Thanks a lot guys!

quote:

Hello Edouard, can I ask you on your journey to what sounds like hi-fi nirvana, what other speakers did you hear along the way, and after the SONUS FABER Amati Anniversario which is obviously your first choice what would you put in 2nd and 3rd place.

151,

There has never been a 2nd choice neither a 3rd one, except for the SF Elipsa which I considered once.

None of the listening or demo I had of any speaker gave me the magic sound I'm getting at home with the Amati's.

In the equation of the sound we get, there are the electronics, the speakers AND the room, it happens that the Amati's were meant to work at their very best in my room when fed with top end Naim electronic, it seems like the 552/300 and the Amati's are a extraordinary match, and everyone who heard the system this weekend pointed this out, adding of course how important was the room in the equation!
I'll add that the magic wasn't as good with the Chord Signature speaker cables which we tried once with Geoff. The Naca5 is what the Amati's do need to be at their best, fantastic match again Big Grin

I heard more than once on this forum that the Sonus Faber are a tad slow, a tad warm, which makes you wonder if they do the prat!
When he came, Geoff had in mind the listening he had of some Sonus Faber speakers at the dealer show room, which, from what he remembers was not to his liking. The fact is that, the sound Geoff got in Paris was nowhere near to what he had in mind and he didn't take him long to be absolutely impressed with the music the Amati's were delivering. Geoff correct me if I misinterpreted your saying.
The Amati do prat and how ! Big Grin

I often classified speakers in two different camps, the analytical speakers and the non analytical ones which the Amati's belong to, we often say that speakers is a personal choice, depending on the sound you like, and we do all have different taste.

The group of friends who gathered at my place have also different tastes, and different speakers in their own system, Geoff has high end Kharma speakers with the famous ceramic tweeter, Mark has a pair of SL2, Felix has the top of the range Shahinian's, the Diapason's, Stefan is the speakers nuts and own several pair of speakers, Magnepan 3.6, Cara...and more, he was the only one I think who liked the Sonus Faber speakers as he previously owned a pair of SF Cremona.

So different people with different tastes and different speakers, but they all fell in love with the SF Amati's!
As Hifi Choice wrote: <<These speakers put the joy back into the music so profoundly and so efforthelessly, anyone not liking these speakers must simply have had their fun button pulled off years ago...Joy...that's a word that rarely appears on the pages of hi-fi magazines, yet that's the most prevalent feeling that strikes you when you listen to the Amati Anniversario.>>

It seems to me that when the equation between electronic/speakers/room works for the best, the result is always very enjoyable no matter what your taste is, IMO a system do make music or not.
There are of course quite many different combinations that can achieve to fill the equation right, however the balance achieved (with some luck I guess) with the CDS3/552/300/Amati in my room is pretty stunning, the music delivered by the Amatis Anniversario is magic and I'm really happy Big Grin

Regards,
Edouard

Edouard,
It looks like you guys had a nice weekend.
I still think your speakers are the best looking i have seen for years.
It must of been nice to get the ok from the Guys even though you knew they were that good when you got them.
Regards Stuart

thanks for the reply Edouard,your system sounds very special (a joy,yes rare) enjoy your hi-fi Nirvana.all the best

Greetings Edouard,
Thanks so much for your nice report and pictures. It's great that all the pieces have finally come together in your system (except for that future change to a 500 : ) and you are able to receive so much joy from it now. And it looks like Paris is the place to be - at least compared to the fact that I was still shoveling snow about 2 weeks ago.

Sounds like whatever you guys played the Amati's handled with ease and admirably but I'm wondering if their was anything on the playlist over the weekend that stood out for yourself or for the group in general? Were there any selections that especially stopped the conversation cold or caused big grins to all universally?

I also have noticed that you are missing a couch? When I look at "The Goddess Amati (2)" thread I seem to remember that you always had a couch that came out perpendicular from the TV and which came across in front of the speakers? Was this just temporarily moved for the weekend or is this the new arrangement? If so, does this make a difference in sound from your usual listening position or to the room in general?

Stefan,
From what you remember of the SF Cremona can you tell that the Cremona and Amati come from the same family? Ready to finally make the move up to the Homage line? Do you agree now that there is more to the Homage line than just all those extra coats of lacquer !!

