Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors or Olympica I

Thanks much. I really appreciate the insight though I am surprised by the responses. I’ve read a number of posts from people raving about the Cremonas and how the original version might even be better than the M version. Also have heard some compare it to the Mementos. I have a pair of SF Liutos that I really, really like that I bought on A_Gon last year. My reason for inquiring was

a) I think the Liutos (floor-standers) are probably too big for the space they’re in, a living room that’s not configured all that well for audio.

b) Wife isn’t thrilled by the footprint of floor-standers.

As far as a) goes, unfortunately we are renting and most houses aren’t set up for a music room (once had one built for that purpose). Even high end homes (especially in Florida) have weird / open layouts that aren’t conducive to high end audio equipment. When I inquire about it with realtors I get responses like ’you should just get an iPad and an Apple music setup with wireless speakers instead. My husband and I got one and it’s amazing.’ Ahhhh, no.

I like my gear and music so much I just deal. However I do believe monitors would be easier to make sound good in my current space than floor-standers.

Kelvin, are you talking about the Cremona Auditors or the Olympica Is?  I wasn't sure.

Has anyone heard the Lawrence Audio Violin SE?  If not can you recommend a used monitor in the $3k-$5k range (current used price)?

Thanks !

Excel, I am pretty sure that was Serblin's last SF design.  I didn't realize they were that setup dependent.  The best I can do is a regular living room as opposed to a dedicated music room.  I'll never manage to get them that far away from the back and sidewalls.  I've got maybe 3 feet behind and 2 feet on the sides.  Maybe that won't work well.

The Liutos (full-size) are fine in that room.  Probably not as good as they could be in a better room but certainly OK.  Maybe the Auditors won't work in the space I have.  I believe the Cremona M Auditors are less finicky about setup though they sound more 'modern' than the originals.

All the responses have been helpful.  My understanding is that the Cremona M Auditors are easier to setup/less finicky about placement than the original Cremona Auditors.

Has anyone heard any of the Lawrence speakers?  You can find good deals on them from time to time.

Almost embarrassed to admit that the look of a speaker is nearly as important as the sound to me, especially in my main set-up in a living room surrounded by art deco furniture.

I have a pair of Liutos in there now,  Very high WAF for floor-standers but she would prefer monitors.  I'm also getting to the age where we'll downsize our residence (we're now empty nesters) and monitors are just easier to find space for.

If it was the Cello it's quite a bit more $$$ than the Cremona @ $18k.  The Cello is a floor mount.  Maybe you saw the Violin which is stand-mounted.  That's not cheap either at $8500.

Whether they are value or not is another matter but I've heard they sound great.  I think you also have to factor in that if the company went belly-up the resale value would get crushed especially compared to SF that holds up pretty well in the secondary market.  Since I swap in and out of equipment frequently I think about things like that a lot more than I used to.