2. speakers
  3. 161208-515

SF Cremonese Q

Not sure how many owners, or those experienced, are out there, but wondering if SF's move on the new tweeter on the 50-unit Extreme models is due to a slightly "intense" (read; hot over the long listening sessions) tweeter on the 2015 issued model, or just a way for the company to do something profitable during this pandemic world.

I'm looking at mating the Cremonese with a Ypsilon Phaethon, Esprit Luminia wire, Thales TT...going for more full range, all-genre music in my retirement (and for my wife...)

My history: TAS reviewer for a short stint, HP era, Quad 63s, ESP Concert Grands, early 301 sitting in a box waiting for my attention, maybe, Shun Mook clamp, early one, dark grain and oily, NIB SME 3012R Pro all-black to go with it all...maybe, maybe.

Looking for learned opinions.

Thanks.
asa
asa OP
662 posts
 
Thanks, Gregm!

davey, good points, and I have thought about the Strads. It will be a fairly large great room (at least, that's the plan...) so the Cremonese seemed to fit the bill in terms of energizing that space. When the COVID bubble lifts, I'll head out and take a close listen. Thanks again for your input.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,831 posts
 
 @asa  Another option for a larger room would be a new pair of Franco Serblin Ktema's. They don't get a lot of press in the US, but are an excellent speaker.
keithr
1,304 posts
 
I heard the Il Cremonese recently, non-extreme version, and found them very open sounding unlike the Serblin-era speakers which were far more warm and cuddly. They really are quite different. I didn’t find the tweeter hot and am very sensitive to this - wouldn’t find the need to step up to the extreme. I did clamor for more bass on certain tracks though. Really good speaker though, preferable to Wilson, Magico, Rockport, etc. 

daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,831 posts
 
@keithr Keith, you say the Il Cremonese is preferable to the Wilson, Magico, Rockport, etc., which models are you referring to?
The new Wilson Sasha DAW with the right amplification is pretty good...and apparently so is the new Magico A5, although i have not heard it. If the Il Cremonese sounds better than the Sasha DAW, it should be on everyone’s short list.
asa OP
662 posts
 
Thanks, Keithr, for the input. That helps. I'm thinking that I might actually like the silk dome versus the newer berylIium-diamond-micro dust-deposited-in-a-vaccum, or whatever (and that seems to be the new tweeter de riguer these days..). And I also hear what you are saying with the bass on some tracks - the SFs sport 8-inchers, and even though they might have those two others firing to the side, there's no substitute for 10 or 12-inchers; its just physics. But, to be honest, that would probably be OK with me, as I was fine with the three 8-in woofers on my ESP Concert Grands that I used to own. It's room dependent, of course, but, as an old Quad guy, I don't need things to go as low as some other people. The design brief is energizing a largish room with a speaker that is attractive and plays all genres well...so my wife can groove to her 70-80's rock while baking (how I'm weasling them upstairs into the main great room...hee, hee, ha, ha...) but one where I can continue to suck down my Bordeaux while listening to some smoky siren from the 50's...Anyway, thanks again everyone for your help.
More to discover