Armator Electra
 

Amator Electa
Anyone have experience with the Sf Electa Amator, early form? I see Sf will be releasing an Anniversary version. I am curious what to expect.

I heard the new ones at RMAF, they were gorgeous and sounded very good, given the environment. I think the price was about $12k.

I owned the original Electa Amators and used them with a REL sub. They reproduced voice better than any speaker I've owned. The new ones have colmpetely different drivers, hard to speculate on their sound???

We listened to the new ones at RMAF......if I remember correctly they were hooked up to a big McIntosh integrated amplifier. I thought they sounded nice but wasn’t a big fan of the room.....I thought they were a bit sterile but I really think the room had a lot to do with it. They looked really nice. I still fondly remember the original Electa Amators. At the time they were one of the best speakers I had ever heard......I suspect they would still sound pretty good by today’s standards. They had that rich deep Sonus Faber sound that they were known for.

- Buck

Sonus Faber Electa Amator were the first speakers I bought after graduating college. I bought the speakers along with a Counterpoint amp and preamp and a Proceed CD player in 1994 or so.

I sold the speakers about 15 years ago in the early days of Audiogon but I still have the original wood and marble stands. They were too heavy to ship and the dealer installed them so I never saw original boxes. The marble base was supposedly from the quarry owned by the designer of the speakers. They eventually made a version II and the new release in my opinion will be nothing like the labor of love that personified the originals. Sadly Sonus Faber has gone from a boutique brand to about as mass market as a brand can get in today's high end market.

I still have the original stands today - repurposed by my wife as the worlds most expensive plant stands, I think they were over $1k in 1994. If anyone is ever looking for the original stands in the NYC area, they are like new and holding plants waiting for an old pair of Sonus Faber's to find them!

I agree the company has changed, the harsh reality of survival in today's market. I was very sad when Serbeo Faber died ( sorry for the botched spelling). Today's product, although different, is still a very good speaker. :music:

Who's Serbeo Faber???? Did you mean Franco Serblin? :D

- Buck

Yes I simply couldn't remember his name, old age!!!!! Best guess wasn,'t so good :confused-2:

Armator Electra
 

Now that’s worth a picture!

Puts the plants at ear level

I think I lost the allen wrench to adjust the height but here they are in all of their plant holding glory. Imagine how those plants would sound with some Stillpoints beneath them!


https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bz...NHNnF0WEFXR3Fr

librian... Welcome to AA! :wave:

Well, they certainly look great as plant stands.

Here are some good pictures and mini-review of the new Electa Amator III at RMAF, from the Part-Time Audiophile. Scroll about halfway down to “The Smaller But Still Pretty Big System.”

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2018/...nghamton-blue/

I heard these at a Paragon event last month and the quality of the bass output by these speakers absolutely stunned me and others I talked to throughout the evening. If I didn't do all my listening in my 2-channel room I would pick up a pair.

Sf Electa Amator III inbound
 

I stopped by a local dealer to listen to the Sf Electa Amator III. This dealer in Houston had a very nice showroom, which is an anomaly these days. I was pleased with what I heard, McIntosh electronics being the source, which is what I am using. I was given a generous trade in for my Sf Cremona Auditor Ms and REL B1. In my small room my B1 was too much, but I do not have room treatments, either. I feel, once broken in, the EAs will be fine w/o a sub. The dealer did warn me the break in period would be in excess of 100 hrs., which I knew. Delivery will be Apr 5, my chosen date, due to my schedule. Now, the wait.... I feel this will be my retirement speaker, but we all know about the bug. BTW, Ivan gave me a great deal on a new pair of WW speaker cables and jumpers to fit my budget.

Congratulations, they are gorgeous speakers, and sounded wonderful at RMAF. I had the same setup as you for several years (Auditor Ms and B1) and really enjoyed it, but the Amators will definitely be step up, I think you’ll be very happy.

Tony,
Looks like you have done a giant leap from your Auditor Ms/REL. Due to my room size I felt it would be best to stay with stand mounts, plus I have begun thinking about the not so distant future of “what do do with heavy equipment” when I retire to my final home. Being that my analog room is on a second floor moving +100lb floor standers down two flights was not something I would look fwd to, even to hire out to ham-fisted movers. My heaviest piece up their is my Mc MC452, which will stay with me until I can no longer enjoy.

A very sound (pun intended) approach. My system is downstairs, but when we have to move, I’m pretty sure my Amatis won’t be coming with me, and the Electas will definitely be on the short list.

No delivery tomorrow - EAs have not arrived at dealer yet. Apparently Sumiko moved from Berkeley, CA to MN recently and many employees chose not to relocate. Shipping and filling orders are an issue. Dealer offered to send his demo models until mine arrive but I said was not necessary - at least he offered.

Keep us posted. Auditioned them today and was quite smitten.

The room they will be in is approx 220sf so I am hoping I won’t need a sub. My audition says it won’t.

Well, my dealer has been having problems getting shipments from Sumiko/Sonus faber, so I bought his demo models. We both were getting very frustrated and his rep was not being 100% honest. Since their move to MN from Berkeley it sounds like they are having shipment issues. Anyway, I have not had much time with them.

I ended up getting a pair. I have 100hrs on them. You will love these speakers!!!!

Will you opt for a sub to use with them?

No sub for me. Very happy with them. Bass is just starting to fill out. Will need another few hundred hours to break in.
Overall, these are more like music than Hi-Fi!

I decided to add a Gravis II sub - similar to a Rel S/3 with a 10” active and 10” passive woofer. I have heard the Sumiko subs were a blueprint copy of the REL subs. The Sf subs are descendants of the Sumiko models.

Kevin, how are the speakers breaking in? Are you a happy camper?

Tony, I only have put about 70 hrs on them but they were dealer demos. My dealer could not get his order fulfilled from Sf so he sold me his floor pair - saved me a few more dollars. He estimated 90 hrs of use on them, so still a few more hours to go for full break in. I am very please with the EA3.