Sonus Faber Cremona vs. Cremona M again, I know

Thanks for letting me know this.
Now I need to save my pennies for them.

It has been years since I listened to any other Sonus Faber, so I have no frame of reference here, but the Auditor M is one heck of a good standmount speaker.

It is perfect for small ensemble type music, strings and vocals e.t.c maybe not so good for others styles.

My $.02...

I have both the original Auditor and Auditor M right now and must say I'm a bit on the fence.

The M indeed loses some of that signature SF midrange magic, but does add a bit more detail (not WAY more as some claim), clarity, size, dynamics, extension, and has a really nice sweet and delicate top end. Not that the original is a slouch in any of these areas, but the M improves upon these things.

The original I would argue, is easier on the ears and more seductive -- it is a very unique middle ground between the old syrupy, super lush, rolled off SF house sound and a more modern "hifi", extended, neutral sound. For classical, intimate acoustic music, and raw vocals I think it is the winner.

For me, because I have very eclectic tastes in music that includes some electronica, hip-hop, and a lot of rock, I will probably go with the M. If I were more or less strictly classical and softer music of the like, I would probably stick with the original.

Of course, the amp you choose changes things. Another things for me is that I just settled on amp -- the VTL ST-150 -- which I like a lot for its rich, lush, emotive sound, especially with stringed instruments and vocals, but in compromise found to be a tad too dark. Well, that's in the shop right now so I haven't had a chance to hear it with the M, but my feeling is that the slightly brighter, hotter character of the M will balance out that bit of darkness.

I will say this: it has been said that the M is not as high quality physically as the original, and I think that may be true. The original stands are heavier and more solid with steel bases while the M stands are lighter and feel more plasticky -- disappointing for $1200! The finish looks a bit darker and richer with the original, but what stands out the most is material surrounding the drivers. The original has a nice, thick, elegant, deep grained leather (or at least looks just like real leather), while the M has a cheap, thin, dry leatherette. The ScanSpeak drivers also seem to be *physically* better quality than the M, though the M *might* sound better.

All in all I'd say if you're a longtime SF fan you'd probably like the original Auditors better than the M.

Wrong great on all music I never understood the statement does classical but not rock as good that doesn't make sense music is music if it works with jazz it works with rock simple.

When there is one instrument (loudspeaker) trying to emulate infinitely different instruments it will never be 100% accurate and one can expect some speakers to be able reproduce the sounds of certain instruments better than others. Make sense?