Cheers,
Doug

Doug,
we had this discussion about the SF "signature", and I can say that - yes - there is a certain signature, if that is being "musical" instead of "analytical". I was wondering in that discussion whether I would still have the Cremonas, had I had 522/300, at that time. The 250 certainly did not do the optimum for the Cremonas. The Amati, clearly is the top of SF's range (Strad aside, for a moment), and if you can cut a nice deal with a dealer, is worth every cent.

You asked about the music we had. Here's some samples of what I brought (and "ratings" from * to ***)

Note --- Artist --- Album --- Title
--- Trio Obscur --- Tango Metropol --- Timbaud Tango
--- Charles Lloyd --- Rabo De Nube --- Sweet Georgia Bright
--- Herbie Hancock Feat. Leonard Cohen --- River: The Joni Letters --- The Jungle Line
--- Alboran Trio --- Near Gale --- Delle Cose Nascoste
--- Cassandra Wilson --- Blue Skies --- Shall We Dance
* --- Lynni Treekrem --- Haugtussa --- Vond dag
--- Accordion Tribe --- Lunghorn Twist --- Nåt nr. 7
--- Accordion Tribe --- Lunghorn Twist --- 0'0
* --- Carla Bley & Steve Swallow --- Duets --- Soon I Will Be Done With The Troubles Of This World
--- Charlie Haden & Egberto Gismonti --- In Montreal --- Frevo
* --- Renaud Garcia-Fons --- Musik Von Einem Anderen Stern (Manger Test-Cd) --- Ghazali
* --- The O-Zone Percussion Group --- Musik Von Einem Anderen Stern (Manger Test-Cd) --- Jazz Variants
--- Gonzalo Rubalcaba --- Avatar --- Infantil (Dedicated To John McLaughlin)
* --- Branford Marsalis Quartet --- Romare Bearden Revealed --- B's Paris Blues
--- Pablo Ziegler, Quique Sinesi & Walter Castro --- Buenos Aires Report --- Buenos Aires Report
* --- Knut Roessler - Johannes Vogt --- Between The Times --- Contemplation
--- Eva Cassidy --- Live At Blues Alley --- Bridge Over Troubled Waters
--- Eva Cassidy --- Live At Blues Alley --- Oh, Had I A Golden Thread
--- Toumani Diabat? --- The Mand? Variations --- Ismael Drame
** --- Michel Godard, Gavino Murgia, Walter Quintus --- Deep --- Deep
** --- Bob Brozman --- Blues Reflex --- It's Mercy We Need
--- Bob Brozman --- Blues Reflex --- More Room At The Edge
--- Rabih Abou-Khalil --- Morton's Foot --- Il Sospiro
--- Charly Antolini --- Super Knock Out (Double Version) --- Knock Out
** --- Uri Caine Trio --- Live At The Village Vanguard --- Stiletto
--- Stefano Bollani --- Småt Småt --- La Vita Intensa
--- Stefano Bollani --- Småt Småt --- Pierre et le Loup
--- Stefano Bollani --- Småt Småt --- El Choclo
--- Bebo & Cigala --- Lágrimas Negras --- La Bien Pagá
*** --- Silvana Deluigi --- Yo! --- La Cumparsita
--- Silvana Deluigi --- Yo! --- Mariana, Mariana
--- Silvana Deluigi --- Yo! --- A la Una yo Naci
** --- Chico Freeman --- Spirit Sensitive --- Autumn In New York
--- Chico Freeman --- Spirit Sensitive --- Don't Get Around Much Anymore
* --- Chris Jones --- Roadhouses & Automobiles --- No Sanctuary Here
* --- The Bennie Maupin Ensemble --- Penumbra --- Neophilia
--- The Bennie Maupin Ensemble --- Penumbra --- Penumbra
** --- John McLaughlin --- Live At The Royal Festival Hall --- Mother Tongues (Live)
* --- Oregon --- Beyond Words --- Pepe' Linque
** --- Oregon --- Beyond Words --- Witchi-Tai-To
* --- Archie Shepp & Mal Waldron --- Left Alone Revisited --- I Only Have Eyes For You
--- Archie Shepp & Mal Waldron --- Left Alone Revisited --- Blues For 52nd Street
--- Etta Scollo --- Canta Ro' in Trio --- Liggenna
--- Etta Scollo --- Canta Ro' in Trio --- Canto d´a curuna
--- Etta Scollo --- Canta Ro' in Trio --- Amuri
--- Tok Tok Tok --- Ruby Soul --- Cherries From My Neighbour's Tree
--- Tok Tok Tok --- Ruby Soul --- It's Up To You
--- Tok Tok Tok --- Ruby Soul --- You Drive Me Crazy
--- Tok Tok Tok --- Ruby Soul --- When I'm Feeling Sad
--- Tok Tok Tok --- Ruby Soul --- What Has Roots
* --- Hélène Grimaud / Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Esa-Pekka Salonen --- Credo: Grimaud,piano --- Beethoven: Choral Fantasy - Adagio
* --- Hélène Grimaud / Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Esa-Pekka Salonen --- Credo: Grimaud,piano --- Beethoven: Choral Fantasy - Finale
* --- Jennifer Lim --- Chopin --- Sonata No.3 - Allegro Maestoso
* --- Jennifer Lim --- Chopin --- Sonata No.3 - Scherzo
* --- Jennifer Lim --- Chopin --- Sonata No.3 - Largo
* --- Jennifer Lim --- Chopin --- Sonata No.3 - Finale: Presto, non tanto
** --- Montserrat Figueras --- Lux Feminæ 900-1600 --- O Lux: Prosa - Flavit Auster (Codex De Las Huelgas, S. XIII)
--- Barbara Bonney, Angelika Kirchschlager, Malcolm Martineau --- Erste Begegnung (First Encounter) --- Ich wollt, meine Liebe ergösse sich (I Wish My Pain Would Flow Into A Single Word)
--- Barbara Bonney, Angelika Kirchschlager, Malcolm Martineau --- Erste Begegnung (First Encounter) --- Maiglöckchen und die Blümelein (Lilly-Of-The-Valley And The Little Flowers)
--- Barbara Bonney, Angelika Kirchschlager, Malcolm Martineau --- Erste Begegnung (First Encounter) --- Im wunderschönen Monat Mai (In The Wonderfully Beautiful Month Of May)
--- Barbara Bonney, Angelika Kirchschlager, Malcolm Martineau --- Erste Begegnung (First Encounter) --- Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär (op. 43 Nr.1) (If I Were A Bird)
--- María Del Mar Bonet --- Amic, Amat --- L'amor És Mar Desfeta
--- María Del Mar Bonet --- Amic, Amat --- Digues Amic

