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Audio Physic Virgo or Sonus Faber Cremona

I would appreciate some thoughts/recommendations from forum users. I have decided to settle on either the AP Virgo II or SF Cremona floorstanders. While I have heard the original Virgo and loved them, I have not personally heard the Cremonas but have owned SF speakers and like their sonic signature. I am edging towards the Cremonas (bonus of killer looks). But I remembered the impact the Virgos had on me years ago - I actually thought they were the best speakers I have heard then. The imaging were spectacular. Wondering if there's anyone who has owned both. I love disappearing act more than anything else and if the AP is superior in this regards to the SF, I am inclined to go that route. Using mostly tube equipment to drive them. Thanks for sharing!
hark
musicslug
430 posts
 
I thought that the SF line did not excel at harder music such as rock or electronic - their strength was with vocals, smaller groups, more 'polite' music. The APs seem more neutral, therefore more versatile in terms of musical styles...
psjulian
99 posts
 
Go with the Virgo's. I have been seeking to up-grade my speakers for years. I have spent the past 3 years tuning my room and I know what you mean by disappearing. The SF Cremonas need SS because thats what they were voiced with(read the interview in Stereophile). I use SS and I still passed on the Cremonas. They get all the press and I just don't get it. So many speakers. Thank goodness I love this hobby and I treat it as that, a hobby. No hurry because the fun is in the search. Peace and Good Listening, Pat.
bigpowerballs
34 posts
 
I auditioned the Virgos through SS at a stereo store, and I thought they sounded truly horrible-- congested, raspy, immediately fatiguing. I could not get out of the room fast enough!
I auditioned and eventually purchased the SF Cremonas. I auditioned them through tube amplification, and that is what I use myself.I have heard that the Sonus Fabers perform their best with tubes. I have never heard or read that they were somehow "voiced" with SS (and I am a Stereophile subscriber)
The Cremonas have such a chrystalline clarity about them. The midrange (which after all is primarily what one listens to) is magical and extremely involving. To my ears, and apparently a multitude of others, they sound MUCH better than ANYTHING else out there- and I auditioned speakers costing well over $20,000. I listen to my system for many happy hours at a stretch, and have never found them to be fatiguing. Indeed, they draw you into the music, and I keep hearing new things on my cds that I never knew were there.
Listen and compare for youself, and I'm confident you will go with the Cremonas!!
--Steve
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