Mini/II vs. Extrema vs. CRM 3.2
celo -- Wed, 01/09/2008 - 04:30
I am curious to know if anybody can compare the Magico Mini/2 to Sonus Faber Extrema and/or to Extrema to Kharma CRM 3.2. For me price/performance is very important. I purchased my Extremas at a reasonable price (used of course) so they are even a better value in my book. I assume Mr. Valin can talk about these three speakers and I trust his opinions, even more so after his review for the MG 1.6QRs back in 1998 (I used to own the 1.6s too, great speakers). I also read the old debate/thread about the justification of Minis $20K price under Class D amp discussion. Someone who gave a rave review to MG 1.6s although they were under $1500 makes me think that price/performance is important for him too.
I am also curious to know why this board is so quite :)
celo wrote:I am curious to know if anybody can compare the Magico Mini/2 to Sonus Faber Extrema and/or to Extrema to Kharma CRM 3.2. . Before buying the Mini 2, I auditioned many speakers very thoroughly, including Kharma 3.2FE and the new SF Guarneri Memento. The Extrema I heard briefly, and it would be like the Guarneri's little brother.
The Guarneri and Kharma 3.2 great sounding speakers by any normal measure. I had narrowed my choice to these two. However, I could still hear their signature colourations. Although quite pleasant, they do get in the way of transparency if you listen critically. I was almost going to shell out for the Kharma 3.2 when I heard the Mini.
Although much more costly, I got the Mini because its absence of colouration was in a totally different class from any other speaker.
But the Kharma and SF Guarneri are also very enjoyable in their own right, and offer substantial savings compared to the Mini
The reason why this board has been so quiet is that we were all off at the CES! I just got back yesterday afternoon.
To answer your original question, celo, I can't comment on the SF Extrema, as I've never heard it, but I know the Kharma CRM 3.2 very well, as it was my dynamic-loudspeaker reference for several years. In fact, I know most of the Kharma line fairly well and just heard Kharma's newest (and, I think, most neutral) speaker, the $82k Exquisite Gallileo, at CES. (The Gallileo is essentially a CRM 3.2.2 that has been given the "Exquisite" treatment. On the basis of a short listen, I think it may be quite special.)
The Mini 2, which is my current dynamic reference, simply sounds more like the real thing on more music than any other cone speaker I've yet heard or tested. Part of the reason is its sensational reproduction of inner detail, part is the way it disappears as a sound source thanks to its standard-settingly low levels of box, driver, and crossover coloration, part is its astounding dynamic range, part is its newfound bass extension, and part is Alon Wolf, who seems to know more about how to build a great dynamic loudspeaker than almost anyone else. (The only other guys I'm familiar with who build cone speakers that can compete with his are Charles von Oosterum of Kharma, Andrew Jones of TAD, Franco Serblin of SF, and Andy Payor of Rockport.) For my complete thoughts on the Mini 2, see my review of the speaker in Issue 179 of TAS.
The Kharma CRM 3.2 is also a very high-resolution, very high-fidelity loudspeaker, with a bit fuller midbass than the Mini II (thanks to a very well designed and executed port) and soundstaging and imaging that are as good as that of the Mini 2. However, the CRM 3.2 is also a bit less neutral in balance than the Mini 2, meaning that, by comparison, you hear the sound of its enclosure and its drivers more clearly than you do those of the Mini 2, and it is not as dynamic in the bass, midband, or treble as the Mini 2. I don't think anyone would call the CRM 3.2 a highly "colored" speaker; it is just a bit warmer, more inherently luscious, a bit less invisible, a bit more "present" as a sound source than the Mini 2. It is also a sizeable bit less expensive, which makes it a very fine bargain in a world-class two-way.
I was thinking about the CES but it had been two days after the show. Well, I am in EU so, it was actually only one day after CES for USA when I posted my second message. I did not realize that until now. That's where I made the mistake posting that. Good old CES, I miss going there. It was so much fun.
Anyway, thank you very much for your responses. I will listen to the CRM 3.2s and hopefully the Mini 2s. It sounds like those are really incredible though, it is very expensive. I hope I don't like them as much as you do :)
Thanks again to both.
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