Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Sonus Faber Cremona Speakers by weg

Model:	Cremona
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:
Description:	lute-shaped 3-way 4-driver ported floorstander; construction similar to Amati Homage
Manufacturer URL:	Sonus Faber
Manufacturer URL:	Sonus Faber

Review by weg ( A ) on June 02, 2002 at 17:07:31
IP Address: 203.57.240.99

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for the Cremona

Hi all,
I was fortunate enough to audition the Cremona's against a pair of Guarneri's last Friday night, after my dealer excitedly rang me up to tell me they had just been delivered. As such there is one qualification to the observations made, that being the speakers had not been run in.
The Cremona's are very good speaker, and the lasting impression of my audition is that they are genuinely are better comprimise to music making compared with the Guarneri's. The present music in a large scale way, yet at the same time communicate subtle nuances in the music at both frequency extremes. Their midrange is superb, integrating extremely well with their lucid top end. It is almost as if you simply cant hear the tweeter, yet the highs are there as they should be. The bass is well extended and brings a welcome sense of 'being there' to orchestral music.
Comparing the same music on the Guareris's i couldnt help but feel disappointed. I must admit their top end and the mid range was slightly better. They extracted another layer of spatial information which was not evident on the Cremona's, and vocals were simple sacry in terms of their life likeness. Needles to say, if your recording is not up to scratch you will hear it all on both of these speakers. Howver, and this is where it comes to the crunch, the picture painted by the Guareneris was simply not life like compared to the Cremona's when viewed holistically. They did not fill the room with the full power of the orchestra as did the Cremona's; they did not transport me to the venue as much as the Cremona's, yet, I acknowledge that their voicing and top end was superior. At the end of the day the Guarneri's sounded just a little thin and for that reason I will soon be parting with a 20% deposit to secure a pair of Cremona's.
Hope this review sheds some light for those of you comparing these two excellent speakers.
weg

Product Weakness: none
Product Strengths: overal musicality

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Musica
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	none
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	rega cd
Speakers:	cremona
Cables/Interconnects:	dont know
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classical Opera, Cafe Del Mar,
Room Size (LxWxH):	8m x 4m x
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 hrs
Type of Audition/Review:	Dealer Demo
Your System (if other than home audition):	Musica EAs A3CD VDH cables

Product Weakness:	none
Product Strengths:	overal musicality