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I've seen views which favour the new version, saying it has better extensions at both ends and clarity. There are also views who say that the old version beats the new in its sounding musical.Please share your views if you've AB'd them. Thanks.
cfh
Follow Ups:
There is no need to A/B, the GP Home clearly is better than the GP in every other way except in the "zing" department w/c is probably the reason why some think that it is more musical - because it can ZING! :-)The GP Home has a smoother and more refined treble, a cleaner and more even midband, and more articulate deeper bass. More importantly, the GP Home is more balanced in terms of personality. It has the inner grace and composure that is the hallmark of a true descendant of the Guarneri Homage. The old GP otoh has some of the nervousness and schizophrenia that is a personality trait inherited from the older Sonus fabers.
Note: The GP Home I'm referrin to in this post is the walnut version, not the black gloss version which I havent heard. I suspect the walnut version sounds different compared to the black gloss version (w/c has side panels made of sculpted MDF instead.)
Hyperion:What is "zing"? I have a pair of older GP's. I like them a lot but also can see how the new ones should be better.
Can tubes tame some of the nervousness of the older GP's? I'm looking at VAC PA 100/100 or VTL ST150. Any others you recommend? I'm currently using Proceed amp/PRE.
Thanks for your help. You've always been most kind. I recently bought a pair of Concertino's for a second system, based on your comments. I love them.El Monte
"Zing" : a metallic sounding treble with more bite and brittleness than ideal, usually as a result of incomplete harmonics coupled with slight brightness. It is not excessively so and can easily be overlooked in case of the GP w/c does have other musical attributes but it does stand out especially compared to the other Sonus faber speakers.To improve the tweeter's performance, you must get rid of the stock jumper and use either a good biwire cable or replacement jumper. Slightly mellow sounding cables are prefered. This makes the tweeter sound smoother and thicker albeit still not in the same class as the bigger tweeter of the GP Home or the more upscale Sonus fabers.
To remove the nervousness, even-handed tube amps are in order. I havent heard the VAC or VTL amps that you mentioned though.
Hyperion,I also have that doubt about the difference between the older vs newer models. I own the newer Sonus Faber Concerto (the one which is not biwireable) and I've heard that the older model was "better", etc, but I haven't had the chance to compare both on a A/B test like El Monte was talking about.
I'd be very interested to know what you think about the older vs newer Sonus Faber Concerto speaker just like you compared the GP's.
Best regards,
K
BTW ... The 3' distance from the rear wall is the approx. minimum requirement for the old Concerto. You need more for the the Concerto Home: like 4-5'!!! Also, your 25" stands are simply too low for the Concerto Home. At 10" from the rear wall coupled with a short stand ... I can imagine that you are very well having all sorts of bass problems right now unless your electronics or cabling are a bit bass shy.
Thank you for your comments Hyperion !I will definitely have to try and move the speakers, but it'll be difficult considering my living room arrangement :( As to the height of the speaker, considering I'm using Target HR60 (bought them 2nd hand at a good price), do you think it'd hurt the sound quality if I got some stones to put under the spikes and make them higher ? I can get solid marble slabs here cheap, I don't mean the original Sonus Faber stone stands, if I had the money for those, I'd just buy the adjustable stands.
Best regards,
K.
The difference between the Concerto Home and Concerto is much smaller than the differences between GP Home and GP; and Concertino Home and Concertino. This is not surprising, I consider the Concerto to be the most mature speaker in the old Concert line up so naturally, it's the one that require the least enhancements. Indeed, most of the improvements lies in the extrinsic sonic properties.Again, there is no need to A/B ... the Concerto Home's tweeter is simply flat out superior - it is smoother, more complete and refined. The midband is also cleaner, clearer and more articulate but somewhat less lush than the old Concerto w/c cheats a bit with its softer fuzzier midrange (this can be a good thing with some pop records). The bass is also fuller, deeper and stronger. The Concerto Home also image and soundstage better and are easier to setup. More importantly, it retains the Concerto's inner balance which makes it a musically communicative speaker. Despite the limitations in resolution, it is able to convey the essence of music w/c is the most important thing.
However I did notice a few important things. The old Concerto was very critical of partnering electronics because of its not so perfect tweeter. The Concerto Home is more forgiving in terms of the treble performance of its partnering electronics but that doesnt mean you can just hook it up to anything. Like its predecessor, it sings best with pedigreed components. In fact there is an added requirement, since the Concerto Home's bass is fuller and weightier ... it means that it is much more critical of the associated components' bass quality compared to the old! Indeed, there were times that the Concerto Home's bass (when it is driven by less than capable amplifiers and wired with cables with sucky bass) remind me too much of the slow boring bass of some Dynaudio speakers, ARRRGGGHHH!. More bass also naturally mean that the Concerto Home is an even bigger space hog than the Concerto ...
I bought my speakers as a first component buy on the way to audio nirvana (hehehe). Right now my source and amplifier are very poor and do not do justice to the SF's ; they are :CD Player : Pioneer DV 530 (the same as the 535 dvd player)
Amplifier : Yamaha RXV 795a receiver (Dolby Digital & DTS decoder)People in this forum will ban me for using these with Sonus Faber Concerto Home (hehe), but, believe it or not, and after all the very expensive audio I've heard, it's a pretty surprising combination. Of course it can't be compared to dedicated components, but I intend to upgrade each part to a proper component as I listen more and find one.
I'm more toward a solid state thing, but if I really enjoy the sound, I'd go for a tube anyways. I listen to a wide range of music from soft Lisa Ekdahl, Portishead, Morcheeba (I love female voices) a little jazz, Metallica, and also some heavy alternative like Rage Against the Machine, Rammstein etc. Yes I know, I have strange tastes :)
What would you think would be a good combination CD Player / Amplifier for the Concerto Home ?
Thanks for all your time giving good advice Hyperion,
K.
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