Sonus Faber

Some disquieting thoughts about the future of Sonus Faber (and a link to Franco Serblin's new venture) in this much-discussed Sophisticated Audiophile blog post.

 

I have a pair of the Guaneri memento in graphite, I love them.

 

Speaking about a entirely different speaker -- from Elipsa to Elipsa SE -- SF did a hat trick with that transformation IMO. Super speaker quality & good match with that REF 150.

Bob

 

SFs

Mike said,

"I have a pair of the Guaneri memento in graphite, I love them."

+++++++++++++++++++++

What a lucky guy you are! Those are excellent speakers, some of the finest that SF made.

Scott

 

I am still constantly happy with the M3 amp from Musical fidelity driving my little Toys on Empire stands.Was watching an Amy Winehouse + Kurt cobain reminiscence prrogram with all the Videos from Miss Winehouse and pumped up the volume and added my 2 sub woofers. Most of the time I don't even need them for listening at normal volumes and the soundstage is amazing. Each tone sits exactly at the right spot and Any's vocal were nicely spottable as well. best of all is the musical harmony and effortless audiophile beauty of these speakers.. If it is a large Symphonic Orchestra at the Gewandhaus in Dresden or Jan Garbarek with Terje Rypdal on ECM - the sound is always inviting me to listen for another hour.
I'd say the best harmony is with Tubes, thou. The bass comes alive better with EL 34's...

 

I might suggest:

USA: Fay-ber
Germany: Fah-ber
France: Fab-air
Italy: Fob-er

 

To the guys with Wilsons, how do they go with rock/metal music? I often find a lot of the high end speakers are a little too polite for hard rock. I'm looking for something really dynamic and detailed that has a lot of slam!

 

I absolutely love my original Cremona loudspeakers.

Ditto, my Musica, Gravis and Concertino's (as surrounds in separate HT setup).

The naysayers should really create a thread on why they love *their* gear.

 

Got A pair of Cremona Auditors ( replaced the Concertino Domus 2 Years ago)

Wil never part with them ........ever.

 

One of the better sounding brands I auditioned. I tend to like phase coherent, simple crossovers.

 

An oscillator generates a high-frequency signal that is stepped up through the use of a Tesla coil, which then maintains this high-frequency arc to a return path electrode. Superimposing an audio signal upon that high frequency oscillation causes variances the surrounding air pressure that we perceive as sound. The technology is very simple and analogous to an over-sized tazer, which, the differences exist in the technicalities of a pulse trigger and diode bridge in conjunction to a step-up transformer.

I have a few schematics varying from beginner to advanced, but do be aware of plasma tweeters' shortcomings; limited maximum sound pressure output, high power consumption, and high levels of EMI and RF emissions. They can wipe solid state memory devices in proximity, and replacement components are expensive.

 

Been using the Guarneri Homage's in my vintage system for a while now, wouldn't consider parting with them anything.

 

+1
SF's require some amount of care when considering the partnering equipment. Get the room wrong, or the gear, and you WILL pay a price. OTOH, with some thought and care, you will be rewarded with some of the best sound money can buy, IMHO.

 

I too use the SF GH's...even today, they beat ALL comers in their size class. Like most small speakers, they benefit from low end augmentation and they have to be carefully matched to a) the room and b) the
ancillary gear...particularly the amp. IMO, the constant feeling that SF's are "warm" isn't completely accurate. If one is reacting to the fact that a well set up SF is not a) sterile and too analytical and b) does NOT
elicit high freq ringing; then yes they are "warm". Personally, I feel that they are 'warm' like real instruments are "warm". IF that is a fault, well it appeals to me and so be it.

 

I'm in the same camp.

 

Warm ? Sure, if you want to call it that. If you mean warm as in physically relaxed and free of constraint, sure. I often think of " warm " as absorbing, non stringent. However you want to look at it a dash of warmth in the audio cycle is a good thing. With that mouthful being said I only consider the S.F.-G.H.'s warm with some of my amps, with the rest there politely neutral.

 

I'm not one of the numerous people who are constantly calling the SF's warm! Unfortunately, this is a moniker that has been attached to the brand and which seems to have negative connotations. I agree with you 100% that the GH's can be made to sound warm or politely neutral depending on the partnering upstream gear. I do NOT adhere to the feeling that 'warm' is in any way a bad thing. BTW, I would much rather have too much warmth than a sterile and un-involving presentation....which seems to be what is currently in vogue and is mostly attributed to metal based speakers and drivers.

 

A couple of years ago I picked up a used pair of Amati Anniversario speakers for a very low price considering they were manufactured towards the end of that speakers production life. At first they sounded a bit rolled off in the highs and I kept the B&W 803D's they replaced just is case I changed my mind. Three years later, they are still in the system and I love them. I still have the B&W's so I should probably do one more listening test before selling them.

 

I have SF Concertino and I love them, I have a pair of Venere 3.0 im not crazy about them.
But want to buy Cremona M if someone can help

 

Good point, and I also I think the metal tweeteritis syndrome has also been taken for what it is not. My living room system has speakers with Beryllium tweeters and Magnesium mid and lower frequency drivers and sounds anything but sterile.

 

What don't you like about the Venere 3.0? Those seem to be the new entry level "affordable" SF's and get reviewed well. Nice to hear it from an owner as opposed to a publication. Thanks, Gary.

 

I'm not an owner of the Venere 3's but a friend owns a pair so I've heard them many times. I'm not a big fan either even though we've tried many different amps. The biggest problems were of neutrality and lack of fullness.

 

I am big fan of Sonus Faber for last 15 years and I like their sound but new models sound different which is let say normal because they development is done with tube gear. So for my taste they sound to cold if you connected them on solid state electronic.
If you want Venere to sing cheapest way is with Prima luna amps , for the price I think is best combination.
Venere 3.0 with strong and stable amps (solid state) are fast and good speakers actually very good speakers, but not for my taste.
I am looking to buy Sonus faber Cremona M in Graphite finish as my third pair of SF-s, because I like that sound or if I am lucky pair of Extrema.
I hope that this helps.

 

That's the sound of the new Sonus faber. Unfortunately, the owner of the old Sf is no more and neither is the company as long as I am concerned.

 

I use Cremona Ms, don't think I will ever find anything, in the same price range, that will suit me and my music better. I am now settled.