Sonus Faber speakers for home theater ok? (1 Viewer)

[Joko Tanoyo]

Hi guys,

New guy in the forum here. I am about to purchase my home theater system for when I move into the new house in the next coming few months. A dealer suggested that I should use 2 Grand Piano speakers for the fronts, a Solo for the center speaker and 2 Concertino speakers for the rear surrounds. He also said if I want to, I can always upgrade the fronts to the limited-edition Cremona speakers should I ever become music-intensive user (instead of HT intensive).

Some background information:

1. It will be a dedicated home theater room (6m X 8m).

2. I will probably be using a Denon 5803 receiver.

3. I will also be using a 100-inch front projection screen.

4. I will pay just about $4000 for the system with Concertino rear surrounds and $8000 for the system with Cremona fronts.

My questions:

1. For the same kind of money, what other speakers are available for me and at what price?

2. If I opt for the Sonus Faber system, would the Denon receiver be sufficient?

3. Am I on the right track with this or am I just being conned by my dealer? (or hypnotized by the Sonus Faber..)

All help and questions answered will be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Gil D]

am I just being conned by my dealer? (or hypnotized by the Sonus Faber..

You are now hopelessly hypnotized by these fine pieces of Italian art You are doomed, no other speakers will ever do...hehehe.
Are these the newer Home series or the original Concert series? The newer Home series is a bit closer to some of the Classics, being more dynamic and detailed IMO. They are also brighter (if you can call any Sonus bright) which is advantageous for HT IMO.
I have the original Concertos that are now used as rear speakers as part of a dual use music/HT system. The Concertos were recently replaced with Signums up front which are a significant step up in clarity, detail and dynamics, but are missing some of the midbass oomph of the larger Concerto.
For the price of the Grand Piano, you may want to consider the Electa Amator II as it is a more refined speaker for music although you may lose a little something in the very low bass area. With a good subwoofer the difference should not be apparent. The EA II should in theory get you closer to the level of performance of the Cremona. I have not heard the Cremona, so I can't say how it really compares. I heard the EA II & Solo Home fed by the Denon 5800 and it was superb. I was very surprised that there was no external amp and only the Denon driving these - testimony of the easy load these speakers are.
While the Sf might not be the last word for HT sound, they are excellent for music and still quite good with HT. BTW Have you seen the review of the Grand Piano Home setup in the latest SGHT issue?
Hope this helps,
Gil

 

[Joko Tanoyo]

The EA II costs just about double the Grand Piano in the Sumiko Audio website. Even though I know I have to check prices around but still that's quite a big jump from the Grand Piano, I won't be surprised that the EA II will sound quite a bit better than the Grand Piano (closer to the Cremona, as you have stated). You are right, however, that losing bass response problem will be able to be fixed quite easily with a good sub. Any recommendation?
Thank for your help, Gil. I just might get the EA II for the fronts, the solo for center and the Grand Piano Home for the surrounds, and 2 Concertino for the EX/ES speakers. Eek, did my speaker budget just blow up!?!? Hahaha...this is a losing battle.

 

[MarkO]

I use the original Concertinos at all four and the Picolo center. Sonic bliss comes to mind I did not have much luck with an intergrated reciever with them tho. I have found the original Concertino a bit more livelier than the newer more refined home series.

 

[Arnel Enero]

If you want a perfectly seemless transition between your front L/R and center speaker, I suggest you go with the GP to match up with the Solo.

Yes, the EA2 will give you better music performance, but I've already tested in the showroom if they timbrally match the Solo center, and they DON'T. The Solo is noticeably much darker in tonality than the EA2. Even pink-noise test tones will reveal this difference.

So there's an issue you should consider carefully.

Btw, I'm also ALMOST convinced of going all-Sonus Faber for my multichannel system... needing just a little more convincing for myself, a couple more visits to the showroom. Personally, I go for the GPH + Solo + Concertino setup... they are perfectly TIMBRE-MATCHED as they were designed to work together anyway.

And I hate to put you into the same dilemma as mine, but you should also listen to the B&W Nautilus-series system. If I consider only HT, they're probably the best in their price range... but their debatable "brightness" in music is another thing.

 

[Larry B]

Joko:

Sonus faber (note that it's a lower case "f") are wonderful sounding, highly refined speakers. They especially shine with "smaller" music: jazz, chamber music, etc. They tend not to appeal to rock-and-rollers, who find them too laid back.

I see no reason why they won't work for HT but that is not what they are best suited for. If your primary interest is HT, I agree with the suggestion of another poster that you should listen to speakers from other companies, as well. B&W is very popular, and they make dozens of models. (For what it's worth, I'm not a big fan of B&W, but I'm in the minority.) Paradigm are also very popular, though I have no first hand experience with them.

Good luck.

Larry

 

[Gil D]

Joko,

Grand Piano Home for the surrounds

This is a mistake. No way I would waste GP Home on surround. Concerto will do well in this regard.

Check Audigon for lightly used Sf. There's a pair of EA II for private sale asking $2300 and the dealers there should be able to come close if they have them. I recommend dpTrade(paulo_italy) and Ranyhifi.

Also, I did not think Sumiko was the importer for the far east. The Sonus faber are much less in cost in Europe and Asia. I believe EAII is under $3000 new w/out stands.

GP Home is a good speaker, but I think once you hear the EA II the decision will be easy. If it's 90% HT then maybe go with the matching Homes. Otherwise if you want better music then you will have to choose. With my 60/40 music/ht, EA II is a no brainer for me. The only reason I got the Signum is because I need to place the speakers very close to the wall (Sigs are designed for this) and got a great deal on them.

It's best if you can have 3 matching (same) speakers across the front for HT. But last audition showed the Solo Home not to be a "perfect" match for the GP Home. Concertos would probably be a better match with the Solo Home and half the cost. I run the Piccolo with the Signums and although the Piccolo is not in the same league, it handles dialogue acceptably well. Action effects and musical scores are produced extremely well by the combo. When I ran a B&W center with Concertos - well now that's a different story. I would try something like James Taylor DVD or Hourglass multichannel SACD on the two setups at the dealer and see what you think for music. Then try an action DVD with lots of pans - maybe Jurassic Park/Godzilla and The Fast and Furious.

I am also a former B&W owner(great speakers) and probably do HT a little better due to metal dome tweeter. Midrange of the Classic series is in the same league as the Nautilus (N804/N803 at least) w/out the extended treble.

The Signums (and sub of course) have brought new life to my old Rock CD's.

 

[Mark Austin]

IMO, the Sonus faber Home series is better than "ok" for HT use. I am now into a month an a half with the Grand Piano, Concertino, Solo setup(previous setup N805 based), and it is spectacular on movies as well as music. I do think that for the money you could find speakers that could slightly better them for movie presentations, but that lack the Sf's musicality. For me, it is more like "being there" than the Nautilus could reproduce. I'm not saying that the Nautilus line is by any means a bad speaker. Still one of my favorites, but it doesn't have the Sonus sound, which is soooooo silky.
With that being said, the EA II would be yet another step above, and would probably make you forget about theater altogether.
I would second the recommendation of Paulo from DP Trade.

 

[felix_suwarno]

joko

i live in chicago but i will pay my parents a visit this christmas, and i want to build a small home theater for them.

( i think htf people wont let me speak indonesian here )

sorry if this doesnt have anything to do with your thread, but please let me know your suggestion for a receiver and a dvd player that is region free. i have no idea what brand to choose, or what brands that are available there.

btw, is paradigm or boston acoustics brand available?

thanks in advance