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Sonus Faber Cremonas or JM lab Diva

I am thinking of buying either the Sonus Faber Cremona Floor Standers, or the JM Labs Divas for my home theater and initially to be used for my two channel. I have actually never heard either, but I like the lower end models by both except the JM Labs 907be which I was not crazy about. I will admit I got the green light to do this from my wife because of the way they look, so I think that choosing between the two is something I can live with, even though I know there are more choices out there. I love the Grand Pianos which I own, nd like the concertos which I have owned in the past. The Novas and the Altos are something special but I have never heard the Divas. I of course plan to audition both, but I would like to hear some opinions of other people. I will use the following equipment

First Sound Pre amp (Deluxe)

Cary v12r (intially not the monos, but I will move to them soon)

Balanced Audio Tech Super Tube CD or Sim Audio eclipse not decided. I would like to go with the Balanced but I am scared it would sound muddy.

I have also considered the Audes Orpheus.

I have even had someone suggest using two JM Labs LR's

Any thoughts?

Ted
tedmcq
jamnesta
155 posts
 
Ted,
You may want to consider using 2 v12's... refer to Cary's web sight on verticle bi-amping. You can run one channel in ultralinear set at 4 ohms for the woofers, and the mid/tweeters set for triode at 8 ohms! One amp for each channel, hence "verticle bi-amping". If this sounds as interesting to you as it does to me it would require a speaker with bi-amp/bi-wire capabilities with 2 sets of speaker terminals. In the article Dennis Had claims this outperforms the mono's. Just a thought!
John
Disclaimer: I have no experience with tubes or Cary amps...just came across the article and thought it sounded like a great idea! Anyone else?
tedmcq OP
20 posts
 
That is actaully the long term plan at the moment. It is what I wanted to do to begin with, but budget constaints kept from doing it. The above comments take into consideration of having only one system. I would eventually like a two channel system in a seperate listening room which I think is acheiveable now that my wife and I have moved into an office outside of the home (we both worked from home for different companies) so there is an open space, plus a garage that we hope to one day close in. Of course this is all wishful thinking and many years away. Right now I have to have one system do home theater and two channel, or I should say one rack hold all the components.
the_kid's avatar
the_kid
465 posts
 
Tedmcq,

Nice choice in speakers and direction. I have owned several JM Lab speakers in the past as well as three pairs of Sonus Faber speakers. I presently own the Grand Pianos and purchased them as really a stepping stone to the Cremonas.

However, my results have been so fantastic with the Grand Pianos, my upgrade path is just not so urgent. I would say you really need to give a listen to each speaker. If it were me, I would purchase the Cremonas without hesitation.

The JMs do have tha Magic in presentation especially when powered by Tube Gear. However, I listen to a lot of music that is not recording perfectly. The Sonus Fabers seem to make everthing enjoyable which I have found is NOT the case with the JMs I have owned.

Please don't get me wrong. I am not bashing the JMs by any means. They are wonderful speakers. I just think the Cremonas are awful hard to beat. Good Luck to you and congrats on your purchase of either or.

Chris
tedmcq OP
20 posts
 
Chris In all honesty I feel the exact same way. I really was a little disappointed with the facts that the JM Labs did not out perform the Grand Pianos in my opinion. I was not disappointed in the JM Labs, I think I was more disappointed in myself for not buying something that I felt was a sonic improvment. I enjoy the JM Labs just not as much as I enjoy the Pianos. My thinking has been all along the Divas, but after coming to this conclusion with the Pianos I can't help but wonder what the Cremonas would sound like against the Divas. I guess if I was honest to myself I would admit that I guess I what I really want is someone to enlighten me on something great about the Divas. At this point comparing apples to apples and taking into consideration I am talking about roughly the same dollar amount if not a little cheaper for the Cremonas. I don't think the Divas stand to much of a chance ending up at the end of the chain.
jay_douglas_2879b79
239 posts
 
keep the grand pianos......great performance and money in your pocket. even against the cremonias, unless you need heirloom quality furniture.
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