My friend from Italy had last week oportunity to audition new Amati Anniversario in his home and to compare it to his Amati Hommage. His findings: Amati Anniversario is different and better sounding speaker. Tighter bass, midrange to die for, more organic from bottom to top.
Old Amati Hommage was slower sounding, also not so tight or forceful in bass. The Anniversario is more like 95% of Stradivari in different box.
Interesting thing-system was Audio Research VT200Mk2,REF2Mk2,CD3Mk2 but he also had Boulder 1060/1010 combo to try... New Anniversario was for him better sounding with Boulder combo. In bass difference was huge to him, tighter and deeper than with ARC gear. In fact he was as tube lover very confused since he liked sound of Anniversario more with Boulder.
I hope this will help. For me Anniversario is on top of my list! |
I will order Anniversario in few days. More when they arrive at my home( app. 1 month ).
Also, I heard from my Sonus Faber dealer that NEW GUARNERI MEMENTO will be introduced at CES2006 ( in Europe maybe even before new year ). Cabinet size more or less same size. Completly new drivers and crossover. It will be little bit more expensive than old Guarneri Hommage.
So, we will have all new Guarneri after more than a decade. Good news for all Sonus Faber fans out there! |
Semi-I think you will love 'new' Sonus Faber sound. As I said I ordered Anniversarios and I will get them in 3 weeks time... My wife and I had a chance to audition it few days ago at our dealers. IMO new Aniversario is most emotional and beautiful sounding of all upper high end speakers. System was: ARC VM220/REF3 and Theta GenVIII/Compli. Regarding drivers in Anniversario tweeter is ScanSpeak( much modified and build to Francos specs ), midrange is Audiotechnology( danish company ) and bass units are 8inch versions of Strad drivers. In person Anniversario is more beautiful then old Amati, at least to me.
My wife liked their sound more than Stradivaris! I agree with her! Strad has grander scale( a little bit ) but, image precision and coherence is on Anniversarios side. Anniversario is warm and fast sounding speaker. Old Amati is inferior in every way, IMO. My friend from Italy also decided to swich to Anniversario after direct comparison in his home with old Amati. I know that you might be personally attached to your Amati Hommage but, simply speaking Anniversario is far better speaker. Choice of amp/pre combo will be important... I choose ARC system( REF210,REF3,REF CD7 ) for Anniversarios. Some other tubes will also work nicely-Jadis(more romantic sound),new VTLs etc. Some solid-state as well like Krell or Boulder and new DartZeel. In fact Sonus Faber use at the factory Berning 270 and Krell FPB350Mcx when they evaluate sound of their speakers( I heard a rumor that these two were used on voicing of Stradivari, Anniversario and new Guarneri Memento ).Did you had a chance to audition new Anniversarios? |
Well, since Almas findings are quite opposite from mine few things need to be cleared. 1)Three different persons that I know and trust in thier findings have almost the same opinion as I do and all of them are switching from Amati Hommage to Anniversario. 2)New Anniversario is more expensive to build then old Amati. Call Sonus Faber, that is the fact( terminals on old Amati is WBTs, on Anniversario costum build for Sonus Faber-same as on Stradivari). 3) Anniversario is more modern sounding than old Amati but, also emotional sounding speaker. Some people maybe won't like them more than old Amati but, I bet they will have more fans than old Amati.
Of course, all of this is IMHO. |
At the end of my respone I said IMHO. It doesn't have to be same as yours or anybody elses. I consider myself Sonus Faber fan(of Sonus sound) and I could agree with Semi that some people will be suspicious regarding new Anniversario.
Best thing is to compare both speakers in the same room.
Only then end results will be good or bad for each one of us.
I made my mind and ordered new Anniversario.
In fact I recently had a chance to audition new Concerto Domus at the lenght. I liked the way they sounded but, my best friend said to me that he likes sound of the old school better(Electa Amator2,Sigmun etc.). So, really no hard feelings from my side! |
Semi-I agree with you regarding plastic cones. But, as you said speaker is more then just drivers... Interesting thing is that Guarneri Hommage is using also Audiotechnology(sp?) midwoofer and we all know that Guarneri is pure magic.
New Guarneri Memento will use different tweeter( same as Anniversario and Strad I think) and new Audiotechnology midwoofer and I hope it will be either as good or better then old Guarneri. Also rumor about important person who left Scanspeak is truth. He was in charge for costum drivers( for Sonus but, also for some other brands )...
