Atlanta Audiophile Society
Super Bowl Sunday
(January 25, 1998)
Atlanta Audio Society
Style
By
Philip E. Abbate
Our presenters,
Trevor DeMaat and Elina Dobin came a long
distance for our pleasure. Elina Dobin of LAMM
Audio came from my home town, Brooklyn New York,
where she and husband Vladimir Shushurin --
LAMM's chief designer -- manufacture the product
line. Trevor came from Washington DC where he
imports the Dutch designed and manufactured
Kharma line of speakers. Monica and I greeted
them at our home around 4 PM on Saturday the day
before the gathering . It took them 10 hours to
drive down from DC which was good time
considering that they were hauling a jeep full of
equipment and a small U-Haul trailer. Trevor and
Elina are seasoned showsters not willing to leave
anything to chance. They had everything required
to set up an "A" system for us in case
I was derelict in my facilitating duties.
Since there was
still a few hours of daylight left my wife Monica
decided I should give them a cook's tour of
Atlanta. Our first stop was Audio Solutions in
Dunwoody (http://www.audiosolutions.com) to pick up the Theta
Miles one piece CD player to be used as a source
for the system. I purposely drove them the back
way through Berkeley Lake and down Spalding and
Mt. Vernon to impress them with the country side
and the homes. Elina was particularly enchanted
with the estates enthusiastically snapping away
with her camera and contrasting Atlanta with
Russia. Elina and Trevor were taken back with the
cold here and were puzzled about why it was not a
lot warmer being the "south" and all.
Monica described the hot muggy summer weather as
being what the south is all about and praised
central air conditioning crediting it with the
growth of Atlanta. Monica asked Elina if she had
air conditioning in Russia. Elina explained that
where she grew up, there was no air
conditioning...and the citizens (or comrades) did
not even know that such things existed. They did
have stereo though and mother Russia lost the
best designer of audio gear they had when her
husband Vladimir immigrated to the USA.
Vladimir's designs were one of the few profitable
products manufactured under the communist regime,
only because they sounded so good, people
actually wanted to buy them. Our next stop was
little five points where we had some espresso and
stopped off at criminal records to see what we
could find in the used section. I then discovered
that Trevor and I shared some musical taste and
also enjoyed finding deals on used CD's. We drove
back to Duluth and went to Thai Diner where we
found out that the term "Dutch Treat"
was not invented in Holland. Elina is pretty
quick and within seconds she helped us convince
Trevor that it meant that he was buying since he
was from Holland. We stopped at the package store
and bought some of my favorite beer, Blue Moon
Belgian White and then returned to our house. I
have to admit, there was a reason that I
volunteered to help John Morrison, President of
the AAS by picking up the Theta Miles CD player
from Audio Solutions and taking it to the
gathering on Sunday. It was because I wanted to
hear it in my system.
I was a little
embarrassed to let these audiophiles see my
modest system, but they were kind and we focused
on the music. During our listening and talking, I
mentioned that the Super Bowl may affect the
attendance. Both were oblivious to the Super
Bowl. I began to explain how the two football
leagues play one another etc, when Trevor
interrupted me with, " which game is
football?" After a short explanation both
grasped it as the game on TV where they tackle
one another, "a more tamed version of
Rugby" Trevor commented. Elina decided to
call and have them cancel the Super Bowl as to
assure it would not interfere with our meeting. I
let her know that out of the 30 or so members I
called, most of them knew what the Super Bowl was
but did not know when it was. Or should I say 90
members missed out on the best gathering and
sound we have had yet.
We played some of
my music and some of theirs over my system and
then Elina noticed that he had one of the songs I
played off Vinx, Rooms in My Fathers House
on one of the recordable CD's made for her by
Purist Audio to use as demo material. She found
the disk and we put it on the Miles and both
Trevor and Elina were shocked to hear a narrowing
and shallowing of the sound stage. They were both
in the sweet spot (my listening room is 27 feet
long so there are two rows of seats each with a
sweet spot) and both heard it and looked at one
another. I was off axis and I thought I heard a
level difference, Elina's being louder than the
original. Either way, I anxiously await Elina's
explanation of the difference. Once Monica and
Elina decided to retire, the real audio and ale
consumption started.
