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Vintage Sonus Faber vs New Scansonic

Looking for a new pair of speakers for my main system, deciding between monitors and floorstanders though monitors would prob work better,  I'd love a pair of Raidhos but they're out of my price range and have heard really good things about the Scansonics (Raidhos younger sib).  I was also considering a couple of the Sonus Fabers, notably the Cremona and the Olympica.

My question is while the reviews on the Cremonas are good they are dated (8-12 years depending upon whether it's the M version or not) and driver technology has advanced a lot since then.  It will be hard for me to hear them against each other and wondered what the opinions are on new technology Scansonics or older technology Sonus Faber?  Obviously the Olympica is current model and is probably better than the comprable Scansonics though more $$$.

Thanks for any insights.
ihmeyers
wolf_garcia
6,631 posts
 
Nicely designed speakers can last a really long time. I have a pair of old UK Made KEF Q10s I used for studio monitors for years and now are relegated to elsewhere but still sound great…20 years old maybe? 
tmsorosk
1,013 posts
 
I'd go with the Cremonas. They have a special sound thats hard to equal.
ihmeyers OP
81 posts
 
Thanks for the feedback.  I didn't realize it's only been 3 years since the Cremonas (M) have been discontinued.  The original Cremonas I believe were phased out in 2008.  No knock on SF or anyone else, equipment gets better over time.  I recently heard a pair of Genesis V's which were the first real high end speaker I ever bought (back in 1995).  They still sounded good but not as good as I remembered when compared to some speakers around now.


bcgator's avatar
bcgator
355 posts
 
The irony is that while equipment may be getting better, the physiological equipment we use to listen to them only gets worse with time!   It's a pretty safe bet that the ears you used to listen to those Genesis speakers back in 1995 doesn't hear frequencies the same way now, 21 years later.  

Seriously though...I agree that there are improvements in cabinet design, such as the use of aluminum, carbon fiber and advanced materials to create enclosures that are more inert, with more advanced CAD/CAM software available to speaker designers.   But Paraneer is right...my new BMC PureVox speakers use the AMT tweeter, which is almost as old as me.   Yes, there is constant "improvement", but great speakers have sounded great for a while now.  I've always been a Sonus Faber fan - still have a pair of the original Concertinos in storage - those Cremonas were wonderful 10 years ago, they sound wonderful today, and they'll still sound sublime 10 years from now.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,835 posts
 
My SF Guarneri Homage's are still able to put a smile on most a'philes
faces. The driver technology is still IMHO very competitive with the best available. The silk dome technology is now used in the top-of-the-line Wilson's. One thing that I think too many a'philes believe, is that the latest is always the greatest......Too bad that is not always the case! 
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