Franco Serblin Ktema Speakers Any opinion ?

Harris4crna said:
I am a owner of the magnificent FS Ktema. i have had a pair for over a year. Bought them in Italy, but now live in California. To date, i have not heard a better unique sounding speaker. Franco took pride in clean dynamic sound. Listen to any old FS Sonus Faber and you will hear the Ktema sound, but add seperation. The rear firing subs really spread the dynamic sound field. They love power. I had a simaudio 600i integrated trying to power these beauties, no luck. Had to move up to seperates to get the response i wanted. These speakers will be buried with me. Any questions, let me know. In the area, come listen.
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Wow...thank you for post. Wish i can hear them sometime. Thanks again
 
Harris4crna said:
I am a owner of the magnificent FS Ktema. i have had a pair for over a year. Bought them in Italy, but now live in California. To date, i have not heard a better unique sounding speaker. Franco took pride in clean dynamic sound. Listen to any old FS Sonus Faber and you will hear the Ktema sound, but add seperation. The rear firing subs really spread the dynamic sound field. They love power. I had a simaudio 600i integrated trying to power these beauties, no luck. Had to move up to seperates to get the response i wanted. These speakers will be buried with me. Any questions, let me know. In the area, come listen.
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Thanks for the confirmation. I heard them in Zurich 2-3 years ago and they were spectacular.
 
I found a great match for the Ktemas. Class A sound from The Accuphase A-70. Love to hear about great matching solutions for the Ktemas. Trying to keep this thread going.


Harris4crna. Accuphase A-70 class a amp and C-3850 preamp. Franco Serblin Ktema speakers. VPI Classic 1 TT with Simaudio 810LP phono stage and VPI SDS. Transparent Reference Speaker cable and IC. Quadraspire racks and much more.
 
Harris4crna said:
I found a great match for the Ktemas. Class A sound from The Accuphase A-70. Love to hear about great matching solutions for the Ktemas. Trying to keep this thread going.


Harris4crna. Accuphase A-70 class a amp and C-3850 preamp. Franco Serblin Ktema speakers. VPI Classic 1 TT with Simaudio 810LP phono stage and VPI SDS. Transparent Reference Speaker cable and IC. Quadraspire racks and much more.
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What a terrific system, bravo!

Ken
 
Alpinist said:
What a terrific system, bravo!

Ken
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Totally agree, would love to hear the Ktemas with Accuphase, shame I'm in another country. I am on the search for new speakers eventually & the Ktemas may well be them.
 
Bzr, i cannot recommend the Ktema more. I have had them for over two years now and i cannot find anything bad about them except the US price. Definitely worth a trip to Italy to get them at the fraction of the cost. Yeah, get over to Japan come on over. Unfortunately i cannot even play them to their capability due to living an apartment. With the Accuphase i am able to play them at low levels and still fully enjoy the Ktemas. Could not do so with the Moon gear.


Harris4crna. Accuphase A-70 class a amp and C-3850 preamp. Franco Serblin Ktema speakers. VPI Classic 1 TT with Simaudio 810LP phono stage and VPI SDS. Transparent Reference Speaker cable and IC. Quadraspire racks and much more.
 
I also own a pair of Ktema's, which I think are very nice-a major upgrade from my previous B&W 802 Diamonds. I recently added a Berkeley Reference DAC and now want to upgrade my preamp/amp (currently Classe SSP-800/CA-5200). Since I will be creating a 2-Ch system within my 5.1-Ch system, I need a preamp with HT or other source bypass input. At present, I am considering the Luxman c/m-900u, Hegel P30/H30 and the Ayre KX-R/VX-R Twenty. I cannot consider tubes or probably even Class A amps b/c my gear is in a cabinet that has limited ventilation, although I probably lean toward a warmer, richer SQ. Any thoughts about how these components would pair with the Ktema's? Other thoughts about optimal pre/amplification for the Ktema's? In case you haven't had a chance to audition it, the Berkeley Ref DAC is a very clean and neutral DAC, so all the timbral and other sound qualities will be in the preamp/amp.
Thx for your consideration.
 
