Second Hand Sonus Cremina Loudspeaker?

[Native_bon]

Just auditioned second hand Sonus faber Cremona speakers.. like the sound very much but i was told the asking price is 3grand. Any suggestions here. Could i buy a much up todate speaker for less & more performance... Must say, i very much like the sound but wonder if its good value for money.. Any suggestions Welcome.. Cheers..

My system currently includes unison research cde cd player & unison resreach amp..

 

[altruistic.lemon]

I'm not a fan of the Sonus Faber sound, but you're not going to find anything better cheaper if you like that warmth. They're close to my own favourite maggies in putting you there with the artist, and I don't know of many speakers that can do that, except for an obscure French speaker you can't find here but is a lot cheaper - Mulidine, I think?

 

[Native_bon]

Thanx for suggestion..

 

[plastic penguin]

Just auditioned second hand Sonus faber Cremona speakers.. like the sound very much but i was told the asking price is 3grand. Any suggestions here. Could i buy a much up todate speaker for less & more performance... Must say, i very much like the sound but wonder if its good value for money.. Any suggestions Welcome.. Cheers..

My system currently includes unison research cde cd player & unison resreach amp..

A quick suggestion: I would avoid warm speakers given the rest of the kit is valve based. With a warm amp and cdp you'll need a less than warm speaker to balance out the presentation, otherwise you'll end up with a sonic stodge.

 

[amcluesent]

Are you listening to mostly classical, accoustic or jazz; if so, crack on... £3K feels a tad high for original Cremonas, can you negotiate down to £2k5?

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Just auditioned second hand Sonus faber Cremona speakers.. like the sound very much but i was told the asking price is 3grand. Any suggestions here. Could i buy a much up todate speaker for less & more performance... Must say, i very much like the sound but wonder if its good value for money.. Any suggestions Welcome.. Cheers..

My system currently includes unison research cde cd player & unison resreach amp..

A quick suggestion: I would avoid warm speakers given the rest of the kit is valve based. With a warm amp and cdp you'll need a less than warm speaker to balance out the presentation, otherwise you'll end up with a sonic stodge.

I think you'd be mistaking a couple of things here, pp. Valve amps (and the Unison research can be hybrid) are known for their transients, so while they can be warm, they wouldn't be stodgy, just the reverse. Same comment for the speakers. I don't like them, but that's because of their tonal balance. In terms of dynamics, timing balance and sort of thing, plus detail they sound fine to me. The issue wouldn't be stodge, but more whether you preferred TYA with a romantic slant.

 

[lindsayt]

I'm not a fan of the Sonus Faber sound, but you're not going to find anything better cheaper if you like that warmth...

On the contrary. You can buy speakers that sound better than the Cremonas for a lot less than £3000.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Don't tell me. They're the size of armchairs and 40 years old... 🙂

 

[CnoEvil]

I agree with AL on this one. Valve amps are far from the overly warm, dark, undynamic efforts of yesteryear......in fact quite the opposide, without tipping into brightness.

If you love the SFs, little else will do......but there are other contenders from the likes of Spendor, Proac, Audio Note and Harbeth.

This is too personal a decision for anyone to give you a definitive answer. Whatever you decide, it will be a very musical system.

 

[nopiano]

Worth checking their provenance, and being 100% certain which model they are, and when built. They date from about 2003, I think.

I believe all Sfs come with 'socks' that fit over the full height of cabinet (mine did, and I've seen them elsewhere)Having the socks and original packing would be pretty essential IMO, both for completeness and enabling safe transit.

There were later stand-mount Auditor M models, reviewed here:- http://www.whathifi.com/review/sonus-faber-cremona-auditor-m

I recently heard the current Cremona M and it was absolutely lush. Of course, they look fabulous, which helps. And I am bit of a convert - not everyone is.

The point above about matching is well made. I'm not familiar with the sound of your gear, but Audio Research valve gear is often paired with Sfs. I'm not assuming valve/tube = warm, at least not these days. And I wouldn't necessarily describe the SF sound as warm - that's too simplistic. Definitely not harsh, brittle, sizzling or anything like that. But they do have an innately musical sound, which I describe as sounding natural - like the bow on a violin string, or the sound of a piano on a wooden stage. The US magazine called Sterophile tested them with Unison Research, so maybe they are a good match?

I hope you get lucky!

 

[plastic penguin]

Just auditioned second hand Sonus faber Cremona speakers.. like the sound very much but i was told the asking price is 3grand. Any suggestions here. Could i buy a much up todate speaker for less & more performance... Must say, i very much like the sound but wonder if its good value for money.. Any suggestions Welcome.. Cheers..

My system currently includes unison research cde cd player & unison resreach amp..

