Yes, the new sonus faber tradition line should be killer to say the least. i am glad sonus faber went away from the whole "laid back" sound. I totally hated that sound and the soundstage was narrow as well without much low end punch.
Most dealers want to make a sale and i get that. They need to make money and i respect that, but i am more of the type that does research and selects my next move very carefully and then report on what my findings are. I don’t make a dime from this thread at all and i don’t get compensation from the brands that i have praised here. As a matter of fact, sometimes i read reviews on certain magazines and i see the associated equipment that was used to present a review i realize that i have better and more reputable gear that i could use to do reviews myself. I would actually love to do that, but i am very blunt and without a filter and so if i receive a piece of equipment that i feel is terrible, i will make sure i say that because i can’t sugar coat things.
I still have pass labs, simaudio and luxman and MAYBE Mark Levinson as the top dogs as far as refinement, finesse, detail, clarity, soundstage and precision. i call this tier group the "ferrari" group.
As far as the "mustang 5.0" tier group, i would have krell, classe, bryston, belcanto, parasound halo, mcintosh. These would be those with plenty of horsepower, with punch, capable to drive anything, but do not necessarily have all the finesse and depth that the "ferrari" tier group has.
The last tier group would be the "bang for the buck". These are amps that are great and do a lot of things really well. They have power, good detail and dynamics and are well rounded, but lack the extra detail, decay, layering and bass accuracy found in the first 2 groups. I would put emotiva, cary audio, ati, theta digital, nad, parasound classic, rotel.
If you are looking for an amp to build a system upon, ALWAYS shoot for an amp that has more than the needed power when possible because this will lay the foundation of your system today and tomorrow. I say this to some of you who contact me asking for advice. Don’t skimp on amplification when possible. That said, just because an amplifier has 300 watts per channel does not mean it is better than one with 150 watts. Not all watts are created equal. REMEMBER THAT.
If you are building a system, your order of priority in terms of what you need to buy and in which order should be as follows:
1. Speakers
2. Preamplifier
3. Source
4. Amplifier
I could see why some of you would have the amplifier as #3 and the source as #4. I realized that sources are a huge part of this game. I learned this with the sonus faber cremonese more than ever before. You can’t purchase a pair of speakers that are 45k dollars and use an oppo 205 as your source or a sonos streamer or a laptop, etc. That is like buying a ferrari and buying cheap engine oil, cheap chinese tires and cheap air freshener. Really?
If you buy a speaker that is up there in terms of value, you also need to look at your front end. You need to evaluate what other components need to go and replaced. Getting better speakers do not fix all your sound problems. The right equipment also needs to be thought out in order to make the entire experience that much more real. Anytime you switch speakers, that is just the beginning of what you are about to embark on. You now need to first identify if your amp can push them (see why i said to buy a quality amp from the get go is important?) and then buy your preamp according to the flavor that you seek. If you are looking for a musical tone then go with a tube preamp, etc, etc. That should be the thought process.
Most dealers want to make a sale and i get that. They need to make money and i respect that, but i am more of the type that does research and selects my next move very carefully and then report on what my findings are. I don’t make a dime from this thread at all and i don’t get compensation from the brands that i have praised here. As a matter of fact, sometimes i read reviews on certain magazines and i see the associated equipment that was used to present a review i realize that i have better and more reputable gear that i could use to do reviews myself. I would actually love to do that, but i am very blunt and without a filter and so if i receive a piece of equipment that i feel is terrible, i will make sure i say that because i can’t sugar coat things.
I still have pass labs, simaudio and luxman and MAYBE Mark Levinson as the top dogs as far as refinement, finesse, detail, clarity, soundstage and precision. i call this tier group the "ferrari" group.
As far as the "mustang 5.0" tier group, i would have krell, classe, bryston, belcanto, parasound halo, mcintosh. These would be those with plenty of horsepower, with punch, capable to drive anything, but do not necessarily have all the finesse and depth that the "ferrari" tier group has.
The last tier group would be the "bang for the buck". These are amps that are great and do a lot of things really well. They have power, good detail and dynamics and are well rounded, but lack the extra detail, decay, layering and bass accuracy found in the first 2 groups. I would put emotiva, cary audio, ati, theta digital, nad, parasound classic, rotel.
If you are looking for an amp to build a system upon, ALWAYS shoot for an amp that has more than the needed power when possible because this will lay the foundation of your system today and tomorrow. I say this to some of you who contact me asking for advice. Don’t skimp on amplification when possible. That said, just because an amplifier has 300 watts per channel does not mean it is better than one with 150 watts. Not all watts are created equal. REMEMBER THAT.
If you are building a system, your order of priority in terms of what you need to buy and in which order should be as follows:
1. Speakers
2. Preamplifier
3. Source
4. Amplifier
I could see why some of you would have the amplifier as #3 and the source as #4. I realized that sources are a huge part of this game. I learned this with the sonus faber cremonese more than ever before. You can’t purchase a pair of speakers that are 45k dollars and use an oppo 205 as your source or a sonos streamer or a laptop, etc. That is like buying a ferrari and buying cheap engine oil, cheap chinese tires and cheap air freshener. Really?
If you buy a speaker that is up there in terms of value, you also need to look at your front end. You need to evaluate what other components need to go and replaced. Getting better speakers do not fix all your sound problems. The right equipment also needs to be thought out in order to make the entire experience that much more real. Anytime you switch speakers, that is just the beginning of what you are about to embark on. You now need to first identify if your amp can push them (see why i said to buy a quality amp from the get go is important?) and then buy your preamp according to the flavor that you seek. If you are looking for a musical tone then go with a tube preamp, etc, etc. That should be the thought process.