Hi, I'm considering buying three Karma 8 kits for my home theater (left, center, right). I currently own a couple sets of Zaph audio ZA5.2's and I'm curious if the Karma will be able to match the sound quality, mainly in the midrange. I know they are very different speakers, but I'm wondering if anyone can comment. I figure they should be up to par. I don't feel the Zaph kit is anything amazing, but I like them and hope the Karma can keep up for SQ. Would the Alpha 8 kit be a substantial increase in sound quality, or does it mostly just get louder then the Karma? Also, I've sent a couple emails via the contact page on this site (about shipping the kits to Canada, etc), no replies after 4 days now. Is it broken or something? I see the site author was posting in the forum yesterday. Thanks guys for your time, looking forward to building these kits ASAP and posting the results here.
That's a really tricky question you're asking. They're quite different designs. It kind of depends on what features of sound quality matter to you. The zaph design will dig deeper and could be listened to full range and only miss the very bottom bass. The Fusion 8 will play louder easier and cleaner. Have better horizontal performance. The zaph might be more point source and get to 20+kHz. They're both great designs.
Sorry if you did not get a quick reply this forum is still light on traffic and I forgot to swing through the past 2 days. Like Tux said these are very different designs with very different goals and will likely sound well very different. I don't think you will find the SQ lacking when used for home theater though the extra dynamics over the ZA5.2's will be quite noticeable. The alpha-8 uses a better CD and woofer, SQ, bass extension and output are improved on that model. There should be a revised Karma-8 available soon that uses the same waveguide and enclosure of the Alpha-8. Sound quality and sensitivity is also slightly better in that revision. I am not sure where Erich is at on those
Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated. I guess I should clarify that I'm mainly concerned with the midrange performance vs my Zaph speaker, I'm hoping the Karma can match it. I know the bass extension is not the same but that's no problem at all. I'm still trying to decide if I should spend the extra and get the Alpha kit over the Karma. I wish I knew how much better SQ they might have, I'm mostly concerned with midrange clarity. If you could quantify it, would you guys say the Alpha is, say, 10% better? If this is the case, I think the Karma will do fine for me. If the Alpha is substantially better in the mids and highs I might spend the extra. Either design will have plenty of bass and volume output for my needs, so I'm not concerned with that comparison. I'm still waiting for an email back about the shipping quote for my order to Canada as well. Edit: I didn't even notice the Fusion 8 kit as well, now I don't know which to choose!
Well there really is no way to tell without listening to both, I know the midrange will sound different but that is about all I can know for sure. One thing I will say is I like the midrange on these waveguide speakers more then the low efficiency hi-fi designs I have built the past. The extra dynamics and headroom seem to bring out more clarity in vocals especially when listening to very dynamic material. I sure don't feel like it was a downgrade in midrange SQ at all. It is hard to put a number on how much better the Alpha is, I might say 30-40%. The entire range feels cleaner sounding then the Karma-8 aka MTG-08 design, the updated Karma-8 v2.0 that is not yet available closes the gap some. Jeff Bagby did the Fusion-8 design and that is another excellent choice as well, uses the better CD too.
Thanks mtg90. I have heard similar pro sound designs to these and I have to say I also like they way they sound better than the hi fi designs. If the Alpha really is that much of an improvement in SQ over the Karma, I think I may go with those instead. I'm open to others opinions here as well, it's a fair bit more money and I hope it would be justified I'll just have to wait to hear back from my email on the shipping quote and then I'll place my order. I know shipping to Canada probably won't be cheap, but I can't get anything like these kits here. It seems hifi type kits are everywhere, and no one else is selling pro sound kits like these. I'm glad someone finally is!
I just received the Karma-8's and will hopefully get them up and running this weekend. I can then report back on midrange performance once their up and running if you're still interested? Did you ever decide on a kit? Scott
Nice! Were you able to get the flat packs for the boxes as well or are you going to build them yourself?
I'm going to be building my own boxes. I'm building the back with 45 degree bevels so they'll fit sideways in the corners between wall and ceiling. Hoping to get them all up and running this weekend! Scott
Looking forward to hearing your impressions. I'm eager to order a pair myself, but I can't cut wood so I waiting to see what the flat pack situation is. Keep us posted on your build.