Over the course of one year I auditioned, in my home, close to two dozen power amps in an attempt to find something with enough power to drive and, more importantly, to control the drivers in the Extrema. I could'nt find a single solid state amp capable of reproducing music ( none of the harmonic complexity of real music ). Only one power amp was capable of eliciting all that the Extremas can provide: the Melos MAT 180. 180 watts/channel pure triode. |
High-Quality solid state (never tubes with sound factory speakers) they are designed to be used with fast electronics. I had great result with Jeff Rowland 8Ti and Spectral DMA-180 but nothing came close to Goldmund Mimesis 29....best sound I have ever heard with Extremas.
I currently have Avalon Eidolon but I am thinking of Sonus Faber Amati. Extremas are superb speakers give them what they need and deserve. :-) |
I personally like the Classe Audio Ca-400. They drive the Extrema very well and are an excellnt match in sonic characteristics. The best part is it can be bridged so I started off with one and then later I added a second one. |
I just want to add I think its great to see so many people own this speaker. When I first started coming in here noboby realy knew of them. I am not overly pleased with what Sonus did to their line after they were bought out but after Tweeter started carrying them evryone heard of them. |
Perfectimage, I appreciate the responses. I've enjoyed the Extrema's for 5 years. I use a Rel Sentor sub which I find to be very compatable and adjustable. |
The Extremas do many things that others dont but they dont move a lot of air when it comes to bass. They are very accurate though to an extremely low frequecy which makes them a perfect match for a Rel. I also use a Stentor. This spring I am hoping to add a second one to have stereo subs. |
Perfectimage...Sonus was bought out? When & by whom? |
It was about two years ago. It was when the Electors, Elector Amateurs, and Extremas were discontinued. It was bought out by employees and it was the new owners that changed the line to a more streamline production oriented product that you now see in Tweeter. I cant confirm this but I was told by a very reliable source who use to work very closely with them. I also heard once that the Stentor was designed specifically for the Extrema (hence the walnut finish option) but I have no idea of the validity of that statement. |
I use a McCormack DNA-2 upgraded to the Revision A by Steve McCormack.The amp is everything I had hoped for.Also, I use two Rel Stentor II subs.The music is fantastic. |
Perfectimage. Does this mean that Franco Serblin is no longer involved with the company? I agree, I'm not real happy with Tweeter carrying their stuff, but mostly they demo the H/T line. In addition, as an owner of the original EA, I feel they took a huge sonic step backward with the design of the EA II (in particular the removal of the esotar 330 tweeter killed the speaker). |
Im to sure of anything beyond what I have aready stated. I damaged a woofer (completely my fault) and the company had just changed hands when I had it repaired. I was told, by the people I bought the speaker from, that they had replaced them before for about 400 dollars. They also told me that they had seen the company cover the cost of repairs for free the first time around.
The final cost was fifteen hundred dollars. The story that I told you recently was given to me for the reason of this change.
I will admit that they went to great lengths for quality. The crossover was also damaged and they (Im not sure if it was Sonus or Sumiko) even had the entire speaker sent to them to make sure the same exact crossover was used for a perfect match.
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The Meridian 557 amps bridged, sound amazing with the Sonus Faber Extremas. I heard this combo at the Stereophile show in 1996. The Mcintosh MC 352 also sounds great on the Extremas |
I too live in the sticks, Actually on the island of Guam.
I went with the pass x350 and the synergistic ref matched to the dunlavys sc 4a,s havent regreted. Audio-video logic
has always done me right. I had to go on memmory from ten yrsw ago when i was in high end. The biggest headache is shipping and waitting for the damn stuff, even with priority mail it takes close to 2 weeks, not to mention cost of shipping the amp alone was 5or 600.00. But at the end of the day i listen to the music and you froget about the cost and the wait for shipping. When you live in paradise not everything is perfect. good luck |
I use the Wolcott's on the Extrema with good results..though I'm not convinced that tubes are ideal for the Extrema's..I'm considering several ss amps, anyone have any thoughts on the Lamm 2.1's? |
That depends on what kind of speakers you are using.
For 8 Ohm speakers, I prefer Transcendent Sound's T-8 LN.
(OTL monoblocks, 80 watts into 8 ohm.) |
