Sonus Faber vrs Magnepan

Any Signum owners out there? I've noticed that different SFs sound different (odd how that works eh?). They are said to be mostly warm, romantic sounding speakers but I did some extended listening to the Cremona Auditors and found them actually a little tense. Maybe too much treble info for my tastes. I like the initial attack but also the full body of the note with it. I've found some speakers excell at transients and initial attacks and give lots of info about the type of intrument being played, studio/hall size and set up, etc. I had this experience with the Merlin TSM MXs and was never able to relax into the fullness of music; never really got a sense of expression. However, they sure did tell me a lot about where musicians were standing and even sometimes the kind of floor they stood on! This is not my cup of tea.

I like a balanced sound in which a tenor sax sounds like itself and not an alto. I didn't get that with the Cremona (and I'm sure the Linn amp/pre-amp didn't help) but did with the SF Concertino Domus. I wonder how the Signums compare to the Cremonas or even the Concertino Domuses (Domi?). I know the prices are quite different but they are all stand mounters.

Tomryan, I own the Signum's and Sonus Faber Extrema's. When the Signum's are in the system I drive them with a VAC Ren. 30/30 MKIII amp (32W with 300B tubes). When the Extrema's are in the system I drive them with Lamm M2.1 monoblock amps (200W).

All I can say is that although the Extrema's are the better speaker, after a year of trying to dial them in I know I am not there yet.

The Signum system, on the other hand, has magic and I wouldn't change a thing. The Signum's imaging is better defined, they are very musical and the midrange shines like few others! These speakers are more equipment friendly and easier to set up and go.

My impression of the Auditors was similar to yours-I auditioned them at a dealer with SS equipment. The Auditors were very detailed and extended on the high end, but not as engaging as the Signums.

The best thing I can say about the Signums is that although the Extrema's were purchased to replace them, I have not had the strenght to sell them.

In a larger room (my room is 14' x 17'x 9'), and at louder listening levels then I enjoy, this might shift in favor of the Extrema and other speakers.

Dovetail,

I have an 11 x 13.5 room with 8ft ceiling. Since the Signums are rear ported (and I would only be able to have the rear of speaker 2ft from wall behind it) do you think they'd fit?

Also, I received an e-mail from a former Signum owner who said he found them to have an upper midrange glare that caused him to have to sell. Based on 4-5 SF models I've heard, this sounds odd. I've also found that upper midrange glare is often caused by amps (especially tubes amps, and I am a tube person) or interfaces btw amps and speakers. Any experience about this?

Tomryan,
I never had a problem with the Signum's upper midrange. It could be that certain equipment and cabling brings this out. With the VAC Ren. 30/30 the midrange was lush- strings, vocals and acoustic music are wonderful on these speakers.

The Signums are small two way monitors so I think your room size is fine. The speaker can work 2 feet in front of the wall which should help reinforce the upper bass and lower midrange. I like to set them up 7 feet apart and toed in so that they are aimed 1 foot behind your head. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Tomryan,

Upper glare can also be casued by dirty current. Changing the wall outlet to a shunyata outlet in my system removed a considerable amount of glare from the highs. I also use powerconditioning and upgraded powercords and they help a lot.

best of luck with the new speakers.