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Cremona vs. the Mohler


I'm using a Plinius SA250 MK III power amp, and the VTL TL 5.5 pre amp.

I purchased a pair of the Sonus Cremona speakers and borrowed a pair of the Vienna Mohler's to test against the Cremona in the same room with the same equipment.

When I tested the Mohler against the Amati earlier, the Mohler was the clear winner. The speakers were in different rooms with different equipment, but both had very high end equipment with similar rooms next door to each other.

I found it hard to believe, but the Cremona had a clearer and more natural sound with better highs and a more visible sound stage.

I called on three friends to come in and listen to both with a blind fold on and all three said there was no question but the Cremona was better????

I know the Vienna requires a lot of power, but the Plinius is a class A amp with 250 watts per channel at 8 ohms, and 500 into 4 ohms.

Do you think the Cremona could be a better speaker, or am I doing something wrong?
128x128stanford
3 responses Add your response
anne_audiophile
42 posts
 
i find it hard to believe that the mahlers could surpass the amatis. i'm not sure you have made a fair comparison..different equipment, different room etc.in reviewing high end speakers( or any speakers for the matter ), system matching is crucial. in my experience with sonus faber speakers(electa amator, guarneri ,amati ), they are quite easy going although they sound magical with tube amplification. don't get me wrong the mahlers are wonderful speakers. i'm told that the pathos twin towers is a good match for the (?) beethoven.

i have not heard the cremona. a dealer told me that it is akin to a floor-standing version of the guarneri, despite its physical resemblance to the amati.perhaps this could explain why you prefer the cremona over the mahler.

anyway, at the end of the day, you gotta trust your ears and judgement. good luck !
lgregoir
106 posts
 
I Heard the Cremona last week-end(great speaker)... I wanted to trade my Fidelios against them. They sound pretty much like the Guarneri but with more low end omph... I heard the Amati 2 years ago so I would not be able to compare. I doubt that Sonus Faber would make a speaker that costs half the price of the Amati while it would surpass it.

I finally kept the Fidelios... My hears told me to stick to the Verity Audio...

Just my 2 cents...
bioman
44 posts
 
In this price range it comes down to taste...they are both very good speakers in different ways..for my taste.........
I listened to the Amati and the Mahler..same dealer, same day. The strange thing about the Amati is that they clearly had more detail which I love, but ultimately IMO they did not involve me in the music the way the Mahler did..I subsequently purchased the Mahler.
As a pet peeve, dealerships in my experience almost without exception (Lyric in Manhattan is an exception, it has great rooms) have the worst sounding rooms in which to audition anything. Some of the best venues to audition I have experienced have been with dealers who's show rooms are in their homes, where the acoustics are a little more real life for some reason.
So when and where you can, home audition.
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