dipping my toe into the ddk flow.....

[Mike Lavigne]

i've known David Karmeli since 2001 when he sold me Kharma Exquisite 1D's as the then new Kharma N.A. Distributor. loved those speakers and grew to respect David for his depth of knowledge and experience in the hobby. he is one of the sharpest high end audio guys i know.

over the last few years I'd read and heard about Steve's, Marty's, Ron's and Ked's visit to Utah to hear David's shrine of 50's horns and tt's. i had determined to visit David and hear the magic for myself if i found myself in Las Vegas with a free day.

so in January i did have occasion to have a business trip planned to LV for mid February with a free day. i contacted David and set up the time. then my dear wife found out she needed Hip Replacement surgery on February 1st. so i had to wait until i knew she would be ok by herself before i knew for sure i could go. which did work out......and Wednesday morning at 9am i left my hotel to drive the 200+ miles to David's place in Cedar City, Utah.....knowing i had to be back at my Hotel for a 7pm business dinner.

my agenda for this visit was nothing as deep and investigative as Ked's. i would only be at David's for the afternoon, and i wanted to simply experience this perspective on the hobby and enjoy the magic of David's system. as i flew back this afternoon from LV and was at work then for a few hours, I'm now pretty exhausted. but i figured i would post some pictures tonight and then add more comments tomorrow......but at least get the ball rolling before too much time had gone by.

Siemens Bioner Horns

 

[Mike Lavigne]

these (sub)woofers are JBL 460's which are 70's vintage. they sit behind the big Siemens Bioner Horns. my perception in my time listening is that they do seem to blend quite effectively. i did not listen without them so it's hard to comment on their contribution. maybe David can comment or link previous relevant comments.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Cool read/visit mike , i m curious to Read if the bionors made you change your opinion regarding horns

 

[RogerD]

Simply beautiful Mike. I have room downstairs and I am hoping to get something similar soon,god willing. I have 3 VAC Renaissance amps and a preamp. I have always loved horns since I was a teenager....Congrats on hearing such fine horns.

 

[Steve williams]

I'm glad you made the trip Mike. It opens a part of this hobby that I never had any idea existed to the extent that David has in his sound room

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Cool read/visit mike , i m curious to Read if the bionors made you change your opinion regarding horns

I heard these Siemens Bioner horns at CES in 2002 when David first acquired them.......and they were very special then too. I'd say my view of horns has not changed fundamentally.....no. but do I have deeper appreciation for what they can do at their best? sure. when the music plays to the strength of exactly the right horn in exactly the right context it mainlines the music in a unique way. i'll have more to say along these lines when I get some rest.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

some very special turntables.......

 

[Mike Lavigne]

the American Sound tt....

 

[Mike Lavigne]

and......the AF1.....

 

[NorthStar]

It is fascinating, David's listening room*. It's like a lost continent found, and you start spinning the time machine. Absolutely fascinating!

* Just looking from the photos.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Very Nice ,although A couple of nicely refurbished vintage taperecorders would fit right in

 

[Ron Resnick]

It is wonderful that you visited, Mike!

I am very excited that we will be making the same pilgrimage in March!

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Very Nice ,although A couple of nicely refurbished taperorders would fit right in

David has a 'few' RTR decks in one of his storage rooms. when he talks about these rooms he kinda cringes knowing the work it will take to wade into them and sort out all the stuff. he is only using a fraction of the records he has right now. i can tell David is a little tempted by tape and what it could do in his system. however; the tt's he has cut to the bone the musical truth likely rivaling tape. so in one sense he is missing little in that equation.

i think maybe if David did get into tape it might allow him to get into some classic rock which can be amazing on tape and (possibly) is less musically satisfying on vinyl.

 

[JackD201]

Hi Mike

How many hours was the drive time from LV?

Jack

 

[DaveyF]

Interesting thread. I wonder if your impressions will be similar to mine when I visited the Deja Vu west store and was listening to the original Western Electric gear with the large antique horn speakers, etc....see here: http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?22488-What-s-old-is-new-again-or-is-it-Tone-above-all

 

[bonzo75]

Cool read/visit mike , i m curious to Read if the bionors made you change your opinion regarding horns

Bionors and WE might have some similar characteristics, Yamamura very different (and made much later), and Trios, Anima, Acapella, Cessaro extremely different from each other. Stats are very similar to each other, ribbon panels maybe a bit similar in the mids driven by the same amps, cones are next similar, horns not all, so there is no generic category for horns. It is possible to not like most horns but have 1 or 2 as your dream speaker

 

[audioguy]

I owned horns a long time ago. And in my opinion, what they do well, they do as well (or maybe better) than the very best I have ever heard. I remember the Avantegarde Horns playing some female vocals at past CES's. SCARY real!!

Thanks for the photos. Bet that was a fun system to listen to.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Hi Mike

How many hours was the drive time from LV?

Jack

half the way the speed limit is 75, and the rest of the way it's 80......and I went 5-7mph over that. so 2 hours and 15-20 minutes each way for 204 miles. light to no traffic, beautiful scenery in a southwest USA kind of desolate way. not a stressful drive at all for 400+ miles (but I like to drive). I had perfect sunshine......which you would get most of the time. and getting out of and into the Las Vegas strip was no hassle at all (stayed at the Mandarin Oriental, rented a 16' (or 17') MB 300C.....nice car for that drive, did it on one tank with some spare).

 

[JackD201]

Thanks Mike. The scenery and pace you describe sounds like a good drive to me. Normally I like driving in Europe but not in the US where I'm going straight for very long stretches.

 

[ddk]

More than anything I love the social side of this hobby and get togethers like this brings it all home for me. I've known Mike for a very long time we're old friends and comrades but never really spent any one on one time together I'm grateful for his visit a great time! Thanks Mike !

david