Amp for Sonus Faber Cremona - old model

I have Cremonas in my living room. They have seen:

ARC LS-25 w/ARC VT130SE (hi-power tube), Odyssey Stratos monos (hi-power SS), Prima Luna 7 monos (mid power tube).

Also Bel Canto 300i integrated (hi power class D SS) and Pathos Classic One integrated (mid power hybrid).

All of these combos sounded pretty good, if slightly different one to the next. Both the ARC and PL aren't the "tubiest" sounding tube amps in the world, but that side of their character was evident with this speaker. The Prima Luna might have been a stretch, but all others were comfortable at high volume - including the Pathos which was the long term choice. (That was based as much on cosmetics as sound - this is my living room system, so it doubles as furniture/sculpture.)

Bottom line: There's lots of flexibility here, but if you go with tubes make sure that you have enough power.

Not sure if this helps or not but I have the original Cremona Auditors and when I first got them I tried them with the a Conrad Johnson Premier 11A tube amp and a Pathos Classic One MkII tube/ss integrated (both ~70wpc as I recall). Even though of similar power the Pathos seemed to control the speakers much better. They seemed faster and more dynamic with the Pathos. Shortly thereafter I switched to Crimson 630E monoblocs (~170wpc) and 710 preamp which took the speed, dynamic transitions and overall musical involvement to a completely different level.

That said I would have been happy with the Pathos except it suffered from reliability problems which got me searching for something else (namely Naim). I suspect I just had bad luck though and I wouldn't hesitate to suggest giving Pathos a listen. They sound great and are LOVELY to look at.

Hope that helps a bit.

Stuart

I use a Classe CP-65 pre and a Levinson 432 amp (400 watts at 8 ohm) with my Cremona. I have tried big Classe amps with the Cp-65 pre and find the sound a little harsh. Likewise, a Levinson 32 or 326 pre is too laid back with the 432 amp. So, a neutral to slightly forward pre (CP-65 and a neurtral to laid back amp (ML 432) works for me. I really like the 432, although you need to be aware that support can be a expensive these days with them, although I have never had any trouble with my amp. I would also suggest you try the various McIntosh if you can. I have heard the Cremona with the large Edge amps and really like them, although I have never had them in my listening room. I would also think about what cables you have. I tried several and ended up with Transaparent Audio Ultra.

I have been using Sonus Faber Concertos with Pathos integrated in monoblock mode for two years and its been a great combo. I am going to be upgrading to the Cremoras with the Pathos very shortly. I have heard that combination at my dealers and it sound even better than the Concertos. The Cremora is a better speaker so it should sound better. I would seriously look at Pathos. My two integrateds have worked perfectly for two years.

I currenlty have some Cremona Auditor Ms and I use a McIntosh C2300 pre and MC252 amp and am very staified and have stopped my upgraditis. IF I were to upgrade again I would step up to the MC501 monoblocks, but at htis time it does not deem as a necessary step. I also have a REL B2 sub base system to compliment the Auditors.