Напольная акустика — Kharma Elegance DB-11S

The Elegance dB11-S is a three-way floorstander made by Kharma International of Breda in the Netherlands and, at 1288 mm, the tallest of the four Elegance models, which also include the S7, dB7 and dB9. The Elegance line arrived in 2010 as the replacement for the Ceramique range, prompted by a cone technology developed in-house. Unlike the S7 and dB7, the dB11 is built only in Signature form, marked by the -S suffix, and carries the type code EL-dB11-1.1-S.

Key specs that matter

Kharma fits a 1-inch True Beryllium tweeter, a 7-inch Kharma Omega 7 midrange and a pair of 11-inch aluminium woofers. The speaker is rated at 380 W RMS and 760 W program power, quotes a frequency range of 21 Hz to 30 kHz and gives an efficiency of 89 dB at 2.83 V and 1 m. Maximum output is 115 dB SPL, and nominal impedance is 4 ohm. The product page lists 1288 mm in height, 469 mm in width and 794 mm in depth.

Engineering and use context

Where the smaller Elegance cabinets use many layers of highly compressed 35 mm MDF, the dB11-S is made partly from Kharma Bullet Proof Laminate, a very high pressure laminate with a specific density above 1.25 g/cm3 and a special coating. According to Kharma, the laminate adds rigidity compared with earlier building methods, and the coating plus internal damping deal with remaining panel resonance. The polygonal outline is kept from the Ceramique series to give good phase behaviour and a small group delay. In the Omega 7 midrange, Ultra High Modulus carbon fibres are bonded with a proprietary resin, which moves cone break-up higher than in the Kharma Composite Driver of the standard Elegance versions. The Signature package adds heavier acoustic damping, internal wiring with a larger conductor cross-section and a compound that suppresses vibration of the crossover and of the bass pipe on the back plate. The speaker sits on a Spike Disk Suspension System stand of black anodised aluminium with silver discs. Aubergine and Piano Black are the stock finishes, with Burgundy Red, GunSmoke Grey and Pearl White among the optional colours.

Pairing

A switch on the rear terminal sets single-wire or bi-wire operation. In single-wire mode the cable goes to the left connector, while in bi-wire mode the left pair feeds mid and treble and the right pair feeds the woofers, which also permits bi-amping. Kharma names 50 W as the usual minimum and prefers a high-power amplifier, since clipping damage is excluded from the 5-year warranty. The matching Elegance cables use hybrid Silver and Nano-Carbon conductors.

Alternatives

The Kharma Elegance dB9-S is the smaller three-way Elegance floorstander with two 9-inch aluminium woofers and a 250 W RMS rating.