AudioAficionado.org  

Go Back   AudioAficionado.org > Manufacturers Forums > Sonus Faber

Sonus Faber Italy's Best

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 02-24-2017, 11:09 AM
daveneumann's Avatar
daveneumann daveneumann is online now
Senior Member

 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 345
Default Your path to Sonus Faber

I'm a relatively new SF Amati Futura owner. They replaced Wilson Sasha 1's about 8 months ago and are my first SF speakers. I was evaluating Magico S5 against the Amati Futuras. At the end of the day, I appreciated the Magico's technical prowess but didn't love them. The AF's just made me smile and relax into the music...my left brain went quiet and the right brain just took over!

Over a period of 15 years, my speakers have included:

NHT 2.5i
Audio Physic Virgo III
Quad 2805
Martin Logan Spire
Wilson Sasha

As I reflect back on my speaker choices, it's clear that I was driven to speakers with transparency (lack of coloration) and detail. The Amati Futuras represent a departure for me, and one that I have found both rewarding in terms of musical enjoyment and relaxing in that I am no longer chasing unachievable goals. Now its just about enjoying the music.

It would be interesting to hear from current and prior SF owners. How did you come to choose SF speakers, and where you are on your path towards musical enjoyment.

Thanks,

Dave
__________________
SF Stradivari, Aric Audio Motherlode XL preamp and Super KT Parallel amps; Pass XP 27, Raven One TT, Graham Phantom II arm, Lyra Etna Lamda, Airtight PC1, Bryston 3.14 DAC, Transparent Reference & Wireworld, dedicated treated room 17 X 34 X 9
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 02-24-2017, 11:27 AM
Family Progtitioner Family Progtitioner is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Western NY
Posts: 511
Default

My path is similar to yours. I have to admit that their good looks attracted me first. IMO, the best looking speaker on the planet.

The sound is very gentlemanly, very easy to listen to and simply enjoy the music for hours. Non-fatiguing is a major factor. Great bass that had to be tamed with dsp in my room. No big deal.

What I found, however, is that with a substantial portion of my musical tastes, they were too polite. Metal, hard rock, even fusion had a "bite" taken out of it. The SF were great for jazz, classical, classic rock but anything that requires what I can only describe as bite and rocking, they were lacking.

Ultimately, I tired of the stacks and racks of equipment, the cable rats nest and overall look of my system. The Avantgardes offered me everything I desired in a small footprint with a sound signature that better suits my preferences. I also think that digital active crossovers and dsp for timing and phase alignment, built in to the avantgarde zero, is the future of hifi.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 02-24-2017, 11:41 AM
daveneumann's Avatar
daveneumann daveneumann is online now
Senior Member

 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 345
Default

I agree with your characterization of being polite and gentlemanly. Martin Colloms described them as rocking in a rather grown up manner. There are times that I do miss the bite, but overall my listening preferences are consistent with the strengths of the AF's: singer songwriter, acoustic rock, and jazz.

I totally get what you are saying about simplicity though. I recently went to a full function preamp and eliminated a line preamp and a 3 box phono preamp.

Dave
__________________
SF Stradivari, Aric Audio Motherlode XL preamp and Super KT Parallel amps; Pass XP 27, Raven One TT, Graham Phantom II arm, Lyra Etna Lamda, Airtight PC1, Bryston 3.14 DAC, Transparent Reference & Wireworld, dedicated treated room 17 X 34 X 9
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-24-2017, 11:51 AM
Family Progtitioner Family Progtitioner is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Western NY
Posts: 511
Default

Your musical preferences are perfect, then. Also, like your avatar, the AF play the dead very well. Their bootlegs could use the help the AF's give a lot of recordings.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 02-24-2017, 12:16 PM
crwilli's Avatar
crwilli crwilli is online now
Racing Hoopties

 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Bluffton SC
Posts: 9,768
Default Your path to Sonus Faber

I have never moved quickly with my speaker choices through the years - other than my most recent change which occurred in less than 3 years.

Marantz in the '70's
Bose in the '80's
Infinity in the '90's to 2015
--- RSIIa until 2012
--- IRS Beta until 2015

SF Stradivari since. I see these staying a looooong time!
__________________
Main Equipment: Kharma Elegance dB11-S, JL Audio F113v2 X 2, Block Audio Line & Mono SE Amplification, Bricasti M21 DAC, Antipodes Kala K-50 Server
Power: Shunyata Everest 8000, Sigma XC v2, Sigma NR v2, Block Audio PCs, Defender, ADDPowr Wizard
Grounding: Shunyata Altaira CGS - 4 X Alpha CGS cables,
Network : Supra Cat 8+, Twin (Nenon) Modified Buffalo GS2016 Switches, Keces P3 LPSU,
Cables: Wireworld Platinum 8 USB, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 8 Speaker cables, 6M & 1M Tubulus Concentus ICs,
Other: Multiple GIK products, Stillpoint Apertures, Stillpoint Minis and Ultra SS, Three 20 Amp lines, Furutech GTX - Gold outlets, Adona Rack
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 02-24-2017, 02:27 PM
daveneumann's Avatar
daveneumann daveneumann is online now
Senior Member

 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 345
Default

"Also, like your avatar, the AF play the dead very well."

