Cremona M's or GP Domus

[bodiezaffa]

A well known Toronto based brick and mortar high end retailer went bankrupt and the public auction was Saturday.
A new pair of M’s went on the block and stalled at $5k. In a moment of complete irrational thinking, I bid $250 more and voila, I was winning bidder.
I already own the GP Domus and now that they have been properly placed in my 14x12x8 room, they have never sounded better.
Should I keep the GPD and sell the Cremona’s (hopefully to make a decent profit) or keep the Cremona’s, sell the GPD to lower my overall exposure.
My main concerns with the Cremona’s are:
-Are the M's too much speaker for size of room
-Will my Luxman 507u integrated amp make the M’s sing like they do with the GPD’s
-Will I need to update cables etc.

[Haurock]

Excellent opportunity!.. What a steal!

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by bodiezaffa

A well known Toronto based brick and mortar high end retailer went bankrupt and the public auction was Saturday.
A new pair of M’s went on the block and stalled at $5k. In a moment of complete irrational thinking, I bid $250 more and voila, I was winning bidder.
I already own the GP Domus and now that they have been properly placed in my 14x12x8 room, they have never sounded better.
Should I keep the GPD and sell the Cremona’s (hopefully to make a decent profit) or keep the Cremona’s, sell the GPD to lower my overall exposure.
My main concerns with the Cremona’s are:
-Are the M's too much speaker for size of room
-Will my Luxman 507u integrated amp make the M’s sing like they do with the GPD’s
-Will I need to update cables etc.

First of all - what a great deal.

The best way to answer your questions is to just listen to them. If they are new, make sure you break them in for at least 100 hours or so before passing judgement.

By audiophile standards, the Ms should be better speakers than the GPD - but who cares about such standards? You will probably find them more neutral and "cooler" sounding than the GPD; the latter has a lot of fans because it's a very musical and rich sounding speaker. The GPD is also a more "forgiving" speaker. Of course, all these terms are relative to the Sonus Faber house sound - which is one of my favorite. So when I say cooler, I don't mean that these are analytical speakers, but are probably more "analytical" and "precise" sounding than the GPDs.

Don't fall in the trap that newer or more $ is always better.

Given the size of your room, the Luxman should be fine in terms of power, I'd worry about new cables after you've made the decision.

Good luck, congrats and keep us posted -- this is a great story!

Alberto

[jdandy]

bodiezaffa.......Did the police follow you home? You stole those speakers.

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by bodiezaffa

A well known Toronto based brick and mortar high end retailer went bankrupt and the public auction was Saturday.
A new pair of M’s went on the block and stalled at $5k. In a moment of complete irrational thinking, I bid $250 more and voila, I was winning bidder.
I already own the GP Domus and now that they have been properly placed in my 14x12x8 room, they have never sounded better.
Should I keep the GPD and sell the Cremona’s (hopefully to make a decent profit) or keep the Cremona’s, sell the GPD to lower my overall exposure.
My main concerns with the Cremona’s are:
-Are the M's too much speaker for size of room
-Will my Luxman 507u integrated amp make the M’s sing like they do with the GPD’s
-Will I need to update cables etc.

All other things being equal (are they ever?), the Cremona M is a very large step over Domus Grand Piano.

Now for practicality's sake.

• Your room is small enough that the amp should be powerful enough with either speaker.
• The load of GDP and Cremona M are similar so if the Luxman drives the GDP well, it should also be happy on Cremona M.
• WRT amount of air moved the two speakers are similar. If DGP can work in your room, then it's most likely Cremona M can too

Room positioning is everything. As dynamic as the DGPs are the Cremona Ms are moreso. Misposition, mis-toe, mis-rake and they will sound forward relative to the DGPs. However get it right and there is nothing, including tonal balance, that the DGPs will do better. Cremona M should also be easier to set up since Cremona M has a more even dispersion pattern (why the GDP can be such a challenge to set up).

Before you do anything with the Cremona Ms, tape off precisely where you have the DGPs with painter's tape. Mark which speaker is which so you don't inadvertently reverse them when/if you put them back. Know too that the tape will be imprecise and you need to play music to lock them (or any other speaker for that matter) back in.

Good luck and have fun.

[KMC45]

Read Bill's first sentence several times.

[bodiezaffa]

I’m saying it out loud. This is a great forum. No disrespect to Audiogon or my local site- Canuck Audio Mart, but when it comes to all things Sonus Faber, AA is the pinnacle, the top echelon of enthusiasts.
Thank you all for your encouragement. I am very excited.
BTW Alberto, I’m running Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cable (not current version).
What would you suggest as a comparable match.

[bodiezaffa]

Originally Posted by Alberto

First of all - what a great deal.



Good luck, congrats and keep us posted -- this is a great story!

Alberto

You’re right Alberto, it is a good story – let me fill everyone in.
I bought my 1st pair of speakers, the GPD over 3 years ago from a seller on my local forum. He was a fabulously nice, pure Italian gentleman. We concluded our deal with a shot of Grappa and went our separate ways.
When I bought the Cremona’s, I listed the GDP for sale on the same site. Inquiries and tire kickers started to respond within 24h. Within those, I received two bonified offers. I immediately recognized the name of one of them. It was the same guy who sold me mine 3 yrs ago.
I sent him a reply to which he responded in total shock. He told me he had always regretted selling them to me as they were the best speakers he tried in his smaller analogue listening room- The speakers had come full circle.
And get this, the seller knew of the public auction and the Cremona’s being offered. He had planned to go and bid on them but last minute plans had him driving his son to Ottawa for a tournament.
Anyway, we are meeting tomorrow (Sunday) to conclude our sale and to once again toast the deal with a shot of fine Italian Grappa.
BTW, the M's are everything I hoped they would be.
The End

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by bodiezaffa

I’m saying it out loud. This is a great forum. No disrespect to Audiogon or my local site- Canuck Audio Mart, but when it comes to all things Sonus Faber, AA is the pinnacle, the top echelon of enthusiasts.
Thank you all for your encouragement. I am very excited.
BTW Alberto, I’m running Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cable (not current version).
What would you suggest as a comparable match.

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by bodiezaffa

You’re right Alberto, it is a good story – let me fill everyone in.
I bought my 1st pair of speakers, the GPD over 3 years ago from a seller on my local forum. He was a fabulously nice, pure Italian gentleman. We concluded our deal with a shot of Grappa and went our separate ways.
When I bought the Cremona’s, I listed the GDP for sale on the same site. Inquiries and tire kickers started to respond within 24h. Within those, I received two bonified offers. I immediately recognized the name of one of them. It was the same guy who sold me mine 3 yrs ago.
I sent him a reply to which he responded in total shock. He told me he had always regretted selling them to me as they were the best speakers he tried in his smaller analogue listening room- The speakers had come full circle.
And get this, the seller knew of the public auction and the Cremona’s being offered. He had planned to go and bid on them but last minute plans had him driving his son to Ottawa for a tournament.
Anyway, we are meeting tomorrow (Sunday) to conclude our sale and to once again toast the deal with a shot of fine Italian Grappa.
BTW, the M's are everything I hoped they would be.
The End

This story keeps getting better all the time. The Italian gentleman who sold you the GPD is a perfect example of what I was saying about the GPD: There may be newer and better, but some speakers regardless of price or age or pure sonic performance - hold a special place in our heart and ears. Based on following Sonus Fabers for many years, I knew that the GPD was a very special speaker.

Thanks again for sharing the story.

Alberto