Sonus Faber Electa Amator II Floorstanding Speakers

Sonus Faber Electa Amator II Floorstanding Speakers 

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 61  
[Apr 23, 2019]
carl11529


Strength:

Musicality and bountifulness. Flexibility in ancillary equipments. I use Unison Simply 4 to enjoy the music. CD is Mark Levinson 390s. Forever to say in my collection.

Weakness:

None as I am aware.

Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Apr 23, 2019]
carl11529


Strength:

Musicality and bountifulness. Flexibility in ancillary equipments. I use Unison Simply 4 to enjoy the music. CD is Mark Levinson 390s. Forever to say in my collection.

Weakness:

None as I am aware.

Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Sep 15, 2010]
Sean
AudioPhile

Treble - Average

Midrange - Excellent (this is where this speaker excels)

Bass - Excellent (greater than most floor standing speakers twice its price-point)


Unlike most bookshelf speakers, these don't give you that small speaker feeling. I use to own a pair of JMLAB anniversary/limited addition bookshelf. Compared to that, these SF don't have as detailed of a treble. Having said that, the SF's just create a larger sound stage and has much greater musicality.

It's like comparing two professional musicians. One is good and one is great (world renowned). The difference is the musicians ability to put their heart and soul into the music. That's why I love SONUS FABER.

SF's may not have the best treble, it may not have the best midrange, it may not have the best bass. It may not even be the most detailed. But it is its ability to create music with heart and soul that sets itself apart.

Finally, as with all SF's the cabinet is just sooo beautifully made.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Apr 04, 2007]
Mike Uysal
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Strong, articulate mid-range. Big sound-stage with excellent imaging. Very musical speakers. Strong WAF. Good resale value. Simply great fun to listen. They will reflect the quality of equipment up the chain. These speakers can groove and I am not talking about the 60's. I think SF is a unique company - even at this price level they produce works of art. Franco Serblin is not some ordinary entrepreneur selling hi-fi equipment. He is an agent of social change.

Weakness:

Slightly colored. Not as accurate compared to SF Guarneri Homage but compared to other speakers in the same price range - these are very special speakers. They are in a class of their own. Maybe somewhat expensive for stand-mount speakers but when you hear them you will change your mind.

This may be the best 2800 I spent on a pair of speakers. They came with the factory original stands which is critical for setup and performance. They have beautiful cosmetics - old charm but stylish. SF really knows the art of cabinet design and manufacture. Setup will require some experimenting. Simply follow the setup instructions in the user manual and you will be done in 30 minutes max. The more toe-in produces sharper focus and more stage depth. Reduced toe-in gives a wider stage, less depth and focus. I listen at near-field about 5-6 feet away from each speaker, 6-7 feet apart. The speakers sit about 5 feet away from the back wall. These speakers are lot of fun to listen to. They are slightly colored but very pleasant sound. The highs are open. The mid-range is very articulate. The base probably gets down to 35 hz but you can always use a good sub. I use a REL B1 with exceptional results. These speakers have a bold sound. They like power and sound better as you increase volume. In other words, IMHO they are not ideal for low volume listening. Very well constructed. They look the part and have the performance to back it up.

Customer Service

So far I have not experienced any problems with these speakers. I drive them with bi-amplification. 4 Naim-Audio NAP-135 mono-blocks - 70 wpc.
Sumiko (US Distributor) does not offer warranty or parts service if an SF product is not purchased from one of their authorized dealers. My purchase was from an individual through AudioGon. Despite of that, Sumiko has politely and promptly answered all my questions. I think they are a class act. They believe in what they are selling and they understand the importance of customer satisfaction.

Similar Products Used:

Quad 11L, 12L, various models from Epos, Monitor Audio, SF Guarneri, SF Cremona Auditor

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 30, 2003]
Sonus
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Warmth, focus, wide sounstage, great on vocals and Jazz music.

Weakness:

Needs powerful amp to bring out the best. Bass cant go low. Must use expensive original stands to sound best. Positioning and toeing is hard work. And very expensive for a bookshelf speaker.

