2. amps-preamps
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Amp for Sonus Faber speakers

Hi. I have received some very useful information on these forum's in the past, so I hope to receive some useful feedback. Thanks in advance !

I have a pair of Sonus Faber Grand Piano speakers (the version from about 5 years ago - not the new Domus version), and had been using a Jolida integrated amp 1501 with them (tube pre-amp section)and they sounded great. However, I was having some problems with occasional buzzing and could not isolate the problem, so eventually decided to sell the amp and replace it with a Pathos Mk 1 (version II). With the new amp, it sounds like someone has stuffed a towel into the midrange drivers. I am not referring to a subtle change. The change in sound is dramatic, and they do not sound good.

I have spoken to a few dealers who give me simple answers ... like, the Pathos amp is a lousy amp (doesnt seem to be true according to the large volume of reviews I have seen), or the power is too low (70 watts vs. 100 for the Jolida).

I'm not sure what the problem is but itis clear that the amp and speakers are not a good match. The Sonus Faber dealers in NY seem to recommend Ayre (seems ok), or Hovland (too expensive). I really dont want to experiment with buying and selling amps too many times so I though I would put this out there to get opinions of anyone who has used these speakers and what they felt worked great with them.

Thanks again in advance !
Mark
markny

Showing 3 responses by dcstep

dcstep
1,518 posts
 
I really think that those speakers demand a lot more power, certainly North of 200 watts; otherwise, you will not have the control of the woofers needed to really show their stuff.

If the budget supports it, the Jeff Rowland Design Groups Continuum 500 will be hard to beat in that application. You'll never need another amp.

Dave
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Listen for yourself with a high power, high damping amp like the JRDG Continuum. If your favorite music has lots of bass, then there'll be a big difference.

Also, if you listen to the Sonus and they sound edgy, it's usually due to the set up. Sumiko dealers (Sumiko distributes the SFs) should know how to set them up properly, but for some strange reason most don't. If they're sounding edgy, INSIST that the dealer set them according to the Sumiko Master Set and come back another day to listen to them properly set up. Don't think you need to tone down the highs with tubes until you hear them properly set up.

Yes, they'll sound good with almost any amp over 100 wpc, but they'll really dance with about 500 watts. (Listen to the control of the bass).

Dave
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Yeah, the GPs need a lot of clean power also. Look at Rowland.

Dave
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