dispersion
of the Enigma Veyron loudspeaker makes this possible.
It is easier to carry out room changes before installing the
cone feet which thread into the base.
Many have found the best room position to be along an
undraped longer wall, with the loudspeakers as far apart
as the listener is for them. The stand under your Exquisite
Midi loudspeaker can be adjusted so that the speaker
will not “rock” as you push it from side to side.
POSITIONING YOUR SPEAKERS
12 13

USING YOUR KHARMA SPEAKERS
Advice on cabling
All loudspeakers in the Exquisite range are known for
their uncompromised design to the finest detail. For this
reason there can only be put justice to the quality of the
Exquisite loudspeakers, when the used external cable is
also uncompromised to the highest level. Therefore the
use of the Exquisite cable series - which was especially
designed to match the Exquisite loudspeakers – is
strongly recommended to complement the sound of the
Exquisite loudspeakers.
First of all we use in our external cables the same quality
conductors and isolators as internal. So you get a sonic
match. Furthermore an important reason for using these
cables is that you will get exactly the sound that the
Kharma team had in mind during the development of both
the loudspeaker and the cables.
For the true connoisseurs of musical art, Kharma
offers the possibility to even go one step further by
complementing their Exquisite Loudspeaker with the
Enigma Veyron cable series.
Advice on amplifier
The recommend amplifier for the Grand series is one
of the mono power amplifiers of the Kharma MP1000
Series. There are several reasons why we recommend an
amplifier of the MP1000. First of all it has sufficient power
to drive the Exquisite to its full capacity, allowing you to
drive the system in both small and large spaces.
The amplifiers of the MP1000 Series have an almost
infinite damping factor which allows a very well controlled
bass, which is why even a large Exquisite can be used
in a limited sized room and still fulfil all audiophile wishes.
A tube based power amp would create too much base
in a small room.The second reason is that the system
has been voiced in with the amplifiers of the MP1000
Series during many listening sections. Although during
development we use several top quality brands as
amplifiers to drive our loudspeakers, we optimize the
sound of Kharma with our own amplifiers. This will result in
a system which exactly performs like we want it to.
Use common sense
If you hear distortion or loud “cracking” sounds, the
amplifier or loudspeaker is being overdriven, turn the
volume down immediately.
Burn-in
Your Exquisite loudspeaker system needs quite a bit of
playing time to reach maximum result. The use of a
Burn-in test-CD is recommended to speed up this
process. With a “burn-in” test CD, burning time is reduced
to approximately 50 hours. After burning-in your system,
you can play demagnetizing tracks for maximum clarity.
Your system will then be optimized and sound more open,
more detailed and display more natural musical warmth.
Use a soft cloth and a spray-cleaner to clean the surface.
Be careful not to spray on the grill cloth. Use a slightly
wetted piece of foam to gently rub the cloth of the front
panel. No further care is necessary.
In event of trouble Note that you can use your amplifier’s
two channels of information for simple troubleshooting.
If the sound quality is distorted, listen to each speaker
separately to check if the fault is present in both. If it is,
then the trouble is likely to be elsewhere in your system.
If the fault is in one channel only, reverse the outputs from
your amplifier to the speakers(right-to-left and left-to-right).
If the distortion moves to the other channel, the fault is not
the speaker. This technique may also be used to locate a
fault between the signal source and preamp/receiver
and/or between preamp and power amp(s).
If you have been unsuccessful in locating the specific
source of trouble or if you have located it, but have been
unable to correct it, please consult the Authorized
Kharma-dealer from whom you purchased the system.
Kharma Dealers are audio specialists and can be of great
assistance.
TAKING CARE OF YOUR SPEAKERS
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SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS
The Exquisite Midi Grand is a virtual point-source system, where the double Diamond
tweeters project the image very precise with incredible stage depth, height and width.
The result is a loudspeaker that is capable to portray musical recordings in
their realistic size.
New materials and new techniques gave us the wings to further approach reality as
the absolute reference in the Kharma Exquisite Collection. The far-reaching attention to
detail makes this speaker range a class of its own. This is especially stressed by the
Diamond cones of the tweeters, which is one of so many high-lights that are standard
in the Kharma Exquisite Collection.
