Amati Futura Vs 802D3

[1KW]

Rock music is my favorite genre . I have had 3 sets of sonus faber speakers: Cremona floor standers, Guarneri Memento's which I still have in the HT with 2 JL audio F112 subs. using a crossover in my MX120 and a pair of Elipsa's in the 2 channel room. The GM with the subs. can sound like studio 54 with tons of bass, play hard rock concerts that will make you think your are there and yet give you goose bumps with classical playing violins or vocals. The Elipsa's in my opinion do not need a sub. and they sound great with everything, if you can find a pair these will sound better than the B&W 802's for 1/2 the price.

[Douglas]

Originally Posted by 1KW

Rock music is my favorite genre . I have had 3 sets of sonus faber speakers: Cremona floor standers, Guarneri Memento's which I still have in the HT with 2 JL audio F112 subs. using a crossover in my MX120 and a pair of Elipsa's in the 2 channel room. The GM with the subs. can sound like studio 54 with tons of bass, play hard rock concerts that will make you think your are there and yet give you goose bumps with classical playing violins or vocals. The Elipsa's in my opinion do not need a sub. and they sound great with everything, if you can find a pair these will sound better than the B&W 802's for 1/2 the price.

1KW...A friend came over recently who owns Wilson Sasha's. He asked me to play Deep Purple's Machine Head very loud. I could see he thought it was going to trip the Strads up. Great was my joy when I saw his jaw drop to the floor. It sounded glorious in all its rawness. Rock on

[joey_v]

I would love to own a Futura, I just don't know if I would be fine not owning the 802d3.

I've had the strads, those beasts can play loud. But I prefer the 802d3 for certain aspects

[1KW]

Originally Posted by Douglas

1KW...A friend came over recently who owns Wilson Sasha's. He asked me to play Deep Purple's Machine Head very loud. I could see he thought it was going to trip the Strads up. Great was my joy when I saw his jaw drop to the floor. It sounded glorious in all its rawness. Rock on

The Strads are on my list of ultimate speakers , they would be my last pair of speakers . Lets see some pictures

[1KW]

Originally Posted by joey_v

I would love to own a Futura, I just don't know if I would be fine not owning the 802d3.

I've had the strads, those beasts can play loud. But I prefer the 802d3 for certain aspects

I think you just answered your question, B&W 802d3 it is

[Douglas]

Originally Posted by 1KW

The Strads are on my list of ultimate speakers , they would be my last pair of speakers . Lets see some pictures

I posted a few pic's in this thread; https://www.audioaficionado.org/show...=36665&page=13

[naderpug]

Hi there

I purchased my Amati Futura's in October 2016 after the grand final which was between those and the new B&W 802D3. The Focal Sopra 2 and Vienna Acoustic "The Music" both lost in the semi-final. Hand on heart, I spent a good month testing both the Amati Futura and 802D3 speakers with my favorite recordings. Here are my thoughts...

The B&W has a more clinical sound, is definitely less warm (natural sounding) than the Amati Futura and is fussy with the components you mate it with. They do have a very big soundstage, but to me it always felt they were up on their tippy toes - sparkling rather than deep. I heard them with Macintosh, Electrocompaniet and Naim equipment - a good mix of different amps. I would say that if you prefer a forward sound, maybe traditionally British methods of recording, these would be a hit! I tended to prefer listening to them from a considerable distance because they were very bright. I would not say they are particularly talented at bass - to me they have dry bass and are suited to almost perfect or iconic recordings. There was also a price hike from the previous model which I didn't really understand.

The Amati Futuras were completely different. They are natural, smooth, potentially more coloured and have a sensuality that is quite profound. To be honest, we would switch to them and just *sigh* over how beautiful they present music. The negative is, similar to other Sonus Fabers, they are very very very fussy to positioning in the room. An inch this way and that completely changes the sound. I would strongly recommend sticking to Macintosh or Audio Research amps because thats where I found them to work best. Bryston also made them sing. I describe their approach as expensive (they are - but in an exclusively sensual and unique way and they consistently deliver no matter what we threw at them.

Hope that helps...now get in there and thrash them both!

[Exsg]

Hi Naderpug,

Congrats on your purchase! These are the two that I narrowed down too as well. Amati looks stunning.

I have the same impressions as you on the two. Though I did not end up hearing the Amatis, I have heard the domus, grand piano and cremona. Sonus and BWs have their trademark family sound. The BWs are indeed clinical with big soundstage. Very accurate.

I have heard BWs paired with Classe, Macs and Naim; and Naim is probably the brightest and the Macs most mellow.

With the Mac and D3s, the echo of the guitar and frail voice and breath of Jeff Buckley in Hallelujah were beautifully presented. Likewise with Over the Rainbow by Eva Cassidy. Every subtle naunce.

Hopefully, I will get the chance to change to the guaneris for my smaller room setup. I will pair it with the prima dialogue premium HP.

[Exsg]

Btw, the 802D3 retails at AUD35,900 in Australia. How much is it now your side and for the amatis?

[naderpug]

Hi Exsg

Thanks - I'm very happy! Your Guaneris are beautiful thing. Pairing these kinds of speakers with ARC or Mac amps

IMO the domus, grand piano, cremona and some of the other Sonus Faber high end variants maybe aren't as neutral sounding as the Amati Futura. I think the Amati Futura is the pick for those that aren't purely sold on the Sonus Faber 'house' sound and want a tad more realism and TBH they are kinda celebrated as that. However, there's no doubt they are ALL beautiful speakers in their own way - especially aesthetically.

I purchased my Amati Futura's ex-demo from the Sonus Faber distributor on the east coast for about half of the RRP. They had approximately 50 hours on them from the Melbourne Hi-Fi show. It was the right time right place thing and they needed to sell. The best deal I received for the 802D3 was about $31000. It was a tough decision and I took my time until I was certain and a deal presented itself. I hear they have held steady in price since the release of the new tradition. I'm not certain though.