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B&W or Sonus Faber with Musical Fidelity A5?

I'd be interested to hear anyone's experiences and opinions about these pairings:

A) Musical Fidelity A5 amp and CD player, with the new B&W 805s.
B) The same electronics with Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home (which I can buy at a very attractive price).

I could add a subwoofer to either combination if necessary.

I have heard the older B&W N805 (not the new "s" version) and I know the Grand Piano Home. But I don't have the opportunity to hear either of them with the A5 gear (which I have already ordered). Will the Musical Fidelity and Sonus Faber pairing sound over-mellow? On the other hand, will the new 805s be bright with the A5 set?

More important to me than the last degree of detail is the avoidance of "listner fatigue" and my experience of Musical Fidelity tells me that I can expect a smooth and fatigue-free sound. However, will the addition of the Grand Pianos be too much of a good thing in that respect? Or will they complement each other?
Will the brighter 805s be tamed by the A5 and actually provide a nice balance of relaxed presentaion and better detail? Or will they not make the most of the A5's virtues?

If you have either combination or something close, I'd be pleased to hear your thoughts.

Please note, I will not be listening to rock or electronic music. My music collection is 90% acoustic music, especially "early" music with plenty of plucked and bowed strings, and often with baroque singing (Rameau operas for example).

Thanks
wrightstuff
wrightstuff OP
16 posts
 
Thanks for your response (and to everyone else for their responses too).
I bought the new 805s. They've been playing only a few hours, but straight from the box and working with the A5 electronics, they are mightily impressive. Judging by the first day of listening, it will be no chore breaking these in because they sound so good already.
For those wondering if the difference between the N805 and the 805s is substantial enough to investigate the upgrade, I can already say that even a swift audition should confirm the very worthwhile benefits of the new version.
Right now, the prospect of even better performance with break-in is very exciting.
chengwang
1 posts
 
I bought the new 805s just last week. They are great speakers out of the box. Compared to a pair of broken in N805s, the high is already smoother and bass is MUCH tighter and deeper. The first impression was new 805s have more impact than N805.
dhaymond
3 posts
 
I went the other way. I had the Sonus Faber GP Homes and bought the A5 integrated and CD. I am very happy with this gear. This combination has a very relaxed non-fatiguing presentation which excels on the acoustic and rock that I listen to. I had the new 805’s in for a demo and was wanting more bottom end which could have been solved with a sub. Either way is a fine choice because you have quality gear upstream. Enjoy.
rps944
6 posts
 
Interesting thread. I have a pair of CDM 9NTs and have had an A5 amp since March. I am considering "upgrading" the speakers and admit that I am partial to B&W. But, not opposed to new things either. Anyway, I have been thinking about the 803D (MSRP $8K/pair), 803S (MSRP $5.5K/pair), and 804S (MSRP $4K/pair). Not sure if moving to the 803S/804S would be a "significant" upgrade though, but I'm probably fooling myself.

I see that JM Lab has a relatively new 1027 Electra Be that I want to listen to as well, which is more in my price range (I really want to keep it to $5K). Is B&W's diamond tweeter really worth the extra $$$, listening aside? Maybe I should really consider a used B&W pair from Audiogon?!

Given my price range, any thoughts? Thanks!
Bob
artizen65's avatar
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artizen65
273 posts
 
Bob,

You can check out my system and system thread. I upgraded from the CDM9NT to the B&W N803. Worth every penny and the 803S is an even better speaker. The diamond tweeter is definatly worth the extra bucks.

Michael
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