rtrautner said:
I also own a pair of Ktema's, which I think are very nice-a major upgrade from my previous B&W 802 Diamonds. I recently added a Berkeley Reference DAC and now want to upgrade my preamp/amp (currently Classe SSP-800/CA-5200). Since I will be creating a 2-Ch system within my 5.1-Ch system, I need a preamp with HT or other source bypass input. At present, I am considering the Luxman c/m-900u, Hegel P30/H30 and the Ayre KX-R/VX-R Twenty. I cannot consider tubes or probably even Class A amps b/c my gear is in a cabinet that has limited ventilation, although I probably lean toward a warmer, richer SQ. Any thoughts about how these components would pair with the Ktema's? Other thoughts about optimal pre/amplification for the Ktema's? In case you haven't had a chance to audition it, the Berkeley Ref DAC is a very clean and neutral DAC, so all the timbral and other sound qualities will be in the preamp/amp.
Thx for your consideration.
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I've had an audition of a KX-R VX-R non Twenty combo with Ktema, it just sounded fantastic. I seriously considered that speaker when it was time to make a purchase.
 
I am owner of the Ktemas and had exactly the set up you speak of. I personally used the Simaudio 740p for pre and the 840a for amp. The 740p does have a bypass option and fits nicely in the cabinet. I will take a pic for your viewing. Great speakers huh? My Ktemas are going to the grave with me.
34aa67bf67026f7b88ea5e540226d87a.jpg



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Yeah, the Ktema's are sweet indeed. How would you characterize the particular sonic characteristics when driven by the Simaudio?
 
I used the Sim gear for over a year with the Ktemas. I would say the sound is detailed, dynamic and clean. Not in your face, but more a "back of the orchestra" sound. Allows you to sit back and listen from the audience versus the stage if that makes any sense. 740p worked well with my NAD surround sound receiver. I am currently no longer using the sim gear with the Ktemas. I live in Japan and chose to go with a class A sound which I found to really make the Ktemas sing, but if in your situation I would have stuck with the Sim gear.


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Thx for your thoughts. The best compromise for me may be class A/AB. I'll definitely given the Simaudio a listen.
 
Let me know what you think. If you decide you like the Sim let me know. Mine are just sitting in a box taking up space.


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Kev...Yes I have an opinion.

I think the Franco Serblin Ktemas are beautiful loudspeakers with a typical old Sonus Faber voice and finish. They have a wonderful holographic midrange and go down really low thanks to their 9" internal woofers and side vented ports.

The last time I listened to these speakers, I was not overly captivated because they sounded disconnected. I blame the initial setup and source material for this. The speakers themselves were not broken in and neither were the electronics. Plus the wiring could have been better. I listened to some music I knew and I know from past experience the Ktema can do magic when setup correctly.

Nevertheless, the demo here you present would be a good buy. They are new but they already demonstrate the classic Sonus Faber sound with bass to boot.

Yes, they are akin to the Stradivari with more bass in the Ktema arsenal. If I were to choose between these and Stradivari, I would choose these. If I were to choose between these and Lilium, I would choose Ktema because I think Lilium are an engineering mistake. I have not yet heard the new Sonus Faber positioned below the Lilium which would correspond to the SRRP overseas price point of the Ktema.

These are a loudspeaker that you can have for life but placement is important. Given that McIntosh and Sonus Faber are a great match, Ktema would probably be even better.

My rig easily outperformed this demo rig but that is an unfair conclusion on the day. Ktema potential was heard and I have heard their magic perform exceptionally well in Europe.

They are not as tall as I remembered either.

Pic of my most recent demo:


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Kev...Now I am curious about that table in your pic....How does the Reed perform? I don't really know anything about Reed tables to be frank...but it looks a beauty!
 
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