Amp for Sonus Faber Cremonas Auditor

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alphatoner

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Just aquired a pair of this to run as a seperate music system

What would suggestions be for amplifier pairing. I have no pre-conciened notions re integrated or pre/power or monblock or even valves.

My music taste runs mostly to acoustic mid rock folk jazz some blues. Virtually no classical and nothing heavy. My budget will be about £1,000 SECONDHAND but could stretch that for the right kit.

Any advice welcome


Thanks



Ian
 
I wouldn't spend that much if I were you. If you are happy to go with solid-state, you don't need to spend a vast amount to get very good performance.
 
Tenson said:
I wouldn't spend that much if I were you. If you are happy to go with solid-state, you don't need to spend a vast amount to get very good performance.
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Thanks I am all for spending less moeny, but what amp are you sugessting will work well with Sonus Faber Auditors for less than a grand secondhand?
 
A Cyrus 3 (not i) with PSX-R would do a nice job, and is about £350 second hand. The Cambridge Audio 840a is also nice and is £800 new. If you go the pre / power route I have always said the Alesis RA500 is a good power amp and is a stupid £150 new (you could monoblock with 500watts a side). Those are my top picks, and frankly I don't believe spending more gets anything better.

If you are not afraid of a little soldering you could do very nicely with an SKA 150 power amp kit from Greg Ball at about £400. I'm using these at the moment.
 
alphatoner said:
Just aquired a pair of this to run as a seperate music system

What would suggestions be for amplifier pairing. I have no pre-conciened notions re integrated or pre/power or monblock or even valves.

My music taste runs mostly to acoustic mid rock folk jazz some blues. Virtually no classical and nothing heavy. My budget will be about £1,000 SECONDHAND but could stretch that for the right kit.
Click to expand...

For a start, I'm very jealous, because they are absolutely gorgeous speakers. Some of the prettiest I've ever seen, actually. I applaud your taste.

I'd go for a reasonably powerful valve push/pull over a solid state amp. I just don't think transistor amps sound particularly nice (generally) and especially at the sub £1k price point.

Consonance and Prima Luna make good EL34/KT88/6550 push-pull amps with 25+ watts of power that should do a very nice job with the SFs. The PureSound A30 is also very highly regarded and is £1100 new, IIRC.

However, I do think the SFs could be partnered with very high quality amplification. Seems a bit of a shame to leave them hanging off a £1k integrated. The really deserve a high end pre/mono setup.

DT
 
Tenson said:
A Cyrus 3 (not i) with PSX-R would do a nice job, and is about £350 second hand. The Cambridge Audio 840a is also nice and is £800 new. If you go the pre / power route I have always said the Alesis RA500 is a good power amp and is a stupid £150 new (you could monoblock with 500watts a side). Those are my top picks, and frankly I don't believe spending more gets anything better.

If you are not afraid of a little soldering you could do very nicely with an SKA 150 power amp kit from Greg Ball at about £400. I'm using these at the moment.
Click to expand...

The Cyrus is an option and they do come up fairly often on fleabay. The DIY option is out of the question though much too ham fisted.
 
Dynamic Turtle said:
For a start, I'm very jealous, because they are absolutely gorgeous speakers. Some of the prettiest I've ever seen, actually. I applaud your taste.

I'd go for a reasonably powerful valve push/pull over a solid state amp. I just don't think transistor amps sound particularly nice (generally) and especially at the sub £1k price point.

Consonance and Prima Luna make good EL34/KT88/6550 push-pull amps with 25+ watts of power that should do a very nice job with the SFs. The PureSound A30 is also very highly regarded and is £1100 new, IIRC.

However, I do think the SFs could be partnered with very high quality amplification. Seems a bit of a shame to leave them hanging off a £1k integrated. The really deserve a high end pre/mono setup.

DT
Click to expand...

They certainly are gorgeous no question about that, Lacking a bit in the bass department though compared to my previous speakers (by that i mean the ones stacked at the side waiting to be sold).

Quite like the look of the pure sound A30 and there is one for sale at hififorsale but at £700 seemed a bit pricey 2nd hand. The NVA amps from ebay get some good press as well so might check them out if i can.
 
alphatoner said:
The Cyrus is an option and they do come up fairly often on fleabay. The DIY option is out of the question though much too ham fisted.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, I love the Cyrus 3. You would want to add the PSX-R to get a bit more power out of it.

If you want to hear one you are welcome to visit.
 
Tenson said:
Absolutely, I love the Cyrus 3. You would want to add the PSX-R to get a bit more power out of it.

If you want to hear one you are welcome to visit.
Click to expand...