The real fun began
when we got to the Hellenic Center and began to
unload and set up the system. The few die hard
active members, that showed up at 11 AM to help
unload the 553 pound Kharma Exquisite
loudspeakers, were in for a treat. Great
equipment is essential for great sound. If it is
set up wrong, it does not matter how good it is ,
it will not sound it's best. We put the system in
the room and moved it several times over,
listening to the change in the sound as we
progressed. This was an educational experience
for some and a nerve pincher for others but all
in all much fun was had and we did a lot of
listening. The sound was simply the best we have
ever had in that room. I say that without
qualification since I have only been with the
society for less than two years, but everyone I
talked to even Chuck Bruce who has been with the
society since it's inception agreed.
A
diverse group of members and guests enjoyed an
afternoon of "Kharma"
I am going to end
my story here because there were several AAS
members taking pictures, interviewing Trevor and
Elina, going over the equipment and spec sheets
and talking about writing something for the
journal. I am sure that their reviews will be
better than mine because I am really not into the
nuts and bolts of the equipment or the detail of
the configuration or the model numbers etc.
Thanks Trevor and Elina for your time and effort,
we'all appreciate it and look forward to having
you visit us again.
I have just
one final question. Who won the Super Bowl?
SUNDAY
- JANUARY 25, 1998
Reports
by Chuck Bruce & Mike Masztal
The
Program featured: Kharma's "Exquisite
Reference 1A" Loudspeakers & LAMM's L-1
tube hybrid preamp & a pair of M1.1 100w
class 'A' tube hybrid power amps. We also
featured the equally phenomenal Theta Miles
integrated CD player among other interesting
components, cables & accessories. Read on, we
had a lot of fun...
These phenomenal
loudspeakers from Holland rated some of the best
sound at past Hi-Fi & WCES Shows did not
disappoint, neither did the electronics. The
Kharma's feature space age ceramic midrange
drivers imported from Germany and exotic polymer
cabinetry weighing in at 600 lbs. per cabinet.
Hybrid SS & Tube fans appreciated the equally
impressive amplifiers by Vladimir Shushurin
formally of Russia. The LAMM's were ably
presented by Ms. Elina Dobin (Vladimir's spouse
who enjoys the piano and is heavily engaged in
the business) and is one of audio's most
knowledgeable women. The Kharma's were presented
by Trevor de Maat, US importer of Kharma &
OLS loudspeakers, an equally knowledgeable
presenter. This very successful and enjoyable
program included a lot of excellent music
listening will serve as the new benchmark for the
Audio Society programs and truly represents world
class equipment and accessories offering
unmatched synergy, plus smooth, quick and without
a hitch set-up. Despite the heavy-weight of the
loudspeakers and a host of other equipment that
were encased in wood shipping crates, plus cables
and accessories, our set-up group of 4 or 5 able
hands had the complete system up-and-running in
around an hour, with minimum tweaking afterward!
And what about the sound? Truly remarkable, some
of the best "goosebumps" ever raised as
the any variety of music presented was recreated
with uncanny accuracy and timbre. The soundstage
with the better recordings was near 3-D. This
with solid, tight bass response to 30Hz from
these 3-way floor stander's. No subwoofers need
here. There was an obvious synergy at work here
with the loudspeakers, electronics & Purest
Audio Design fluid filled interconnect and
loudspeaker cables. And to quote many of the
attendees: "The best driver integration yet
heard". Even hard core and rarely impressed
loudspeaker builders among us were querying
Trevor about the crossover design (which is
encapsulated & proprietary). The LAMM
electronics have been heard by a number of our
members including myself at several past shows,
and they always sound good with every loudspeaker
they've been paired. I don't think I've ever seen
our group so attentive for so long... Valued at
approximately $85,000 this ensemble was probably
the most costly, visually appealing and
heavyweight audio only ensemble ever assembled
for our programs. Yet, in this case and unlike
some past and costly ensembles seen and heard,
the performance to at least the well heeled -
matched the cost. All to often price and
performance don't match. Suffice to say in my
opinion, the 32+ attendee's unanimously agreed
that we enjoyed the finest sound ever achieved in
our meeting room and maintained the rapt
attention with few breaks from around noon -to-
6:00 PM. Few attendees bolted for the door on
this Superbowl day. Quite an accomplishment from
this normally restless crew!!! Hats off to Kharma
& Lamm and their long drive from Brooklyn, NY
and Maryland. Also thanks to the equipment
re-pack team that stayed late and lent a hand to
the by now weary Trevor & Elina. Hank Henley,
Phil Muse, Phil and Monica Abbate and John
Morrison... Our usual auction featured
interconnects from Esoteric Audio, and an
assortment of CDs including some donated by; JVC
XRCDs, Pope Music, Reference Recordings, Dr. Phil
Muse, Dr. John Cooledge and others. Many
attendees went home smiling with some valuable
prizes. Proceeds from these Raffles help sustain
our non-profit treasury and augment our modest
dues to cover our many costs. It requires
approximately $3,000 per year to run the club.