To put it simply, Edouard's sytem is one of the most believable that you'll ever hear. I had a listen a couple of weeks prior, and the infamous couch was still barring the view to the speakers.

I was really struck by how those speakers brought new life to some Frank Sinatra recordings I'd brought over. They made him sound so young!

The really put life into the music. In fact everytime I think of his system with those speakers, I think of the the Cistine chapel and it's ceiling in Rome.

You know the picture, the one were God reaches out his hand to touch man (or is it Adam ?) to bring life.

regards

Peter

What interests me, is that your photos show your listening room to be almost identical to my own main room at home. Namely; two large double glazed units comprising most of the left wall, low ceiling, hard floors with rugs, painted walls. Similar size, similar furnishing.
Yet, despite trying all the positioning options (including having the Naim dealer round) it was impossible to get an even half decent sound. Lots of uncontrolled slap-back echo, and a general lack of bass. I had to move the Naim upstairs to a smaller room.
Did you have any room problems?

Doc

Edouard can provide the dimensions but his room as deduced from the pictures looks like a rectangle whereas in fact the listening end of the room has an area off to the right which turns the room into an 'L' shape though the bottom of the 'L' is rather small in the context of the room.

I have been to Edouard's place a couple of times. The first time it was CDS3/XPS2/252/250.2 on a non- Naim metal rack into KEF's and I brought along my 552 and my Totem Mani 2 large standmount speakers which have a strong output being isobarik. The thing that became evident during that listening session was that indeed the room tends to brightness. We could not 'drive' the Totem's as much as I can at home in a smaller but kinder room....BUT....if we kept the volume under a certain level everything sounded OK with reasonable bass but overlayed with a little forwardness in the high frequencies due to the brightness. Due to the fact that the Totem's require some volume to really come to life we could not really get a completely comfortable volume across the rise and fall in dynamics which particularly occurs in classical music and to quite an extent in jazz, our main musical loves.