After that Franco made the decision and swithced to other drivers-result:Stradivari Hommage,Amati Anniversario and new Guarneri Memento(from january 2006).
If you are interested to see more of inside Sonus Faber factory( beautiful modern building ) check out Sonus Faber Denmark fan club web side http://www.sonusfaberclub.com/
There are lots of stuff on it. Factory tour is a must! Finally we can see who is building our speakers. |
Amati Hommage-I heard it with Accuphase A60, Pass X250, Audio Research VT200MkII and Lamm M2.1-sound was best with ARC, Lamm close second...
New Amati Anniversario-Audio Research VT200MkII, Audio Research VM220, Boulder 1060 and Krell FPB450Mcx-choice here was tough, all of them sounded good. My friend liked Boulder best, Krell was second( he owns ARC VT200MkII!) for him. I decided that tubes are the way to go and my Anniversario will be powered by new Audio Research Reference 210/Reference3/Reference CD7 system( but, I will keep my eyes on Boulder and Krell, someday who knows?).
I also heard that Jadis JA200, DartZeel NHB108, Conrad Johnson Premier 350 and VTL S-400 are working nicely...
Minimum impendance of Anniversario is around 2.5ohms in bass, we should also keep that in mind... |
Just received my Amati Anniversario's. More comments in two week time(break-in issue)... |
Aniversario's are break-in nicely... I think about ten more days to reach full potential.
In the mean time new Guarneri Memento is released mpre info is on http://www.sonusfaberclub.com/news/memento.asp
Happy listening! |
Downunder, Anniversario's could be driven with CJ Prem140 without any problems. I would say that 80W/ch(tube!!) is a minimum for Anniversario's, SS around 120W/ch. You can find my room size on my system thread.
They are revealing and kind to not so good recordings-this will depend very much on your front end(analog or digital).
I enjoy Anniversario's very much(and my wife even more!)... |
Downunder, Are you selling your Mahlers? Cremona is wonderful speaker for the money(most emotional one in that price range, IMO!) but, they are not going that deep in bass as your Mahlers. Kops and Semi both own Cremona's so, they will able to help you even more...
On the other hand with CJ Prem140 you will be able to get the best out of Cremona's. |
Downunder, I am glad that you like Strad! I like Anniversario even more but, both are emotional champs!
Anniversario is more coherent than Strad with more precise and stable soundstage, also faster in bass. Strad has grander scale(a little bit) as you found out. Both are excellent choice(only personal preferences will move us to one or another, IMO)...
CJ Prem350 or Prem140?? Let me give you very strange answer-stick with Prem350, sell your VTL TL7.5 and add CJ ACT2! Since both Prem350 and ACT2 invert phase you will not need to change polarity on your speakers and synergy will be great! Brown and finesse of Prem350 with warmth and resolution of ACT2. VTL TL7.5 is excellent preamp but, it is fully balanced design that sound very best via balanced connection as my ARC REF3. Your Prem350 is single ended in its natur... Also I heard Prem350/ACT2 combo and it is amazing stuff. If you want to stick with VTL TL7.5 than you might change your amp to VTL S-400... Synergy is IMO everything! |
Downunder, You are probably right... Then again difference between Strad and Anniversario is more question of personal taste, IMO. Downside of large baffle is not so coherent sound and lack of pin point imaginig. Strad is slower sounding then Anniversario, this might also contribute to fuller sound that Strad has in upper bass/lower midrange. With either Strad or Anniversario you will have true world class speaker, IMHO.
If the price is OK for you go for Strad. |
As you clearly pointed out differences between Strad and Anni is in lower midrange and bass. Both speakers are going to about 25Hz(in room) without any problems. As I said before Strad has more grander presentation but, it has shortcomings in soundstage coherence and is slower then Anni. Both are good for bad recordings, you can tune them with their grill(I almost allways listen with grills)
and they both look excellent with or without grills. Price issue: Europe-Strad(Euro30K),Anni(Euro19K) ; USA-Strad($40K),Anni($28K). If you choose any of them I belive you will be very happy. Of course, if Strad fits your budget go for it! When you will go to audition Strad bring your worst(!!) popular music recording, if you will like the sound then you will know what to do... |
