Kharma Elegance dB9-Signature
The Kharma Elegance dB9-Signature delivers authoritative bass, crisp dynamics and a generously scaled soundstage from an elegant three-way cabinet. Jeff Fritz found its long instrumental decays, clear dense midrange and lively beryllium treble especially convincing, creating a richly substantial presentation that makes large-scale music feel vividly alive.
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Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
91/100
Build Quality
91/100
Value for Money
77/100
Pros
Authoritative, room-energizing bass reaches roughly 30Hz in-room and reproduces bass instruments with impressive fullness.
Large, immersive soundstage extends beyond the cabinets in both width and depth, with clearly resolved reverberation.
Crisp transients and strong dynamic range give the compact-looking cabinet unusually robust, meaty scale.
Impressive fit and finish, with a substantial damped cabinet and Signature-model solid-silver internal wiring.
Cons
Bass-forward balance can overwhelm some rooms, making careful placement important.
Not as overtly transparent or intensely precise as some high-end rivals.
Premium pricing limits value, as the review notes excellent sound is available for less.
Binding posts accept spade connectors only, not banana plugs.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 91/100
The Elegance dB9-Signature is described as dynamic, substantial and highly detailed, with a room-filling scale that exceeds expectations for its dimensions. Its presentation favors weight and musical robustness over the ultra-explicit, intensely analytical precision associated with some rivals.
Bass
93/100
The dual 9-inch woofers energized a large listening room with ease and delivered roughly 30Hz output with real authority. Bass instruments were reproduced fully and convincingly, though the reviewer noted a slightly bass-forward tonal balance.
Mid
89/100
The midrange is reported as clear, dense and revealing, with plenty of information retrieved from high-resolution recordings. Vocals came across as forthright and substantial, although the bass had slightly more prominence in the overall balance.
Treble
90/100
The beryllium tweeter was judged airy, lively and capable of clear, faithful high-frequency detail, including delicate bell tones. It was not considered the airiest treble the reviewer had heard, but it remained refined enough to reward very good source material.
Soundstage Imaging
92/100
The speakers produced a large stage extending beyond the cabinets in both width and depth. They also resolved the trailing reverberation of percussion clearly, helping recorded spaces sound convincing and well developed.
Dynamics
93/100
Transient attacks were described as startlingly crisp, and the speakers followed wide dynamic swings with ease. The reviewer repeatedly characterized the presentation as dynamic and meaty, with scale that belied the cabinet size.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
91/100
The review found the fit and finish impressive, with no visible evidence of poor workmanship. The cabinet uses 35mm MDF and internal damping, while the Signature version adds solid-silver internal wiring; the only practical limitation noted is that its terminals accept spades rather than banana plugs.
Value for Money
77/100
At $37,500 per pair, the dB9-Signature occupies a demanding luxury segment. Although its performance was strongly admired, the reviewer explicitly felt that similarly great sound could be obtained for less money, tempering its appeal as a value proposition.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
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Specifications
- Type
- EL-dB9-1.1-S
- System
- 3-way
- RMS power
- 250 Watt
- Program power
- 500 Watt
- Frequency range
- 26 Hz - 30 kHz
- Nominal impedance
- 4 Ohm
- Efficiency 2.83V/1m
- 89 dB
- Maximum SPL
- 113 dB
- High frequency
- 1x 1-inch True Beryllium tweeter
- Mid frequency
- 1x 7-inch Kharma Omega 7 driver
- Low frequency
- 2x 9-inch Aluminium woofer
- Height
- 1041 mm / 40.98 inch
- Width
- 410 mm / 16.14 inch
- Depth
- 606 mm / 23.86 inch
Manufacturer's Description — Kharma
Introduction
The Elegance dB9-Signature is the three-way system of the Elegance Collection. The shape of the cabinet is fully functional to the way the sound develops from the loudspeakers. The materials used increase the neutrality of the cabinet and the sound presentation, giving a very impressive detailed bass, which can be expected from a loudspeaker of this size.
In combination with the in-house developed Kharma Omega-7 driver as the midrange, the Elegance dB9-Signature becomes a class of its own. Where ultra high resolution in the midrange depict many layers and sound colors like in an excellent wine, where the complexity of the whole history of making this particular wine, can be tasted in a moment.
Detailed trimming
Every detail counts.
Therefore Kharma paid attention to not only technological details, but also aesthetical details. The trimming of the Elegance speakers has been designed with purpose and aligned with detail. These details can be found on every surface of the speaker, the front, the side and the back, and gives the Elegance speakers the finishing touch they deserve. The Elegance series have standard Silver trimming details, but can be produced with several different colour options.
Cabinet colors
A Kharma product should not only have an unbelievable refined sound, but should also have an astonishing finish to compete with the musicality of the system. Therefore Kharma has developed two programs to be able to fulfill all levels of customization.
Primary Stock Program
This program has been targeted as to create the shortest possible delivery time for the official Kharma products. This program is therefore based on the most popular Kharma finishes, Aubergine and Piano Black.
Kharma Optionary Program
The visual tuning in the Optionary Program will give the customer the opportunity to choose between special selected Kharma colours. These colours have a higher level of customization and therefore the delivery time is different than a Stock Program colour.
Verified Dealers
Online Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Kharma Elegance dB9-Signature
- Ajasom — online and in-store — Amadora, Lisboa, Portugal (website)
- Alen Audio — in-store — Extramurs, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (website)
- Audio Gallery — online and in-store — Las Rozas de Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (website)
- Bliss Acoustics — in-store — Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Contrado Audio — online and in-store — Nieuwleusen, Overijssel, Netherlands (website)
- Elite Audio Systems — in-store — San Francisco, California, United States (website)
- Metafi AUdio — in-store — Tualatin, Oregon, United States (website)
- Musical Artisans — in-store — Skokie, Illinois, United States (website)
- Presence Audio — in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
- SOUND & COLORS/GT AUDIO — in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
and 4 more verified dealers