Quite a lot of water had flowed under the bridge before this next visit and the system has evolved to CDS3/555PS/552/300 all on Fraim with spacing layers for the CDS3 and the 552 and of course the Amati's. Though the room and furnishings have stayed the same the quality of the system setup and the boxes has of course brought it's own improvements in the rendtion of dynamics....BUT...the key difference is the Amati's.

They have the ability to portray the complete frequency range and the rise and fall in dynamics perfectly at quite low listening volumes. We listened to quite a lot of solo instrument classical music which is intentionally quiet then louder at times as the composition demands and the Amati's showed an uncanny ability to bring even the quietest passages to the ear at low volume which is a very clever trick. To put it in context we listened at volumes typically between 7.30 and 8.00 with an occasional exciting track at say 8.30.

The brightness of the room adds a church like acoustic which combined with the gentle but complete delivery of the Amati's is particularly excellent on say solo piano both classical or jazz. Ella Fitz and a couple of other lady singers were also played with magical results. Orchestral and operatic classical was excellent and a quick trip into Bach on Organ was superbly church like.

The Amati's have excellent integration between the response ranges of the drivers (some Serbilan magic in the crossovers) and an ability to capture all the emotion in music at low volume.

I think this is the key to Edouard's success in what is an obviously bright room. I have Kharma speakers which do an excellent job in my room. Not quite as great as Edouard's Amati's but not far behind. The key though is I can run the Kharma's with their ceramic drivers in my more neutral room in a way that would cause discomfort in Edouard's room. Back home and lisening to the Kharma's I did confirm a very slight softness in bass presentation in the Amati's at the low volumes we listened with at Edouard's but that is a small effect in the very lowest register which is really just a niggle on my part. I am sure it would dissappear at higher volumes if you wanted to drive to there....BUT.....there is no desire to do that with the Amati's becuse your ears tell you it is already 'complete'.

regards
Geoff

For interest here is a pic taken during that first visit when we tried out my Totem Mani 2's and the 552.



...quite a change since then

regards
Geoff

Lovely pics and a great looking system - sounds (pun intended!) like you all had a marvellous time.

quote:

Originally posted by User34:
...I think of the the Cistine chapel and it's ceiling in Rome.

You know the picture, the one were God reaches out his hand to touch man (or is it Adam ?) to bring life.

Right on both counts, Peter! In Genesis, 'Adam' is not a first name as we now think of it, it is the word for 'man', just as 'Eve' is the word for 'woman', or more specifically 'mother'. Therefore, they are in fact recorded by Genesis in their generic sense as the first man and first woman.

Good wishes, and glad you have had a great time at Edouard's - isn't it fun having round / going round to Forum Members?!

James

Geoff
Thanks for the input. My room also has the small "L". They really are very similar.
I also agree with your conclusions. My room is much too bright/hard with either SBLs or Kef reference speakers, unless the volume is uncomfortably high. The speakers may well be the answer, but I'd need a long home dem. and they look like a lot of money compared to the SBLs.

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
In Genesis, 'Adam' is not a first name as we now think of it, it is the word for 'man', just as 'Eve' is the word for 'woman', or more specifically 'mother'. Therefore, they are in fact recorded by Genesis in their generic sense as the first man and first woman.

isn't it fun having round / going round to Forum Members?!

Thanks for the classical/biblical clarification.

It's nice to have a (ir)reality check, and have a natter about this that and the the other. Don't get out an aboutas much as I'd like.

regards

Peter

Hi Stefan,
Thanks for the nice list. It will definitely give me lots of opportunity to look into some new artists that I'm not really familiar with.

Regards,
Doug

quote:

Edouard can provide the dimensions but his room

Room dimensions for Doc:

Width: 5,66 meters (18,57 feet)
Length: 8,20 meters (26,90 feet)
Height: 2,66 meters (8,73 feet) actually not what I would call a low ceiling, windows's height is 2,50m (8,20 feet)

Total size of the room including the L shape part: 60 m2 (646 square feet)

All I can say is that I felt there was nothing missing from listening to any of the following. An effortless sound or pure music without 'shout' and importantly without being boring. A great result and one that we all should have .

Thanks Stefan for posting all of the great stuff that we listened to from you.















Cheers
Mark

mark, thank you for posting that list! some slots on my cd rack might be filled as a result of your posting...

enjoy
ken

Edouard,

can i have a clearer picture of what appears to be a boudoir grand piano? What make is it? Who Plays?


Andy

We also played tracks taken from these amongst others:



regards
Geoff