Sonus Faber Guarneri vs Guarneri Memento

I have a pair of Guarneri's original for trial and compare with my AG UNO speakers - a whole different animal.

I can live with either of the two speakers, the AGs are explosive, detailed and very dynamic, the SF are relaxed, coherent and very musical.

I heard the new Mementos at the dealer demo down here and sounded very promising as well.

Could it be the quality of the Homage drivers vs the Memento's??

Daveyf - I understand that the mid-woofer vendor for the Guarneris is Scanspeak (custom made) - but Ican be wrong again...

I have lived both cases... old McIntosh (275 in this case) sounded better to me than the re-issue one, old JBLs (L65 or L300) sounded better to me than new models - but the other case also applies, many examples cover this story.

The point is, not always a reviewer has the last word, have you checked their personal tastes and setup?, previous reviews? etc...

I have heard both versions of the Guarneris and I like them both, which is better? depends on the questions above among many others, no absolute terms here...(including this last phrase) :)

I am in the process to change (again) my amps from Gryphon to Jadis (I have done this two times now) - and heard the GM at the dealer show room with exactly the same Jadis JA50 that I am currently testing at home.

I heard the GM there and really like the presentation, great speed, coherent and great timbre - but lacking bass. Next day I hooked the JA50s to my system (GH based) and heard a very similar presentation - correct timbre- attack BUT more coherence in the low registers and a better ensamble of the whole musical reproduction.

Keep in mind that room were of a different kind (my dealers showroom is 30% larger than mine) and full of other equipment and speakers - mine is a dedicated room.

Two grains of salt to the discussion which I am enjoying a lot!.

I totally agree Daveyf - I am a big Gryphon fan, but in this particular case with my current room and sources - the Jadis brought more musicality and refinement to my system.

I kept the Jadis DA50 Signature for the moment - but after hearing what the JA50 Monos did, I am after buying them shortly.

Curious about the DA88S thou....

Milimetr - the GH generate a very credible mid-bass and bass for its size - I am sure that by now you have already noticed that they sound 'larger" than it size, and its sonic portrait is far away from its radiation point, creating a very credible scenario.

I have lived with them as they are (no sub) for almost 7 months now, and currently trying a subwoofer (REL stentor) in my midsize room (4.5 x 6.5 x 3.0) mts with mixed feelings about it.

Depending on your tastes of music genres, I anticipate that you will not feel the need to augmentate its bass reproduction, they are that good!.

Hope this helps.

If someone picks a speaker because of its tweeter behaviour, or soundstage or any other audiophile trick, he/she is missing the point. I pick a system or a speaker for the matter, based on the overall presentation of music and how the artist intention is rendered thru the chain, anything less than that becomes boring talk and a waste of precious time IMHO.

Just to add some additioonal salt to the thread here, I had the chance to chat with Lorenzo, cheif designer for Mastersound in the last CES, I did mention my setup, and when I said Guarneri speakers he asked..."new or old version" for which I replied "old Homage version" he said then that those are indeed great speakers, adding that he has several customers who are as well reluctant to sell their GH to go for the GM in Italy.

Might be right.....