Integrated amp for my Sonus Faber Guarneri

Hi D-I-L-Eye,

I owned the Guarneris for years and upgraded to STrads a few years ago. I know many owners love Mcintosh with Guarneris. However, i will also say placement of the speakers is very important here. Your Luxman amp is quite good by reputation (i've not heard it)...and while the Guarneris will use greater power well...i would say they react better to higher quality mid-level power than to mid-quality high power.

I also would ask...what do you/your wife think the Guarneris are missing? when dialed in right, they have a unique "magic" that most find very engaging. they will never produce prodigious bass. if you can explain in more detail, happy to share my 2 cents. they are a truly great speaker amongst a pantheon of great speakers.

I have my Guarneri's paired with ASL 1009 mono's which are rated at 60 watts and have never left my Guarneri's wanting more in a 19' x 13' room. I agree wholeheartedly with Lloyd that they are best mated to "higher quality mid-level power". I think 50-100 watts of tube power power is plenty, I would get something slightly on the warm and sweet side. I think they are not too hard to mate, and there are a plethora of choices in the mid-power tube amp market, have fun the Guarneri with a nice tube amp has been pure bliss for me.

Lloyd asked what you're wife thought was missing? I will boldly predict that paired with solid state amplificaton they perhaps sounded a touch thin and dry...

well, i thought one of the obvious solutions would have to be the berning zh270, nowadays unavailable, so it would have to be the zh230. if serblin used it to design it (at least the original guarneri, which i had before my merlins), why not you?
egidius

Lloydelee21, Jman, Egidius...thanks for responding. As for what seems missing in the sound to wifey and I, of course there is the "small speaker" factor as we are used to floor-standers with 12-inch woofers, but that's to be expected. I don't mean to offend, but I'm at a loss of words to for this. The overall sound quality to us sounds "smooth" and "refined" in a way that seems maybe suitable for well-dressed lounge lizards sipping fancy cocktails and discussing the outcome of a polo game, rather than "real" in a way that would appeal to people like us who often travel rough and listen to a wide range of music from around the world for music's sake.

It's hard for me to describe, but I'll try. It seems as though the GHs sort of bundle the sounds together such that the overall presentation is flattened out, as if the musicians are far away, rather than up-close and personal. They sweeten and soften all the sounds and take the "edge" out of them, with an overall "mushy" effect. It seems this way with each of the amps I've tried them with, although all are SS amps only. Jman, yes I would add a tad bit "thin" to that description, and also a bit "dry" with one of my SS amps, but not the McIntosh.

I'm in a mid-sized city in Japan and limited in budget to used gear, so I can't easily find some of the brands and model names thrown around in the 'Gon here. I took home the MA6800 to try the GHs with because the similar MA6900 was recommended more than once on this thread, and the GHs seem very underpowered with my old Luxmans. The Luxman L-550 class A produces lovely sweet sounds that have "oomph" to them through my other speakers, but it sounds somewhat more harsh, dry, and "mushy" through the GHs. The GHs sound less "mushy" with the McIntosh, though there is obviously a loss of detail with that amp.

My wife thinks the problem is just the "style" of their sound not being suitable for our taste, while I still feel they should greatly show-up my old Yamaha NS-100Xs with the right source and amplification, but unfortunately I'm running out of time on my (expensive) trial period on these. In the meantime, while the GHs are obviously smoother with classical strings and woodwinds, overall we still prefer the slightly rougher but much fuller and "open" sounds of the Yamahas for most genres we've compared, and we've been comparing back and forth for two weeks now (unfortunately of course only with my mid-fy equipment).

I greatly appreciate all of your input, and hope this unaudiophilish description might mean something to you ppl, such that maybe you can imagine what I'm hearing and might recognize it as possibly either the actual character of the GHs or the fault of my equipment and/or room acoustics.

D-I-L-Eye,

that is helpful. First, a caveat: i have not heard the Yamaha speaker. Now on to comments:

1. The Gs are very smooth...mellifluous. That is the SF sound...particularly in the Homage Range...Guarneri, Amati, Stradivari.

2. They are going to set the soundstage back a bit...like sitting mid-row instead of front row.

3. They are not going to give a boost in the upper bass that will give you a fullness of sound that a much larger, well designed floorstander will give you.

4. With all of that said, here is what i would say about your comments and my own personal experience with the Gs.

a. Side by side comparison with Quad 2905 (along with 3 audio pros with 20+ yrs experience each) showed that the G has every bit of detail, nuance and melodic capability of an electrostatic...that is saying something!

b. just because a speaker is smooth...does not mean it lacks detail or life. it can sometimes be a matter of letting the ear adjust to the fact that the speaker is just effortless in its delivery style of that detail. Whereas some speakers make a point of delivering that detail. A digital (over-sharp) photo vs. a medium format shot. Medium format is smooth, rich, but wont zing you with detail...but upon close comparison to the digital shot...you (may) be surprised the medium format has at least as much detail...just more balanced and natural in its presentation. AGain...i am not saying this is the case here...i do not know the Yamaha speaker...i am saying while you still have the G's...make sure to listen in a relaxed manner...dont try to listen for "decay" or "individual notes"...listen for live music.

sometimes, i go into the next room, and see which speakers sounds like someone is playing next door.

c. i also will add that the G's need room to breathe...meaning placement is important. 6-8' in between the inner edges of the speaker...toe-in up to your ear...but 3' from back wall depending on room and your bass levels in-room.

When they breathe...they R-E-A-L-L-Y breathe magic.

d. read the review from STereophile...july 94?...online i believe for free. they indicate the speaker will react to the electronics fed it...from good hifi to "breathing music".

e. what's the rest of your electronics? to be fair, that has a big affect...but i totally understand you may not wish to play around with everything for this speaker. i am only saying it will matter in a speaker that is this revealing. the better speakers usually will reveal differences in electronics quite significantly.

hope that helps for now....feel free to ping with any other questions. good luck.