Sonus Faber Amati compared to Amati Anniversario

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.

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.

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.

James, why didn't you like the Elipsa?

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...

Hi Richard,

Yes I did listen to the Elipsa and did not like them. The Amati Anniversario sounded much better. I am also thinking on the Strad's over the Amati. It is my second system for my computer room to play games and listen to music when on the computer. I heard the Strad with a friend that was interested, but never heard of Sonus Faber till about 2 weeks ago. I didn’t pay too much attention and was walking around the store. I went back to the store after reading reviews on them and additions the Cremano M, Elispsa and the Amati. I was interested in the Amati because I owned three pair or the Amati’s by Cello with the complete cello system. It is one of the best sounding systems I have ever owned, and I have had many. Was blown away with the Amati Anniversario. But I was told that the Amati was totally redesign and the old Amati did not compare to the Amati Anniversario sonically. But by what you told me that was wrong they are better but not a major difference. Are your Strad now that you have lived with them for a while and owned the Amati, do they sound much better to pay the extra money on them. Thanks for your help.
All the best
James

Hi Jim,
I owned the original Amati's & loved them.
I auditioned the Anniversario's & they did sound better - a shade less glare from the top end & a tad better midrange.
I wound up buying the Strad's & have no regrets.
No matter what you buy from SF, you cannot go wrong.
Judging by the newer is better rule: Have you auditioned the Elipsa's yet? They seem to fall in (price) between the Amati & Anniversario & should produce a better bottom end than either of the above.
Hope this helps.
All the best
Richard