Agreed. And some of my favorite Dead is their acoustic music including Reckoning, Workingman's Dead, Bear's Choice, Garcia/Grisman. To me, it all sounds very good on this system.
__________________
SF Stradivari, Aric Audio Motherlode XL preamp and Super KT Parallel amps; Pass XP 27, Raven One TT, Graham Phantom II arm, Lyra Etna Lamda, Airtight PC1, Bryston 3.14 DAC, Transparent Reference & Wireworld, dedicated treated room 17 X 34 X 9
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-24-2017, 05:45 PM
binaural binaural is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 5
Default

I've had my Amati Futuras less than 4 months.

My path has been shaped by my music collection (for a given price point, what speakers make the greatest percentage of my cds sound enjoyable). Stellar sound for a few well recorded titles is not what I'm looking for. That said, my preference changes from time to time back-and-forth between rock, classic jazz, and classical music. Therefore, the speakers I've owned vary in their musical presentation.

First mostly pop/rock started me on horns (Cerwin Vegas turned into Klipsch). Then a lot of jazz and vocal lead to planar speakers (Apogee). Back to mostly rock, and not wanting to give up transparency or neutrality, ushered in the "jack of all trades" Infinity Prelude MTSs, GoldenEar Tritons, and JBLs. Long story shortened, somewhat... I wanted speakers that could do a lot of things right, make most of my music collection sound from good to awesome, and be aesthetically pleasing (WAF) in our great room. Enter the Sonus Faber AF.

Initially, I too found them a bit too polite for a number of cds (not helping matters, my Plinius power amp is sweet, and the room is on the dead side). So, I added a McIntosh C50 preamp to the mix and bumped the 2.5k and 10k knobs up 1-2 dB. Mission accomplished... after repositioning them 4,750 times. They sound so sweet, have the "bite" or "jump" restored , and make my toes tap and move about.

Kirk

Last edited by binaural; 02-24-2017 at 11:59 PM. Reason: Added power amp info.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 02-24-2017, 05:50 PM
Masterlu's Avatar
Masterlu Masterlu is online now
AA Founder, Legend AV Owner



 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: South FL & Cape Cod MA
Posts: 78,485
Default

binaural... Welcome to AA!
__________________
Ivan
FLORIDA
MX136, MC1.2KW(10) MC2KW(2), MCD1100, MS750(2) MVP881, C1000C/P/T, MPC1500, HT-2 SUBS(2) HT3F(2) WS350(2) XRT2K, XCS2K, XR27(2) XCS350(2) JL GOTHAM v2 SUBS(2) SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, LUMAGEN RADIANCE SCALER, SONY VPH-G90U 4K PROJECTOR, STEWART 120" MOTORIZED SCREEN, CINEMA-TECH SEATING, WW PLATINUM CABLES
Reference System: ACCUPHASE A300 AMPS, C3900 PRE-AMP, DP1000 CD/SACD TRANSPORT, DC1000 DIGITAL PROCESSOR, DG-68 DIGITAL EQUALIZER, T1200 FM STEREO TUNER, PS1230 POWER SUPPLY, HRS-SXR CUSTOM RACK w/ M3X SHELVES, TAD REFERENCE ONE MK2 LOUDSPEAKERS, WW PLATINUM CABLES
CAPE COD

MX150, MC501(2) MC1.2KW(10) MC2301(2) MR88, MVP881, MCD1100, MDA1000, C1000C/P/T, MPC1500, ESOTERIC K-01X 30th ANNIVERSARY (BLACK) SACD/CD PLAYER, G02-X CLOCK, HT3F(2) XRT2K, XCS2K, XR27(2) JL GOTHAM v2 SUBS(2) JL FATHOM F113v2 SUBS(4) SOUND ANCHOR STANDS(2) KALEIDESCAPE STRATO & TERRA SERVERS 80-TB, LUMAGEN RADIANCE SCALER, SONY VPH-G90U 4K PROJECTOR, STEWART 120" SCREEN, SONUS FABER STRADIVARI, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, FORTRESS SEATING, WW PLATINUM CABLES
Analog Rig: CLEARAUDIO INNOVATION WOOD, UNIVERSAL ARM w/ Da VINCI' CART, 2nd UNIVERSAL ARM w/ GOLDFINGER STATEMENT CART, HRS-MXR REFERENCE RACK-GLOSS BLACK w/ M3X SHELVES, AESTHETIX RHEA SIG PHONO-PRE, BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMP, WW PLATINUM CABLES
Reference System: BURMESTER 911MK3 AMP(3), 088 PRE-AMP, 089 CD PLAYER, 100 PHONO PRE-AMP, 948 POWER CONDITIONER, ACCUPHASE DG-68 VOICING EQUALIZER, AVID ACUTUS REFERENCE SP TT, GRAHAM PHANTOM II SUPREME ARM, BENZ MICRO LP-S CART, GRANDIOSO P1X/D1X STACK, G1X RUBIDIUM MASTER CLOCK, N05 NETWORK PLAYER, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, HRS-SXR CUSTOM RACK w/ M3X SHELVES, SONUS FABER AIDA SPEAKERS, JL FATHOM F113v2 SUBS(2) SOUND ANCHOR STANDS(2) WW PLATINUM CABLES

