Sonus Faber Amati compared to Amati Anniversario

I can only give you feedback on Amati Homage vs. Guarneri Memento. consider Guarneri Memento (GM) uses the same drivers as Amati Anniversario, I think my observation should apply.

GM is slightly more extended on top without beaming that Amati Homage is known for from time to time. Amati Homage is probably one of the most demanding speakers to work with, I changed 6~7 amps and finally settled on BAT 75SE (now 150SE). positioning is very sensitive as well, a bit off you might think they are bright. the new tweeter in GM and new Amati has more detail and extension w/o sounding bright, in fact it sounds more coherent.

now to midrange, this is where the new driver really shines. people talk about old Amati's flaw being the sloppy bass, I think the biggest improvement is in the midrange. more texture, more detail, even better decay, and more transparent. as good as old Amati's midrange is, new one is better.

you probably know about the bass already, so I won't say much here.

worth the price difference? no. I think you can achieve or even surpass Amati Anniversario performance with Guarneri Memento + 2 subs, I know someone is running his GM with 2 JL F-112 and could not be happier. but if you like the look of Amati and don't mind paying for the price, they are superb speakers. the old Amati is still very listenable, something I could live with for life if I don't compare...

James, why didn't you like the Elipsa?

Ebe, I did not like the Elipsa because when I listen to the Amati it sounded some much fuller that I was amazed at the difference. I also heard the Cremona M and was not impressed. I liked all of the Homage line, was disappointed with the Cremona line of Sonus Faber.

Thanks for your feedback. I bought Eggleston Aundra III. After doing research and learning about there warranty and the tweeters I would not be interested in buying them.

I have had three different Sonus Faber speakers in my system:SF Cremona's, SF Elipsa and SF Amati Annniversario's . The Amati's sounded in my house too have a character to the bass which was just too boomy and bloated sounding particularly when I turned up the volume. The sound was very thick and congested sounding in my room. To me the SF Elipsa's are just right. The bass with the SF Elipsa's is very realistic even at lower volumes. At louder volumes they sound great without coloring the sound or smearing , the midrange and tweeter are terrific as well. The bass driver in the Elipsa is the same on used in the Strad however the Strad was 2 per speaker. I initially had a JLF112 in my system left from when I had the SF Cremona's. I kept turning the crossover freq. lower and ultimately removed the sub. and put it in my home theater because the Elipsa's does not need it. The amp., CDP and pre amp electronics in my 2 channel room are : Mcintosh MC501 x 2 mono amps, Mcintosh MCD500 CDP/DAC, Mcintosh C220 pre amp. . In summary the SF Elipsa is wonderful sounding speaker to me and sounds as good with Rock'N Roll as it does with Jazz and Classical.