Dear friends, I have been looking for a well balance speaker for a long time. I auditioned Armati Homage, B&W SS 30, 802 natilus and Genesis 5 and Martin logan Odyssey. I liked all of them in a way or the other but the most neutral and balanced speaker is the Aramti Homage. Of course price was a concern and guess what? I settled for the SF EA 2. It sounded great from the start when I heard it with a pair of the small Goldmund Mono blocks at the showroom. It was abe to handle music at loud levels and supprisinly has pretty good bass for suach a small bookshelf speaker. I never tought of buying a bookshelf as I had the impression that they sound small(no volume) and lean (no bass extention). But do not under-estimate the EA 2. Used with my Krell FPB 300/KRC 3 pre and Electrocompaniet 24/192 cd player in full bal mode, his baby has the authority and extention. Wide, bold, transparent, focus and warm sounding. My opinion? Go get one now...heard that it is no longer in production.

Similar Products Used:

Used with Siltech 560S bal interconnect. Striaghtwire Virtuso speaker cable and Audience powercord on all components.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Aug 08, 2002]
lafish
Casual Listener

Strength:

Good bass generator, can win floor standing model. Good soundstage where normal speakers cant produce

Weakness:

If you want to drive it very very well, or say you want to fully utilize this speaker. It is required to have super power amp.....lots of $$$$$$$. Also, its high is not as good as I am dreaming.

Electa Amator II......hmmmm.........I should write my review a bit earlier. Now I no longer own this pair of legend bookshelf. EA2 gave me life when listening to every kind of music, broad coverage like rock, metal, classic, jazz and strange music. It can handle well to all sound coming out to my ears. Good tonal balance, musical and the more important, it bass output is really superior. Sometime I think it can even beat floor standing model. Soundstage is great especially when U are listening to violin and sumphony. This is the strongly recommend tracks when you want to audit this speaker. For the accessories, the best stand for it is wood stone adjustable stand for good looking and good hi-mid sound re-production. The wood steel adjustable stand is also good especially on bass generation. However, it lose a bit on the outlook. EA2 is a gentle speaker which can go along well with different kind of amps. However, I would suggest you use strong power amp to feed it. Coz the biggest the power, the better the sound. I still miss this pair of speaker at some point.

Similar Products Used:

EPOS 12, Dyna Audio Audience 52, ProAc T2000 Sig, PMC FB1, Elac 310ijet, Elac Dolce Vita, Dyna Contour 1.8MKII

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 01, 2002]
hman
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Ability to play any music, very musical and detailed with huge soundstage and big sound, looks

Weakness:

none

I just bought this speakers few days ago and right out of the box they sound fantastic. At the moment I have a mid price 2 channel system with which I am very happy and I will keep for a while. Before this system I had big expencive monoblocks and much more expencive speakers but components did not match. I had Sonus Faber Guarneri which are nearly double the price of this speakers but they don''''t have this big soundstage and could not play any music, only jazz and classical but for US$10000 you would expect speakers to play everything. But with Electa Amator II I am very happy and now my components are matched and sound is nearly perfect, I can live with this speakers for long time. My system is : Sony SCD XA 777 ES SACD Player Transparent Audio Reference with XL tech interconnects Krell KAV 300 iL 200 Watt integrated Transparent Ultra speaker cables Sonus Faber Electa Amator II I think they worth money that you pay for them.

Similar Products Used:

JM Lab Electra 920.1, Sonus Faber Guarneri, JM Lab Mini Utopia (also very good), Dynaudio

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 28, 2002]
Lowrider
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Beautiful speakers, very lively sound, more than other SFs, still sweet and natural...

Weakness:

Need good amplification...

They still require good amplification, I had a Rotel 1080 driving them, it would distort at high levels. I replaced it with a Bryston 4BST and now they really shine, deeper bass, very controlled, more detail without distortion, higher treble, clean as a whistle...

Similar Products Used:

KEf 104.2, SF Concerto Home

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Mar 23, 2000]
Walter
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Presents music in a natural unforced manner. I love the detailed ambience information during the recording sessions. They are extremely good in achieving a feeling of being there.

Weakness:

Not the most dynamic speakers around, but still able to produce a very rhythmic and 'groovy' sound.

I am not a person who loves to listen to audio equipment for fun; you will not find me often in audio stores. However I do love to listen to music, and in order to achieve musical satisfaction, you have to go out and find out which speakers provide you this feeling. Before I go on, I have to say that for me most important is that all music, well recorded or not, is presented in an acceptable manner. My speakers should emphasize the good things of the recording, not confront me with the nasties of it.

