Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor old v new

I don't care much for HIFI-sound. I don't even know what is meant by it. All I know is that personally I have never heard the old Cremona sound other than soft, dark and slow, which to me is not very musical at all. But I must have tried the wrong gear with it (Krell, Audio Flight, Mystère, Electrocompaniet), because according to some they sound terrific. All I can say is: if that is terrific, then 90% of all speakers sound horrible, since they sound much and much brighter en lighter than the Cremona's. ;-)
I guess it's all a matter of taste.

Actually, I find some change in sound with electronics but not huge changes. I hear differences in the treble detail and in the ability to control base, but the overall sound does not change that much. I have tried Edge, Levinson, Classe, AR, Simaudio and even B&K and Dussun with my Cremona. Simaudio is the only one that really seemed to suck out the magic - really made the sound too tame. And B&K made the treble harsh, but it is known to do that - had it around for HT so gave it a try. Otherwise, the differences were more subtle than dramatic. Current setup is Classe CD and pre and Levinson amp. Thats what I liked the best. Seems to me that the differences being discussed here are mostly due to people's ears and preferences, both in music and in sound. I am continued amazed when I go into a shop and hear someone going on and on praising a system that sounds terrible to me. It seems trite, but people really need to listen for themself and make decisions based on what they like. Bob- any luck on finding some M's to listen to?

Well my experince is there sound change rather dramaticly by going from primare/ and rotel amps to jadis ja30 class amps and then finaly to the linn amps.

Hulskof

I can asure you that the crmonas with 500 watts of Linn klimax power up there behind creates a sound that is eything else then what you hve descried.

Its completly open , with awsome transperant midbass and awsome awsome dynamics, voices and instrument sounds real yet everythng is just netural not bright not warm not muddy not lean not to smooth just right, and wih my new linn DS its i hear sound and music ´that i havent heard better live or playbacked
It really needs to be heard to be understood.

I really wish you could listen to my system.

I emailed Sumiko yesterday to find out who has a pair of Auditor Ms on display. Have not heard back yet.

This has been a very intresting discussion - clearly divided into two camps - those who prefer the warmth and lushness of the original model and those who like the clearer, crisper presenation of the M.

Tda2200,

Just a quick quote from John Atkinson's original Cremona review back in 2004:
"However, the pianos on Soular Energy and Reptet occasionally had a little more bite than I was expecting; some notes sounding more forward in the soundstage than others."
This is the same kind of thing I recall hearing when listening to the original Cremonas, and since I am so sensitive in the midrange and upper midrange regions, it bothered me. The M's have tamed this, which is probably the main reason I like them better.

You are refer to the hotter treble in the M's. I do not disagree with you here. The M's definitely do have more energy in the treble region, as shown by the response curves referenced by other forum members here. My ears aren't quite so sensitive in the treble region, so I guess that it just doesn't bother me. Perhaps the up-swing in treble response is what is making me think that the M's are a bit more detailed and "lively" than the original Cremonas.

I actually just heard the M's again last night, at Stuart's A/V in Westfield NJ. They really weren't all that well set up (the room a bit small and highly reflective/echo-ey) and were being fed CD via a Sony BD2000ES Blu-ray player though a Macintosh integrated amp), so they were not performing at their best. At least in this room, I definitely noticed a lack of bass weight, as some others have reported. From my own experience, I've found that good bass response tends to "smooth" the overall sound of a speaker, actually helping to mask flaws in the mid-range and even appearing to tone down the treble as well. I would certainly not characterize the sound I heard as boomy or slow though. Drum attacks were very quick, and had the appropriate "thwack" that they should. Despite the limitations of the room/equipment, I still enjoyed the overall sound of the Cremona M. I'm a bit of bass junky, so I would still feel the need to pair this speaker with a tight subwoofer to fill in the bottom end a bit.

They actually had the Elipsas in the same room, being fed by Mac SACD/CD player, MAC pre-amp and amp, and I definitely preferred those. Granted, they were a bit (just a bit) bloated in the bass due to poor positioning, but the potential was definitely there. A sub is probably not necessary with this speaker. Shame I can't afford them. The Elipsas are also much smaller than I thought they would be. Really impressed with this speaker, but cut my demo short as there is no sense in torturing myself with things I can't afford.

They had the Auditor M's there as well, but due to time limitations, I didn't give them a listen, as I've heard them before. Plus, they will be relegated to surround duty in my room, so I'm not as worried about them. I haven't heard the Elipsa Auditors yet, and they may make for a better surround speaker due to wall placement options.

I also gave a listen to the B+W 802D's while I was there. These were in their dedicated theater room, which was treated to sound pretty darn good. Again, all Mac gear driving them. Very nice speaker. Shame that they cost even more than the Cremonas now. For my ears, they had a tiny bit of excess energy in the presence region, but I think I could tame that with cable/amp matching or perhaps a touch of EQ.

I have to go back and get them to move the Cremona M's into the dedicated theater room to give them a fair workout.