A quick suggestion: I would avoid warm speakers given the rest of the kit is valve based. With a warm amp and cdp you'll need a less than warm speaker to balance out the presentation, otherwise you'll end up with a sonic stodge.

I think you'd be mistaking a couple of things here, pp. Valve amps (and the Unison research can be hybrid) are known for their transients, so while they can be warm, they wouldn't be stodgy, just the reverse. Same comment for the speakers. I don't like them, but that's because of their tonal balance. In terms of dynamics, timing balance and sort of thing, plus detail they sound fine to me. The issue wouldn't be stodge, but more whether you preferred TYA with a romantic slant.

Hadn't mentioned dynamics or timing - purely from a tonal balance point of view, if you match warm with warm with warm, you'll end up with a stodge. Not me being clever but fundamental sonics.

 

[Native_bon]

Thanx guys for all the suggestions. I think i will be doin sum looking around. Think 3grand is a lot considering the speaker design is almost 8yrs old. Also a bit concerned bout the size of the speakers. Am also considering the Revolver Music 5 speakers. But will let u guys knw what i eventually go for. Thanx.

 

[lindsayt]

Don't tell me. They're the size of armchairs and 40 years old... 🙂

Please, go and listen to some of the proper sized high-end vintage speakers that I recommend that can be bought for £200 to £1500 and then come back and tell us all if you thought they sounded better than the Cremonas or not.

 

[chebby]

Please, go and listen to some of the proper sized high-end vintage speakers that I recommend that can be bought for £200 to £1500 and then come back and tell us all if you thought they sounded better than the Cremonas or not.

You seem to be recommending the loudspeaker equivalents of 1960s Rolls Royce Silver Shadows to everyone, regardless of whether they are seeking advice on 4x4s or small convertibles or vans or motorbikes!

 

[Anonymous]

The Cremonas are great speakers - I have tried to upgrade from them a couple of times to much more expensive speakers but they lacked the cohesion of the cremonas. This is a very dynamic, smooth, well-balanced speaker. Initially I was not happy with the bass - bit flabby, not deep enough - but after some good isolation and good pairing the bass is superb. The soundstage is excellent too.

 

[Native_bon]

ok Thanx for your input. actually i have been told by some people in the hifi industry to get the speakers, that i can't go wrong. All i need 2 do now is just get the price dwn abit. Cheers!

 

[Sabby]

Just auditioned second hand Sonus faber Cremona speakers.. like the sound very much but i was told the asking price is 3grand. Any suggestions here. Could i buy a much up todate speaker for less & more performance... Must say, i very much like the sound but wonder if its good value for money.. Any suggestions Welcome.. Cheers..

My system currently includes unison research cde cd player & unison resreach amp..

A quick suggestion: I would avoid warm speakers given the rest of the kit is valve based. With a warm amp and cdp you'll need a less than warm speaker to balance out the presentation, otherwise you'll end up with a sonic stodge.

I think you'd be mistaking a couple of things here, pp. Valve amps (and the Unison research can be hybrid) are known for their transients, so while they can be warm, they wouldn't be stodgy, just the reverse. Same comment for the speakers. I don't like them, but that's because of their tonal balance. In terms of dynamics, timing balance and sort of thing, plus detail they sound fine to me. The issue wouldn't be stodge, but more whether you preferred TYA with a romantic slant.

Hadn't mentioned dynamics or timing - purely from a tonal balance point of view, if you match warm with warm with warm, you'll end up with a stodge. Not me being clever but fundamental sonics.

To say all valve amps are warm is too simplistic. I have heard valve amps that sounded brighter than solid state amps. Some of the Unison Research amps are all valve designs and others hybrids. I have the Unico which is a hybrid and I certainly wouldn't call it warm. Conversely there are solid state designs that are very warm and lush (audio analogue).

 

[Anonymous]

Agreed, there are no hard and fast rules about matching warm & warm / over-egging the egg. For example, I have just bought a Colorfly which I'd describe as bright-sounding, and it goes really well with the hd800 headphones which are also bright-sounding!

When I looked into a matching amp for the Cremonas, most of the recommendations were tube amps - mainly ARC, McIntosh as far as I remember - but as I haven't heard these amps I can't say if they are warm sounding. The Sugden Masterclass is quite warm and it went with the Cremona beautifully, altho the bass was ultimately too soft.

 

[altruistic.lemon]

I've only heard one Unison Research, which was the Unico hybrid.

If I had to pick an amp to go with Sonus Faber, the Unico would be high on my list - nice, fast, dynamic sound, and neutral in presentation. The only reason I didn't get one was that it was a lot more expensive than my Naim, but I'm sure it would have driven the maggies possibly better since it's more powerful.