System 3.5 Way System
High Drivers 2x 25mm Diamond concave tweeter
Mid Drivers 2x 7-inch Kharma Omega 7 driver
Bass Drivers 2x 11-inch Nomex Kevlar Sandwich
RMS-power 500 Watt
Dynamic power 1000 Watt
Frequency range 24 Hz - 90kHz
Efficiency 91 dB
Maximum SPL 118 dB
Impedance 4 Ohm
Min. Impedance 2,7 Ohm
Dimensions inc. stand
Height 1805 mm / 71.1 inch
Depth 745 mm / 29.3 inch
Width 465 mm / 18.3 inch
System 4-way, Point source symmetrical system
HF Drivers 1x 20mm Diamond concave tweeter
2x 30mm Diamond concave tweeter
Mid Drivers 2x 7-inch Kharma Omega 7 driver
Bass Drivers 2x 11-inch Nomex Kevlar Sandwich
RMS-power 500 Watt
Dynamic power 1000 Watt
Frequency range 20 Hz - 100kHz
Efficiency 92 dB
Maximum SPL 118 dB
Impedance 4 Ohm
Min. Impedance 2,7 Ohm
Dimensions inc. stand
Height 2020 mm / 79.6 inch
Depth 785 mm / 30.9 inch
Width 515 mm / 20.3 inch
EXQUISITE MIDI GRAND EXQUISITE GRAND
465 mm / 18.3 inch
375 mm / 14.8 inch
1805 mm / 71.1 inch
745 mm / 29.3 inch
600 mm / 23.6 inch
515 mm / 20.3 inch
425 mm / 16.7 inch
785 mm / 30.9 inch
2020 mm / 79.5 inch
640 mm / 25.2 inch
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WARRANTY COVERAGE
The Kharma distributor guarantees the proper mechanical
and electrical functioning of its products for a period of
5 years. Provided the warranty request card is properly
filled out and sent to the address on the warranty form,
including a copy of the original bill of sales. Should the
customer fail to meet the three requirements mentioned
above, the warranty will be limited to a period as required
by national law only. In case of malfunction the customer
has to present the Kharma product in its original
packing to an authorized dealer. If qualified service
appears inevitable, the dealer will ship the product to an
appointed service station or to the factory, depending
on the required service. This warranty includes parts and
labour. This warranty is not automatically transferable;
subsequent owners can request a warranty at the factory.
WARRANTY EXCLUSION
1. Transportation damage, visible or hidden. Damage
should be reported immediately to the transport
company. Registration of the complaint should be
sent to the Kharma distributor previously mentioned.
2. Scratches in painted and metal surfaces. Complaints
should be registered at the dealer within three days
after the sale.
3. Damage due to illicit handling and inappropriate use.
4. Transportation costs to service station or factory.
5. Damage through unauthorized repair and or
modification.
6. Subsequent damage to other appliances.
7. Refund of costs in case of unauthorized repair.
8. Malfunctions caused by use for commercial of
professional purposes.
9. All claims on Kharma products obtained through
unauthorized sources, with or without correct serial
numbers.
WARRANTY
Kharma International b.v.
Kalshoven 7 4825 AL Breda The Netherlands
SPECIFICATIONS
The Exquisite Extreme Grand is the first ultra high-end loudspeaker in the world that is totally
driven by composed based drivers. All these composed based drivers are especially
developed by Kharma to realize the first Kharma loudspeaker that is totally driven by in-house
developed drivers. As a result a new loudspeaker, which will once again extend the absolute
end of high-end audio to a level beyond imagination and only has to compete with reality.
System 5-way
HF Drivers 2x 1-inch Diamond concave tweeter
HF/Mid Drivers 2x 4-inch Kharma Omega 7 Driver
Mid Drivers 2x 7-inch Kharma Omega 7 Driver
Bass Drivers 2x 15-inch High Modulus sandwich (10mm thick)
Kharma Composite
RMS-power 1250 Watt
Dynamic power 2500 Watt
Frequency range 18 Hz - 100kHz
Efficiency 92 dB
Maximum SPL 123 dB
Impedance 4 Ohm
Min. Impedance 2 Ohm
Dimensions inc. stand
Height 2220 mm / 87.4 inch
Depth 845 mm / 33.3 inch
Width 550 mm / 21.7 inch
EXQUISITE EXTREME GRAND
550 mm / 21.7 inch
475 mm / 18.7 inch
845 mm / 33.3 inch
2220 mm / 87.4 inch
680 mm / 26.8 inch
Important
It is highly recommended
to operate the Exquisite
Extreme Grand
Limited Edition 25 in a
bi-amped setting, because
of the minimal impedance
of 2 Ohm. A wrong way of
setup can lead to severe
damage to your loudspeakers
or/and ampliers.
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