Dealer Profile
Karma AV
Tockwith, North Yorkshire, UK
| Key Information & Statistics | |
| Owners | Ian Severs, John Bestall and Tom Severs |
| Opened | 2011 |
| HARMAN Brands Supported |
JBL Synthesis and Revel |
The HARMAN Luxury Audio Group is proud to have some of the best high-end consumer electronics partners across the globe. Each month, we have the pleasure of learning a little bit more about one of our partners. This time we spoke with Ian Severs at Karma AV, a HARMAN Luxury Audio distributor in Tockwith, North Yorkshire, UK.
How long have you been in business?
Karma AV — 11 years, prior to that a further 22 years (JBL Synthesis since 2004) when we worked at another company.
How many locations do you have?
One. Our office, demonstration/training rooms, warehouse (with deep JBL Synthesis and Revel CI stock) and the demo systems are all based in Tockwith, North Yorkshire, UK.
How did Karma AV get its start?
Many of the team were from a sales agency in the late 1980s which then became a distributor in the early 1990s. Personally, my first job in the industry was with HARMAN UK in 1983. Then soon afterwards there was some agency work with HARMAN UK. We handled Lexicon at its peak in Home Cinema in the 1990s then via Lexicon we took on JBL Synthesis around 2003, shortly afterwards we took on full distribution for the HARMAN Luxury Brands for the UK.
How many people are on the Karma AV team?
There are eight people on the team (including an on-site service engineer) covering marketing, sales, accounts, tech support, logistics and service. The team has over 230 years combined experience in the industry.
Thoughts on the importance of training?
Has always played an important part in our business both in store/on- site and in our own in-house facilities from the very early years of home cinema in the 1990s, then developing into home theatre as we know it today.
What do you like most about HARMAN Luxury Audio products and which lines do you feature?
They are long established, and JBL Synthesis has an unrivalled Hollywood/cinema history and background. (Now we only carry JBL Synthesis and Revel CI products as the ARCAM team were given the other brands to carry in the retail sector in early 2018.)
What we like about JBL Synthesis is the remarkable performance, sensible range spread and turnkey system approach, giving our dealers and installers a highly flexible offering in terms of systems designed to really deliver an astonishing level of performance in many different room sizes and settings. Linked to this the continual drive to add and improve products, taking feedback from distributors and the market to adapt and develop further.
How do you think the luxury audio industry is currently doing?
We feel it is performing well, particularly considering the impact of the world pandemic. Customers are seeing value in improving and upgrading their existing systems, together with new “converts” who by default had to spend more time at home and have invested in A/V systems. An important key for growth is moving first-time customers from their soundbars, headphones and smart speakers into the world of mid-level then higher end products.
What is Karma AV’s mission?
We are not a fan of often somewhat predictable and obvious “mission statements.” However, we do believe very strongly that it is our responsibility to both our customers and our industry to offer the best sounding, highest value, most reliable and flexible solutions for our own dealers and installers, therefore allowing them to do the same for their own clients. If we find a better solution or variation on a regular system offering that improves the result, then we believe that we should always use it and not just stick with a “formulated easy fix” or “one-size-fits-all” approach.
You have the floor. Anything else you want to share with us about Karma AV that you would like the world to know?
We have two great JBL Synthesis Demo Rooms.
JBL Synthesis System for Smaller Rooms
Shows what can be achieved in a room 20 x 11 feet.
SDR35 AV Receiver (now 8K SDR38)
SDA7200 7-Channel Amplifier
SA1000 Subwoofer Amp
3 x SCL6 LCR
4 x SCL7 Surrounds
4 x SCL8 Heights
2 x SSW4 in wall twin 8-inch Subs
JVC Projector
Ultimate Screens 8-ft. acoustically transparent screen, with all speakers behind the screen.
JBL Synthesis Large Demo Cinema
Recently featured in Home Cinema Plus magazine, this is the cinema in our main demo room that’s 27 x 34 feet.
SDP75 24-Channel Processor
4600 Amp x 3 in bridged mode running
3 x SCL1 speakers Front Left, Right Centre all bi-amped
8300 x 2:
1 amp running SCL4 x 6 for sides and rear channels
1 amp running SCL5 x 6 for height channels
MA4D x 4 in bridged mode each running a SSW1 sub all bi-amped
JVC N9 Projector
Cinema Build Systems Acoustically Transparent 5m Ultimate Screen
Inakustik Speaker Cables
Camira Blazer Lite Wall Fabric and Tracking System
Cinema Build Systems Lights
A labour of love by the team at Karma!