Sonus Faber V's Sonus Faber

Lawyerman,

Until you have a chance to hear Amati/Cremona/Guarneri driven by Tenor vs. Extrema driven by the best solid state amp, you have no clue what you are talking about.

I have owned them all for years, have you?

Before you insult someone, you need to do your homework.

I have heard both Semi. The Extremas are hands down winners verse the Cremona speakers.

Currently I own both Extremas and Stradivarius speakers. In the past I've owned the Amati and Guarneri speakers. This is the last time I will say this. Amati & Guarneri speakers are very good but not in the same league. Sonus Faber released Stradivarius speakers to make a statement for that type of design.

Sonus Faber has already made there statement with the Extrema speakers. Still up to this date there has been no speaker that actually replaced the Extrema's performance.

The Extremas are simply the best speakers that Sonus Faber ever designed. Now system compatible is very imprortant. And it sells Semi does not know what he is talking about with set ups of the Extremas.

The Extrema speakers were never replaced by another speaker in the line when it came to statement performance from a monitor speaker.

I love both Extrema speakers and Stradivarius speakers. And find it insulting when someone who says Cremona speakers are better than Extremas. That is a big joke statement.

Sorry to say the Cremona speakers are not in the same class.

Mfslgoldcd,

Since you have owned them all, you know very well Extrema is a dry sounding speaker due to the tweeter. I have spoken with Dynaudio NA (Al Philippele) in length about their Esotar tweeter when I owned C5 in the past, they openly admitted Esotar T-330D used in Extrema and many other was very dated (introduced in the mid 80s') and slow sounding. The huge amount of ferrofluid used to cool the tweeter slows the speed. Yes, it can take 1000 watt in transit which is needed for recording studio that plays at 100 db all day long and reaches 110+ db in loud passage, but that design also becomes its fatal flaw when compares to modern dome tweeters not to mention ribbon. As a result, Esotar 2 employs smaller rear chamber to increase its top end extension at the expense of lower freq extension. Bob of Merlin decided to stick to Esotar 1 for that exact reason since he is making 2 way speakers and can't crossover woofer any higher in freq and still go to 30 Hz. He told me that verbally.

And as Branimir mentioned, Franco also perceived the shortcoming of its old design and moved to much higher efficiency drivers for all of his new speakers. I have also read in Taiwan audio publication an interview of Franco claiming the same thing. So if Franco is deaf, his Stradivarius should suck big time since Stradivarius is his cumulation of experience from past 20+ years.

I am not saying Cremona is perfect. What I am claiming is Cremona, given its higher sensitivity, can make beautiful music with modest tube amp and create a magical illusion that can't be matched by Extrema. Extrema is a speaker designed to wake up at loud volume, try playing it at 80 db and see what you can/cannot hear.

There are two camps of audiophile for everything - amp, speaker, etc. I belong to the camp that without tubes, there is no music. If I can use a small tube amp to create beautiful music, I don't mind Cremona's top end being not as refined nor as textured, low bass not as detail, etc.

Extrema and Stradivarius are on the two totem poles of Sonus Faber design. If you agree Stradivarius is a fine speaker, how can you claim Extrema is the best ever came from Sonus Faber?

Semi.
The Extrema from a design perspective is one of the best speakers ever. Plus remember the Extrema is a monitor design that can truely fill a large room.

You made some valid points Semi. So we are mending the fence.

In laymen terms these are the points I am trying to incorporate without insulting anyone.

The Stradivarius is top of the food chain for full range design.

The Extrema is top of the food chain for monitor design.

I am torn between the two speakers owning both of them currently. Both are great but in there own ways. The Extrema is a special design and feel that it has the most accurate highs and natural mid vocals you'll ever hear from a speaker. The only drawback if you can call it one. Is that the Extrema is definitely difficult to drive to reach it's potential. But at this level it's all worth taking the time out and matching the equipment to the speaker.

It is a matter of opinion with the tubes. Tubes are warm and can be rewarding. But solid state can deliver a lot of advantages over tuber if set up and matched with synergy. I personally feel that the Extremas reach a higher potential with pure class A mono blocks than triode tube amps. Don't want this to be an issue of tubes vs solid state. This is a debate and fact that the Extremas are great speakers. And are head & shoulders above the Cremona speakers. Remember these Extremas were $14K with stands back in 1992. Today dollars you are easily over $20K. Not to say price is everything but Sonus Faber knows what they are doing.

The Cremona speakers have there place. But when compared to either the Extremas or Stradivarius speakers they can not compete overal. Remember compare apples with apples.

In my opinion the Stradivarius is the best full range speaker. The Extremas are the best monitors. Now overall when listening to Blue Note Jazz Lps or CDs, believe it or not I prefer the Extremas over the Stradivarius. Stradivarius has more bottom end over the Extrema. But when it comes to lush midrange, vocal and super smooth highs I prefer the Extremas. So overall as a speaker I feel the Extremas are the best in Sonus Fabers designs. A lot of Extrema owners will agree.

10, 20 yrs down the line people will be searching for Extremas. Honestly I cannot say that about the Cremonas. Time will prove that I am correct as they are harder to find.

I am done on this topic.

Semi, what amplifiers are you driving the Extremas with? If you have heard them driven by amps like the CAT JL-3 (or even JL-2), if you like tubes, and the Gryphon Antileons, your perception of the Extremas may well change.
To really enjoy the full potential of the Extremas, a lot of attention must be given to the proper set-up of these speakers.