During the selection process I have listened to three speakers at home.First speaker was the Kef RDM 3. Besides the fact that they were to large for my room (4*4,5 meter), the Kefs had al lot of clarity which can be a pre for dark recorded music. Lou Reeds':"How do you think it feels" suddenly sounds open, almost positive, mainly due to the clarity of the trompets. But with newer recordings the sound became sharp, and irritating. More or less the same applies to the Audio Physic Tempo 2. Reviewers of Sonus Faber speakers have talked a lot about the 'huge soundstage'. Well I can tell you if the disappearing act of speakers is your cup of tea, go and listen to these or other Audio Physic speakers. Another thing about these speakers is that the bass tuning is very strange, almost as if mid bass is missing. Sometimes the bass was very deep, yet another time no bass at all. I have heard that a new model is presented (tempo 3), maybe they dealt with the strange bass tuning, and if you partner them with a 'warm' cd player and amplifier, these can be nice. Next was the Dali Grand Coupé. These speakers were almost warm to a fault; bass was deep but not tight. In the end The Dali Grand Coupés, in my opinion sounded dull.

Finally I was introduced to the Sonus Faber Electa Amator 2. After a first listening session I was satisfied with these speakers, but not happy. The Electa Amators 2 don't hit with with an enormous amount of detail, they please you but do not enhance your adrealine level. However the more I listenend,the more I get a grip on these speakers. At first I had the feeling that when I played rock music (Primal Scream: Jailbird) it sounded as if they were playing in a concert hall. But now I know that the Electa Amators do not provide you with front row 'seats', but seat you at row M, there were the music is at his best, the place were all parts come together, the place were the musical capabilities of the band become clear. You are aware of all the things happening, all notes played on the instruments, and able to understand the 'message' the band is sending its audience. Listen to The Band: 'The rock of ages' and you will be suprised of the complexity of the music, the fun the band has when playing, and the complete joy of the audience being part of this legendary concert.

The best quality of these speakers is that they give you the feeling of being there: a bar (Tom Waits: 'closing time') a jazz club (Miles Davis: 'Kind of blue', latest remastering, which is absolutely fabulous), a concert hall (Horowitz: 'in Moscou')and so on. I have heard speakers who will impress you more at first listening, I have not heard speakers which are better at giving you the best out of your cd's, whatever music is played. All I can say is that these speakers made me buy more cd's than I ever did. I hope this was helpfull, and that your quest for finding a speaker which makes music, not a huge amount of sounds, is made simpler. Enjoy!

Associated equipment
cd player: AH Tjoeb 99 (Amperex globe logo tubes)
Amplifier: pre: Duson C1000 (Dutch brand;pure class A)
end: Duson A10 (2*60 watt class A)

Similar Products Used:

Kef RDM 3; Audio Physic Tempo 2; Dali Grand coupé.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 03, 2000]
chris
Audiophile

Strength:

strings sound natural and real, the mids are very lifelike,gorgeous, I enjoy the aestitics more and more each day..accurate

Weakness:

soundstaging...female vocals

Must start by saying I have a reference system in theatre,
Watt/puppies/rel.. AR VT100mk2, KRC PRE, xparent Ultra cables
This speaker is used in living room, with Krell FPB300 and Wadia 861, Cardas Glden Cross.. and the living room is bright. I have tried many speakers in this room because I
have been spoiled by the theatre room, which also has room treatment. Audio Physic Virgo, Vienna Acoustic Bachs, Hales T5, Revel Gems, Dynaudio 2 way --most exp. they make, model # escapes me, Of those, the electors were by far and away the best for this room and these electronics. They make strings sound like strings, and I often have them on as background music and never get fatigued. I also showed restraint and limited my search to under 10k. I think the Krell is guilty of fatigue, I started the Watt/Puppies with that and switched to the ARC. This is why I have so many caveats, i.e. a tube amp.. less bright room.. But here, they sound wonderful, they reproduce the body of instruments fully, and with a Rel Stentor crossed over at 32 Hz, this by far beat the other speakers in enjoyment factor.. All the others though in my opinion had better width of soundstaging, they must be far into the room. Their depth is average, but the music, the transients and the blatt of the trumpet were unequaled by any of the others.

Similar Products Used:

revel gems, watt/puppy 5, Dynaudio 2way, audio physic virgo
Wilson Cub

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 1-10 of 61  

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