Cremona M vs. Pioneer/TAD s-1ex

I have a dealer who carries both. I have only listened in a showroom environment. I preferred the Pioneer S-1EX.

IMO, They had better drive and extension. Very clear and transparent. I like the way they propel the music and give it a constant rhythm and flow. They should sound fantastic with the McCormack which I have also owned with Dynaudio speakers. Pay attention to matching your other components. They are quite reveling of upstream equipment. Watch the rake angle as well, they have a built in tilt that may need adjusting to suit your seating position.

The SF was a fine speaker and I cannot fault it, however, it is not for me or my listening taste at this time.

Caveat: Make sure you really like them/keep them. Resale is not that great on the Pioneer branded product. The SF will hold their value.

Very interesting post Tom6897. I remember (vaguely) that some years ago I have listen in the same room on the same electronics the Focal Electra 1027Be and the Pioneer S-1EX speakers. To me the Pioneers sounded much better even though they were significantly cheaper. Very underrated speakers!

The same dealer also carries Focal, Magico, Thiel, Usher, NHT, PSB, Sonus Faber, Paradigm, Dynaudio and Monitor.

I have been privileged to hear the Focal- Grande Utopia EM, Stella Utopia EM, the Magico- Q5, Q3, Thiel- CS2.7, CS3.7, Magnepan- 20.7, B&W- 800 and 802 Diamond, Martin Logan- CLX, Wilson- Sophia, Dynaudio- Evidence Master and Sapphire. I have a pretty good idea of what some of the main contenders are doing and how they sound compared to one another.

The Pioneer/TAD speakers have nothing to be ashamed of.