Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor old v new

Holy moly. Great responses; thanks everyone.

I had forgotten about the Analog Room. He used to allow home trials, which would be the ideal situation. I listened to the original Auditors at Magnolia and was told by the salesman that the only difference with respect to the M model was a new tweeter, which I knew was not true.

Magnolia did not have the Ms on the floor - trying to move the remaining stock of the original Auditors I suspect. "We don't have what you're looking for but we can order it," is something I hear more and more today. The prospect of spending something like $7K based on faith is scary!

Bob R.

What was your impression of the original Auditors you auditioned? Of course electronics do make a difference. Maybe you should get Magnolia to loan you the originals just as a test in your setup. Of course, used Auditors come up used here pretty frequently, if you want to go that direction. You could also get used Cremona floorstanders for less than the new Auditor M. You can also call Sumiko (distributor of SF) and they will tell you where the M's are on display, if the Analog Room does not have them. I have found Sumiko very helpful. They are in Berkeley.

I thought the Auditors sounded quite a bit richer tonally – quite a bit warmer as well – than my Martin Logan Vantages, with better lateral imaging. Not as deep front to back though. They did not have the same scale as the Vantages nor did they go as deep in the lower frequencies. They sounded moderately detailed but remarkably refined. I realize this is an apples and oranges comparison, but since I have owned panel speakers predominantly for the last 20 years more or less, so it’s my only frame of reference. I did have a pair of B&W Nautilus 804s for a short while – way too hot in the treble for my taste.

I am going to call The Analog Room later today (as soon as the A’s finish losing to the Yankees) to see what he has on display.

Your description sounds right on to me. The floorstander would give you more low end. Might be an option used. Agree with 804 observation. If he has either Cremona M or Elipsa you might want to listen to them anyway, just for comparison. I heard the Strads with Nagra electronics and SME turntable. Not sure he still has that set up, but it was amazing.

@Tboooe: the graphics are of the old and new Cremona floorstander, not the Auditor. But I'm sure there are lots of reviews on the net that have that information on the Auditor too.
And if you really want a flat freq. response, have you chequed out the Usher BE-718? That also has a very remarkable freq. response. See for instance:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/speaker-product-reviews/speakers/usher-be-718-bookshelf-speakers-with-beryllium-tweeters.html

And the dozens and dozens of positive reviews on those.