I have a set of Monster Sigma Retro RCA that are so nuetral that I do not like them. For sale if anyone is interested. |
Tomryan I speak only for Cremona floorstander and the biggest mismatch was the cardas speaker cables the golden ref. IC was just inferior to the others |
Damn, I've got Golden Reference interconnects and TG Audio speaker wires. The Gold Ref have always sounded the most neutral of any cables I've owned. There is a Sonus Faber dealer nearby and he has Cremona Auditors in stcok. I'll go check them out. |
Tomryan
the cardas was not good with Cremonas. They where: Golden Reference cd to pre, neutral ref. pre-to amp and neutral ref. speaker cables. All others combination with Siltech,Virtual Dynamics,NBS,Nirvana, where a lot lot better, with Nordost so and so. It ends up with Siltech IC's and NBS speaker cables. Fabulous was with all Virtual Dynamics Master Series, but couldn't afford it. Next step is to test (someday) the Siltech 110 G5 Speaker cables.....but there's no rush. |
Kops, I'm not sure of what you are saying. The combination of Cardas (which line of Cardas was it?) and Cremonas was bad sounding? Or was it good? By the way, how easy are the Cremonas to drive?
I have to agree there may be some prejudice against SF, kind of like a good looking woman people automatically think is shallow or not too bright. |
I think the reference was to the concertinos and concertos being on sale here. I think a big reason for that is they hold their resale value very well ie... you can make a buck if you find a dealer or a friend selling them below retail or used below dealer cost. I have to agree with Kops I think when it comes to SF there does seem to be some generalizations or stereotypes. SF seems like one of those brands people for some reason seem to want to find a fault in. I think it is because of the luxurious cabinet. |
Dear Tomryan,
right now there are 2pairs of Cremona floorstanders in the whole Audiogon classifieds. I don't think it's a significant sample.
But my point is other, take care the system synergy and see your hi-fi-end adventure as a whole system with the right ingredients and tuning, room also.
For example when I had Cardas speaker cables on Cremona , the whole universe was booming in my house, it wasn't the right for them so simple. Experiment first and then judge it.
The Cremona line will please all the musiclovers IMHO and if you take care of it it will please a lot all the others too IMHO. |
I have heard the Cremonas at a local dealer and they sound beautifully musical. They don't have any Concertos or Concertinas but I sure do see a lot of these speakers for sale on the site here. |
and who can judge accuracy between this or that ? It all depends on the WHOLE system.
I hear Sonus don't have accuracy.......a friend of mine with Dali big Euphonia with twin 8" woofers , came to my house and left impressed for how clean and dynamic my Cremonas where with the twin 6.5" woofers. We both never heard in his system (which has very good electronics) so powerfull bass and slam. So......let's not generalize so easy.
btw the new Grand piano is very good and the program was the oldboy ost and dreamtheater and not just violins or guitars. |
I have owned the Concertinos, Concertos, and Grand Pianos Home edition. I now use a First Sound Pre Amp, Cary Amp, Sim Audio Eclipse CD. Most of the time I had all three of these speakers I was between equipment and owned only a Pioneer Elite Reciever. It was the top of the line reciever but still that was all I had. It was enough to sell me on this brand then and today I am trying to choose between the new Grand Pianos which are a three way and the new Cremonas. While to me they are more musical than accurate it is neither of those qualities that I find the most appealing. To me they have that X factor that goes beyond a good sound and great looking cabinet and really draws you in and interacts with you. I have heard some speakers that honestly were a better product and I would still choose my Grand Pianos over them because they lacked personality. I sum it up like this. I would rather go to a restauraunt that had great food and a great ambiance than one with pefect food that lacked personality. Sonus Faber just has a lot of charisma to me. |
I have owned both the Concertinos and Concertos. I had such great results with the Concertinos I mistakenly upgraded to the Concertos just looking for a fuller sound. This ended up being a mistake. The Concertinos are truly a wonderful speaker and are capable of some real magic when properly paired. ( I was using an Electrocompaniet ECI-3 and a Sony XA7ES for my source via a Balanced Connection)
I ended up selling my Concertos and now own Grand Pianos and could not be more happy. They remind me more of the Concertinos but a much bigger version of them. As far as harsh and grainy, I have NEVER heard a Sonus Faber speaker sound that way. Must be a terrible match of equipment. The Concertinos are a wonderful speaker. Good luck!