Library System: GRANDIOSO M1 MONOBLOCK AMPS, C1 LINESTAGE PRE-AMP, K1X CD/SACD PLAYER, G1 MASTER RUBIDIUM CLOCK, E02 PHONO-PRE, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, AERIAL ACOUSTICS 20T V2, AERIAL SW12 SUBS(2), CANTON REF K1’s, VPI HRX TT w/ SDS POWER SUPPLY, ORTOFON CADENZA BLACK CART, KLAUDIO RCM, SHUNYATA DENALI 6000/S v2, SHUNYATA OMEGA QR’s, WW PLATINUM CABLES
Esoteric/Bryston System: ESOTERIC C02-X PRE-AMP, P-02X TRANSPORT, D02-X DAC, G02-X CLOCK, BRYSTON 28B3 CUBED MONOBLOCK AMPS(4), BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMP, SHUNYATA DENALI 6000/S v2(2) EVEREST 8000 POWER CONDITIONER(2) ALTAIRA CG & SG HUBS, AMR-DP777-SE DAC, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, TAD REFERENCE ONE MK2 LOUDSPEAKERS, QUADRASPIRE RACK, WW PLATINUM CABLES
Accuphase/Canton System: ACCUPHASE E800 INTEGRATED, DP570 CD/SACD PLAYER, T1200 FM STEREO TUNER, DG-68 VOICING EQUALIZER, PS530 POWER SUPPLY, CANTON REF K3’s, CANTON REF K5’s, SILENZIO MUSIC SERVER, HRS MXR REFERENCE MAHOGHANY RACK w/ M3X2 SHELVES, WW GOLD CABLES
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 02-24-2017, 06:33 PM
binaural binaural is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 5
Default

Thanks Masterlu!
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 02-24-2017, 07:54 PM
80B's Avatar
80B 80B is offline
Listener in Training


 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Old City
Posts: 2,565
Default

Our Amati Futuras are about three months old. When we got back into the hobby in '08 (having had Infinity RS4s since late 1983), I couldn't find a SF dealer here. We went back and forth over the B&W 802Ds and Wilson Sophia back then, and settled on the B&W, but liking both for different reasons. A bit after buying our B&W 802Ds, a dealer in town had SF briefly, and we did really enjoy the Cremonas, but were not really in the market.

When we were looking at the McIntosh C2500 preamp last fall, the dealer had a pair of AFs to demo with the C2500. We listened and fell in love with the combination of "sweetness" and detail, and pretty much made up our minds in the course of an afternoon.

So this time around, we didn't demo a whole gamut of speakers, but fell in love with the AFs, and admire their elegant lines as well, which for me adds to the experience.

As I write this, I'm cranking Sweet Emotion at advanced volumes, and don't feel they lack with rock, but that said, they do get magical with classical pieces like Serenade for Strings or Violin Concerto in D by Tchaikovsky, and jazz: Midnight Sugar by Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on 45 RPM LP is like having that ensemble in the room, to cite just a few tracks that hit home.
__________________
Sources: Vinyl: Clearaudio Innovation Wood turntable with 9" Universal tonearm, Da Vinci V2 cartridge, Stillpoints SS & Stillpoints clamp, McIntosh MVP 901, Apple Mac mini via Benchmark DAC 1, Aurender N100C via Schiit Yggdrasil
Control: McIntosh C1100, Mcintosh MX151
Power: Mcintosh MC2301s (front), McIntosh MC501 (center), Mcintosh MC402 (rear)
Speakers: Sonus Faber Amati Futura (front and back), SF Vox center
Power/connections: PS Audio Power Port receptacles, RGPC 400 pro (2) WireWorld interconnects and speaker cable
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Audioaficionado.org tested by Norton Internet Security

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:52 PM.



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.10
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
©Copyright 2009-2023 AudioAficionado.org.Privately owned, All Rights Reserved.
Audio Aficionado Sponsors
AudioAficionado Subscriber
AudioAficionado Subscriber
Inspire By Dennis Had
Inspire By Dennis Had
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Wyred4Sound
Wyred4Sound
Dragonfire Acoustics
Dragonfire Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
Esoteric
Esoteric
AC Infinity
AC Infinity
JL Audio
JL Audio
Add Powr
Add Powr
Accuphase - Soulution
Accuphase - Soulution
Audio by E
Audio by E
Canton
Canton
Bryston
Bryston
WireWorld Cables
WireWorld Cables
Stillpoints
Stillpoints
Bricasti Design
Bricasti Design
Furutech
Furutech
Shunyata Research
Shunyata Research
Legend Audio & Video
Legend Audio & Video