All of our officers and program committee
associates are unpaid volunteers. Items donated
to the Raffle by individuals & corporations
are most appreciated.
More
Kharma --- Dr. Mike Masztal's comprehensive
account of the Kharma & Lamm program...
Atlanta
audiophiles who were able to break away from the
Superbowl pre-game hype and attend the AAS
meeting were treated to a pleasant surprise.
Elina Dobin from LAMM Industries, Inc., and
Trevor from Kharma/OLS (manufactured in Holland)
demonstrated their fine products in a session
that will be the topic for conversation for some
months to come. In spite of the "Big
Game", there were about 30 people in
attendance with many visitors. Having experienced
listening to their products at CES where LAMM and
Kharma shared a room, I was pleased they took the
time to visit our group. LAMM brought down their
$6990 L1 hybrid preamp and a pair of the $7945/ea
M1.1 hybrid power amps. Kharma had their flagship
$54,995 Exquisite Reference 1A loudspeakers.
Digital front end was a combination of Theta
Miles (on loan with thanks to Ed Scruggs from
Audio Solutions) and a CEC TL2 CD Drive and
Kharma KDA 1000 DAC. Interconnects were Purist
Audio Design and power cords were from DH Labs.
Digital components and preamp were on a Target B4
stand. The front end components were placed on
Black Diamond cones, amps and speakers were
placed on the ceramic DH Labs cones. The
construction of the Kharma Exquisite is quite
unique and deserving an explanation. The cabinet
is not a simple 6 sided box, but what is
essentially a solid 600 lb piece of wood with
chambers for each driver carved out of the block.
The cabinet is assembled by epoxy-gluing 14
pieces of laminated wood together. The
orientation of the sheets of wood is as if one
were looking at the panels from the side. Prior
to the gluing process, each piece is precision
machined with cutouts that will become the driver
chambers once assembly is done. Trevor stated
this design makes for an acoustically dead,
non-resonant cabinet. The front baffle slopes
backward to allow for correct time-alignment. The
drivers include a tweeter and woofer from Focal
and the ceramic midrange form Ceramique. The LAMM
amplifier exude quality in their construction
quality with no money wasted on frivolous
cosmetics. We talked Elina into 'popping the
hood' to the amp and preamp. Both components are
constructed on a heavy gauge chassis with high
quality internal parts from Dale, ALPS,
Roderstein, Electrocube and Cornell-Dubilier
being used. The wiring resembled what one would
see in a military spec product. The amplifier
uses a single military grade 6992 in the driver
stage with high speed MOSFETs providing the power
(100w pure Class A into 8 or 4 ohms) with no
overall feedback. A bias setting switch on the
back of the amp allows for switching between 1-6
Ohm or 8-16 Ohm speakers. The amps weigh in at a
hefty 65 lbs. The L1 preamp shows the same
quality parts and construction as the amplifier.
Tube complement includes one 12AX7, one 6C19pi,
and one 5651. All stages run in a single ended
Class A mode. A unique combination of tubes and
MOSFETs allow for large output swings without
loss of first of second harmonics. A variety of
music was heard during the three hour meeting.
Despite the less than ideal acoustics of the
Hellenic Center, the system produced a large deep
soundstage with excellent harmonic structure.
Bass was authoritative without being thick or
boomy. Everyone appeared quite attentive during
the music segment.
Many thanks to
everyone who made this program possible...
M1.2
Reference