Chris |
I have listened to both speakers in different demo setups and was strongly considering the Concertinos a few years back. Very musical and involving (more so than the Concertos IMO), pleasant, nonfatiqueing sound. Not the last word in resolution though. I believe they are less sensitive to the faults of the front end and amps than a lot of their competition, which can be very important if your system tends to by harsh, grainy, bright etc.
Good luck |
I have a 7.1 system composed of Concerto mains and center and Concertinos (Walls, the wall mounted version of the Concertino) with a REL Stadium III sub. powered by a B&K 507. My basis for comparison is a 2 channel Mark Levinson, WATT/Puppy 7 system. While obviously not in the same league as that system, the Sonus Faber system is extremely musical, easy to listen too, no fatigue and an extremely good value. Consider that the entire 7.1 system is approx. the cost of the WP7s. |
Look for a pair of Sonus Faber Extrema speakers. They will end your search. |
I owned the Concertino years ago, and was considering the Concerto before I bought the Concertino. The Concerto was a bit more explosive, more detailed, and had better bass, but I couldn't afford it at the time, so I got the Concertino. The Concertino was a very nice speaker--warm, relaxed-sounding, decently detailed, good soundstager. I sold it because I thought it wasn't dynamic or detailed enough for my tastes. Beutiful speaker, though, and if you can find one for a good price, you definitely could do a helluva lot worse. |
The whole Sonus Faber line are beautiful looking speakers for sure! I've never heard the Operas, but they look like fine furniture as well.
When I got my Concertinos at the beginning of 2001 I couldn't believe they were just $995. On looks and construction alone I thought they should be more expensive. At the time I was considering the Vienna Acoustic Haydn as well, which were also gorgeous, but I preferred the more open sound [in my system] of the Sonus Fabers.
During that year I was able to do a head-to-head comparison with a pair of Concertos at a friend's house. This was in 2001 so it was before the HOME versions were released. I thought as a whole big brother and little brother sounded very similar except that the Concertos sounded fuller and could be driven harder with less strain. Otherwise, I was happy that I'd spent half of what a new pair of Concertos would have cost. I didn't think they were twice as good as the Concertinos.
Although I've gained much more experience since then and I've become a pickier listener, I've always strived for a balance between musicality and accuracy. My memory of the Sonus Fabers is that they were more on the musical side than accurate. They had an organic, almost 'woody" sound to them. With the Concertinos I was using a Simaudio Moon I-5 and Electrocompaniet ECI-3 at the time and a Blue Circle BC21/BC22 combo a little later.
I eventually switched to ProAcs which also straddle that musical/accurate demarcation, but in a different way from the Sonus Fabers. The Concertinos created a large soundfield, but I felt my ProAc Tablette 50 Signatures had a much more holographic and precise presentation while still sounding warm.
One thing I was always impressed with was that the Concertinos needed very little maintenance to keep them looking beautiful. I never oiled the wood or leather and they always looked brand new. I did however as I always do with monitors is put pillowcase covers over them when not in use. Since the leather wraps under the bottoms of the speaker as well, I never used kneaded erasers [I prefer them to Blu-Tak which mars finishes] under them on my speaker stands. Unlike my ProAcs which need more care, the undersides of the Sonus Fabers showed absolutely no sign they'd been on stands. The AudioGoner I sold them to remarked how he and his wife thought they were beautiful and even looked brand new.
Overall they are warm sounding speakers with a nice tone, but even then they can sound slightly bright under less than optimal conditions. I was surprised to hear a set of Concertos sound bright when driven with Conrad Johnson and McCormack electronics, but I'm convinced that had to do with poor room acoustics, because my Concertinos didn't sound right there either.
If I ever were to get a pair again I'd also grab a set of adjustable Sonus Faber walnut stands which look super neato and elegant too.
Have fun!
Dean |
