Kharma Mini Exquisite Loudspeaker

Beauty is a Rare Thing

Moving beyond the Gerhard piece described above, the thought, care, expertise, and cost that go into every aspect of the Mini Exquisite pays off with all types of music (though hip-hop, metal, and even Mahler fans might prefer something harder-hitting and deeper-reaching, like the similarly-priced MBL 101 E). A recent New York Times article on Ornette Coleman prompted me to revisit Beauty is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings [Rhino], and oh how this music comes alive on the Mini. From Billy Higgins’ opening snare rolls to the flurry unleashed by Coleman’s alto sax and Don Cherry’s trumpet to Charlie Haden’s brief acoustic bass solo, the hairs on my arms were electrified by the excitement of their music making. The disc also highlighted the Mini’s extraordinary speed and lack of coloration. As in the Gerhard, each instrument sounded distinct and whole and yet connected to the others in my room’s acoustic space. Cherry’s trumpet had the piercing bite of the real thing yet was never shrill, brittle, or bright, and Coleman’s alto sounded much like my friend’s instrument does whenever he and I play music together—with a sweet yet slightly funky tonality that is entirely different from the bigger, throatier, and richer sound of a tenor sax. From bottom to top the Mini simply seemed to step aside in order to let the music speak for itself.

Those who perhaps raised an eyebrow over my above remark about harder-driving stuff should take a few moments to hear the Mini Exquisite with their favorite challenging music to see if the speaker has enough weight and wallop for them. Even at this level, all speakers involve some tradeoff. When you do audition the Minis, also listen to the rewards that powerful amplification bring to their performance. A nominal 8-ohm load, the Mini sounds perfectly lovely with the Kharma MP150 Class D monoblocks I reviewed as part of last issue’s Class D feature. These amps are rated at 100Wpc into the Mini’s load. But a recent spin with MBL’s 440 watt-per-side 9007 monoblock provided an entirely different experience (not to mention a four-times-as-costly one: $6800 the pair v. $26,600). The point is, if you want to hear Nine Inch Nails with the torso-slamming impact of the live event, or the classic Klemperer performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 [EMI] in all its heaven-shaking glory, then you’ll want to drive the Mini with plenty of gas. Even in my 11' x 13' x 9' room, the difference in the speaker’s performance with each amplifier was substantial. And though the Mini delivers a thrilling experience—check out that Mahler, with its beyond-wall-to-wall soundscape of seemingly limitless depth, remarkably easy and lifelike dynamic capability (talk about “bloom!”), and meltingly gorgeous delivery of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf ’s ethereal soprano—if you feast regularly on the big stuff, the Mini’s lack of the deepest bass for the organ that rides the symphony’s huge climax or ever-so-slightly smaller than life soundstage may leave you wanting a larger, if less elegant, model.

For me, though, it’s pretty simple. Kharma’s Mini Exquisite floats my boat like no other. But I must emphasize that the only reason to consider owning a pair of Mini Exquisites—assuming you’re privileged enough to have this kind of money to spend on a stereo system (’cause the rest of the rig is going to be just as expensive)—is not the costly materials and techniques that go into making each pair, or van Oosterum’s smart and Zen-like approach to speaker design, but if—and only if—the Mini floats your boat like no other. And the only way to know is by listening to a pair for yourself TAS