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Review: Sonus Faber Cremona AuditorAfter upgrading my amplification from a Prima Luna Prologue One to McIntosh pre and power amps (C220 and MC252 respectively) I felt that my Quad 22Ls, though excellent in their price range, were a bit outclassed and not entirely synergistic with the McIntosh components. Both the McIntosh and the Quads have laid-back, smooth, sonic characteristics and while they Quads’ smoothness worked just fine with the Prima Luna, the overall sound when matched with the McIntosh amplification was a bit too “politeâ€.
I spent a few months listening to speakers in the sub $10K range. I went through the usual suspects: B&W, Sonus Faber, Thiel, KEF, Revel, etc. In the end I narrowed down my choices to two brands: B&W and Sonus Faber. These two brands seemed to have a special synergy with McIntosh amps. After narrowing down my brand choices, I auditioned several speakers in each series and decided that I preferred both the sound and the looks of Sonus Faber to B&W.
The next question was “Which Sonus Faber?†I narrowed it down to the Cremona series and was left with two choices: the floor stander Cremona or the “bookshelf†Cremona Auditors. The $4K price difference was a factor, but not the deciding one. The Auditor’s imaging, wide soundstage, and “disappearing act†captivated me. Just to make sure they would work well with my system and in my listening area, I took a pair of Auditors home for a weekend audition and that sealed the deal.
After I placed the order, I waited patiently for two weeks and finally the Auditors arrived. To break them in, I put them on my vintage system (where I could play them for several hours a day without driving my family crazy) and, much to my surprise, they sounded amazing just out of the box and even when I drove them with a 47 year-old Fisher 600 receiver.
Even in my vintage listening room (11’ x 14’) the soundstage was very wide, a couple of feet higher than what I was used to, and the imaging was rock steady and pinpoint. The old Fisher’s treble never sounded better. Cymbals and hi-hats sounded realistic (not like frying bacon). Voices hang in mid-air had more three-dimensionality than I have ever experienced. On some vocal tracks, if I closed my eyes, it was easy to imagine a large head hanging in mid-air a few feet in front of me. I could almost see the lips moving. Sorry I can’t describe this better, but I am not a professional reviewer.
Since they sounded so good out of the box, I can’t really say that I noticed a big change in sound after a couple of weeks of break in. And I have definitely noticed break-in in the past with other speakers.
I finally moved them to my main system and played a wide range of music using my Rega Apollo as the main source, but I also played some LPs through a Thorens TD125mkII + SME 3009 II + Audio Technical AT440mla.
After some experimentation, I found the Cremona to be quite accommodating when it comes to positioning. It’s very hard to make this speaker sound bad or image poorly. Finally I settled on the recommended positioning with the speakers approximately 9’ apart, toed-in and aimed at my ears, in an equilateral triangle geometry.
To see how they would handle some serious bass transients, I played the opening track from the “Master and Commander†soundtrack, which begins with some thunderous drums. Any concern about these speakers needing a sub-woofer, were laid to rest. I consider a sub-woofer optional if you like bone-shaking bass, but definitely not necessary for 2-channel, non-HT applications. But I realize that the right amount of bass is a very personal decision. Perhaps the best way I can characterize the bass on the Auditors is that they never sound thin or make me think “I should really get a sub†every time I play them.
The mid-range is very sweet, perhaps a bit laid-back, which might be one of the reasons why these speakers are non-fatiguing even during long listening sessions.
The highs are silky smooth without being overbearing – a very tough balancing act. I believe a lot of credit for this goes to the Scanspeak tweeters. They might not be as exotic, or fast, as the B&W diamond series, but they are very easy to listen to.
Again and again, I was amazed by these speakers’ wide soundstage. I just love hearing sounds coming from well outside the speaker’s physical location. I also noticed that with the Auditors I hear much more of the recording room reverberations; notes seem to linger a second or so longer. The Trinity Sessions by the Cowboy Junkies is an oft talked about recording – popular with audiophiles for capturing with very simple microphone set-up the ambiance of the church in which it was played. I listened to this recording several times over the years, but I didn’t fully appreciate what everyone was talking about until I heard it on the Auditors – the brought the sense of space and ambience to the next level.
If there is one “criticism†is that these speakers make you want to increase the volume. It’s not that they don’t sound good at low volume, they do, but – like a Ferrari – they beg to be “driven†hard.
After many years in this hobby, I realized that what I value the most in a sound system is overall musicality and the kind of balance between detail and smoothness that will let you listen for hours without fatigue while maintaining a sense of excitement and liveliness.
For me the ultimate test of a system is how easy or hard it is to stop a listening session. Some high-end systems I’ve listened to sound amazing for ten minutes but, after that, I feel like giving my ears a rest. On the other hand, some systems and combinations (like the McIntosh + Quad 22L) are too smooth and can end-up being boring. Synergy is everything.
Another key factor for me is how forgiving the speakers are with less than perfect source material. A great test of such forgiveness is how well the system does with CDs from the early 80s – the kind of recordings that will make your ears bleed in some high-end systems. While the shortcomings of the recordings are still noticeable, the Cremonas don’t turn these primitive attempts at digital sound into an instrument for sonic torture. You are aware that you are not listening to a very good recording, but the Cremonas (with some help from the McIntosh, no doubt) help you overlook the recording deficiencies and let you hear the music. Buying the McIntosh and the Auditors was worth it just in terms of making a large part of my collection of vintage CDs something I’d listen to again.
At almost $5K for speakers and stands, the Cremona Auditors are not inexpensive speakers but, as other have noted before me, these speakers are definitely the sweet spot in the Sonus Faber line.
The McIntosh/Sonus Faber combination might not be the last word in speed and resolution but, considering how much I enjoy listening to it, how long I listen to it, and how reluctant I am to turn it off, I believe I’ve come very close to my preferred balance of musicality, speed, and detail.
Alberto DeRoma
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Topic - REVIEW: Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors - albertoderoma 08:16:03 04/02/07 (1)
- Nice Review - EL Cheapo 12:29:25 04/06/07 (0)
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