the hand of boredom

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.67 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I've auditioned several monitors for over two years in the quest to build my next little system. I finally settled on the Cremona Auditor upon it's first note. There was something about the way this speaker presented the music that made me say 'Yes."

I'm not going to use alot of audio lingo such as warm, fluid, relaxed highs, tuneful bass, accuracy. But I would use those terms to describe the sound of the Auditors.

I listened to the following in auditions: Elac 208, Reference 3A Dulcet and Veena (both absolutely fantastic and open products, would've gone for the Veena, was just too big for the room), Monitor Audio Platinum 100, KEF Reference 201. All have their strengths and not one sounded bad. What set the Cremona Auditor above the rest, for me, was it's ability to convey the emotion of the music... if Ms Krall is giving a touch more oompf into the keys, you can feel it; if Ms Muter is swaying and really digging her bow into her strings, you can definitely feel it.

In my 13 x 15 bedroom, I have the speakers placed as close as possible to the golden ratio (see Cardas) for a square room. The rectangular room setup just won't work, otherwise the WIFE would be eternally cranky, and we don't want that. The golden ration had a tremendous effect of opening the staging to the width of the room, and the timing (or speed) of the music is very quick now.

The lower end, although quite pleasing, won't shake your walls. There is energy at the bottom, but for true bottom end punch, get a subwoofer.

Quality of material is second to none, the silk covers are world class.

I don't have the luxury of comparing these to any other speaker in my system, since I put the system together all at once.

Musical Fidelity A5CD
Raysonic SP120 Intergrated
Tara Labs RSC Air 1 Interconnect
Crystal Cable Reference Power

Strengths:
Abillity to bring emotion of the performance into your audio room,
Craftsmanship is world class,
Lovely open midrange

Weaknesses:
Cost, as with any fine piece of anything

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm Reference Studio 40
Monitor Audio Bronze 3
Monitor Audio GS20

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Price Paid:  $3000.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
This is one of the best monitors you can buy today. They are very detailed and their soundstage is one of the best out there. Also they stand out for their musicality and relaxing sound. They can also rock but their bass isnt going to shake your house. However in a small room their bass can be punchy and articulate so the speaker in no slouch in this department. All in all a very nice speaker worth auditioning

Strengths:
Detail, Musicality, Coherence, Soundstage.

Weaknesses:
Bass could be a bit more extended

Price Paid:  $5000.00 from Pro Musica

Summary:
My first encounter with Sonus Faber was at my Audiophile friend house who originally owned Wilson Sophia. He had just got rid of the Sophia and bought Sonus Faber Homage Amati. He told me to listen to his new loudspeakers. I was really blown away by these speakers. They are very very musical. The imaging, sound stage, details, rhythm etc are first rated, by the way I am a musician. More importantly, these speakers don't make my ear tired. But looking at the build and sound qualities, I know that these speakers are not in my league. He suggested me to audition, Cremona Auditor. The Cremona Auditor is not inexpensive, closed to US$ 5,000 for both spekaers and stands. I match my new Auditors with Naim Nait 5i and Marantz SA11-S1. They really makes wonderful music everyday for me. When I listen to Wynton Marsalis or David Sanborn, the speakers disappear and I feel that they are in my family room playing for me. For the money ($10K), I think I did not make a mistake buying this pair of speakers plus the CD player + Nait5i, NACA5. However, since I had listened to Amati driven by top of the line Naim gears, I knew that I can improve what I have (this actually spoils my happiness, I thought I had the most wonderful system), but I have to spend four times what I spent. I think I need to take a respite at this time. Later, I may upgrade to a better system. Bottom line, I really recommend Sonus Faber products.

Strengths:
Very detail, excellent imaging, extremely wide sound stage. The bass is unbelievably sweet and tight for its size.

Weaknesses:
Comparing to Amati there are several things that I think Amati does better than Auditor:
1. Bass
2. Imaging much more focus
3. Detail
4. Deeper sound stage

But you have to pay at least 5 times more.....

Similar Products Used:
BW 805, Celestion SL700SE, Dynaudio 25, Dynaudio 1.3SE, Dyaudio 52.

elverket

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.71 of 5, 41.00 votes

Price Paid:  $3100.00

Summary:
I was originally set on buying the B&W Nautilus 805 or 804. However, i auditioned the auditors just for fun, as i had read a couple of nice reveiws on them, but they were a bit out of my price range. From the first listen, i heard a new world compared to the nautilus. Nautilus was perhaps more "correct", but the musicality of the cremonas made the whole difference. The bass was better defined as well, and especially acoustic instruments sounded more natural to me. I wounded up paying i bit more than i would have done with the 804 or 805, but every time I put on a record, I know it's worth every penny. As for my taste in music, I am a musicology student, and like just about anything as long as it is well performed. Artists include Stevie Wonder, Keith Jarrett, Esbjörn Svensson, Sting, Rage against the machine, Peter Gabriel, Debussy, Grieg, Beethoven, and so on.. I haven't heard the floor-standing cremonas, but I hear people say the Auditor gives you a lot more for the money. If you have them in a room smaller than 30m2, i think the auditor will sound about just as well anyway..

Strengths:
Looks. They may look nice on pictures, but you have to see them. Mine have the graphite finish, and they are among the most tasteful and well-crafted speakers i have ever seen. Beautiful. I have the original speaker stands as well, but it's a matter of taste i you prefer these. Check it out!

Weaknesses:
Single terminals, no biwiring here. No problem for me, but perhaps to someone.. Nothing else, love them!

Similar Products Used:
B&W Nautilus 804, 805, Jamo D830 (crap), Phonar P30.