That's very kind of you, sadly Kent is bit out of the way for mem but i do appreciate the offer.

:)
 
alphatoner said:
They certainly are gorgeous no question about that, Lacking a bit in the bass department though compared to my previous speakers (by that i mean the ones stacked at the side waiting to be sold).

Quite like the look of the pure sound A30 and there is one for sale at hififorsale but at £700 seemed a bit pricey 2nd hand. The NVA amps from ebay get some good press as well so might check them out if i can.
Click to expand...

Sounds reasonable for an amp of its reputed quality. I doubt you'd loose much on it and I there won't be much else around sub-£700 (new or used) that would outperform it. You'll also get a warranty, unlike most eBay deals. I'd say go for it.

DT
 
alphatoner said:
Curious as to why not the i version and does the PSX-R make that much difference?
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The 3i dates from a period when Cyrus lost the plot and let the influences of Denis Morecroft of DNM loose on the product range.
Gone is the gutsy, dynamic, bold sound of the old Cyrus amps to be replaced with a limp, insipid imitation.

The PSXR has always been a serious bargain of a PSU (open one up and compare to a Naim Hicap...) and splits the pre/power sections of the Cyrus 3. Well worth adding IMO.
 
These speakers deserve a quality amp. I would go for a max you can afford used. Audio Research as an option. It all depends on what you regard as a "good sound". My personal experiecne shows that most mid-budget amps sound shockingly bad compared to good 3-4k designes. They all could be found much cheaper used.
 
ARC integrated for under a grand? I think the VSi55 goes for £1500+, so not cheap.

AFAIK, ARC cost a bomb to service too. Praying that my PH5 will behave itself until I sell it!

DT
 
Personally I think that these Sonus Fabers deserve something better than a Cyrus-3.
I've had the Cyrus-3 and for the money it's not a bad amp, but not that special either and not in the same leaque as the Sonus Faber speakers.
 
I have to disagree, I think in a blind test you would be hard pressed to tell any difference at all between most of these amps you are all talking about.

Why not get a Cyrus 3 from eBay, and take it to the shops with you to demo more expensive amps. Do it BLIND, where you honestly don't know which is playing (and the shop clerk doesn't obviously dance to one of them ;) ). See which you prefer and get that one. If it turns out not to be the Cyrus 3 then fine, sell it on eBay again for no loss. I don't think it will turn out that way though, I think you will rarely be able to identify which amp is playing.

This was always an interesting webpage - http://www.matrixhifi.com/ENG_contenedor_ppec.htm
 
I think in a blind test you would be hard pressed to tell any difference at all between most of these amps you are all talking about.
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At the time I had the Cyrus-3 I also had the chance to compare it to a Cyrus-7 and my Naim Nait-2.
The Cyrus-7 was quite a bit better than the -3, and (to my surprise) the much older Nait-2 even more!

I'm sure I could pick the Cyrus-3 out of the here mentioned 3 quite easily in a blind test. I must confess I've never done it, as the differences were already too obvious.
(I wish I did prefer the Cyrus though, as it looked much better, and had a remote)

(Compared to a (for example) Naim Nait-2 or Nait-5i the Cyrus 3 is much smoother, less open/transparent, and less detailed)

It still is a nice amp though, but more in comparison to for example the Mission 780 speakers.
(would probaly make a lovely combo)
 
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Thats interesting, as I prefer the 3 to the 7. I thought the 7, and in fact all the Cyrus amps after the 3, give the illusion of greater detail simply by sounding thin.

Still, don't go for a Cyrus 3 then, go for something else. My point is, a more expensive amp is rarely better these days. Solid state amps are so cheap to produce, the only difference between most of them are exactly that, differences, not improvements. An accurate amp is an accurate amp, and it needn't cost a lot.
 
My point is, a more expensive amp is rarely better these days.
An accurate amp is an accurate amp, and it needn't cost a lot.
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In that I can agree with you Tenson. :)
I've also heard several more expensive amps that I didn't like any better.

Btw,...I do remember when I auditioned the more affordable Sonus Faber Concertino's (the more recent 'home' version), with my Cyrus-3, and I must confess that it did sound wonderful!
(So it has to be said that Cyrus & SF is not a bad combo)
 
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Thanks for all the comment guys. But in the end did what strangly seems to guide my instincts these days. I did an ebay impulse buy.

Saw it at at the last minute stuck in a bid and won. Basis was it looked beutiful it glows in the dark and it was to cheap to be believed, so cheap that even throwing it in the bin wouldn't cause any pain.

spoke to the seller to day on the phone he will send it by courier tomorrow for del on thursday. I'll let you know whats it's like after a quick listen.
 

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