Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor old v new

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.

Hulskof,

sure. Here is the URL for the Cremona M review: http://absolutesounds.com/index.php?page=17

Half-way down the page you will see a review of the Cremona M by hifi-news. Surely a funny looking frequency response.

The old Cremona's frequency response :

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/304sonus/index3.html

I've been eyeing a pair of Cremonas for some time now, just waiting for my budget to match up with my tastes and have spent a good deal of time with both the original Cremonas (both tower and auditor) as well as the new M's. At least to my ears, the new M's are definitely the superior speaker. For some reason, my ears are very sensitive to any exaggeration in the presence reason, particularly from about 1K to 3K. The original Cremonas both seemed to have a bit of excess "bite" in that region that could actually cause me a bit of fatigue. You could only hear it on certain instruments (piano, and occasionally on violin if I recall), but it was definitely there. I think one of the Stereophile reviews mentioned this, even though the frequency response curve didn't show any excess energy in the associated region. I know that SF's are supposed to be very musical speakers, but remember, my ears are really sensitive in this region, so don't go out and call me crazy - everyone's ears are different. You should see me fidgeting when attempting to listen to speakers such as the new Focal 1027/1037Be's (which measure pretty flat across the board), the midrange is like nails on a chalkboard to me (though the new tweeter is fantastic on these).

I had heard the original Cremonas at least 5 times in three different setups, and this excess bite was almost always noticeable. Driving the Cremonas with Krell amps cut down on this a bit, but I could still hear it.

After spending two listening sessions with the new M's, driven by BAT amp/pre-amp combo (I had also heard the original Cremonas at the same shop, on the same amp/pre-amp), I can say that the excess bite is now gone. The M's (both Auditor and tower) just seem to be a bit smoother to me, more like the Amati Anniversarios (which I loved, except for the price). In fact, I actually think I like the Cremona M's better than the anniversarios, as they just seem to have a bit more "life" to them as well. Forgive me for not being able to describe this, but the sound just seemed to be more "real." Bass seemed to be more crisp and faster than the Original Cremona as well. I also think that the speakers revealed more detail, without bashing your ear drums in with exaggerated upper-midrange and treble.

Frankly, I don't really care what a frequency response curve looks like (especially when it was done in someone else's room), my ears know what they like. Yes, the frequency plot should show any gross abnormalities in the speaker's output that would be indicative of poor design, but trust your own ears first and foremost. After all, it is your money. Just go listen to the new M's in as many places you can (and hear how they sound with different amps/pre-amps/cabling) and see if you like them. Get a home demo if possible. Don't forget to listen to the new Elipsa Auditors as well, which could actually work better in your room if forced to be a bit closer to room boundaries.