During the last year I have auditioned at least 10 different speakers in my home (B&W805, Dali Grand Coupe, KEF RDM, Sonus Faber Concertino, Concerto and Electa Amator to mention some of them) trying to find a "perfect" monitor speaker. All of the above listed speakers are certainly very good speakers that I would recommend, but there are something special about the Sonus Faber speakers. Just the look of them, walnut and black leather, reveals that they are very extraordinary.And the sound.....a perfect blend of grace and power not just hi-fi. I know that some people think they lack bass, but don’t worry, feed them with a proper amp, spend some time to position them in your listening room and they will satisfy you, I guarantee.

If my budget would allow, I would choose the SF Electa Amator II, these are magical instruments. However, I decided to buy the Concertos and use the rest of the budget on the Norwegian made Electrocompaniet amps.

If music really matters and you have a passion for Jazz and Classical music, Sonus Faber speakers will not disappoint you. On the other hand, if heavy metal or hip pop is your cup of tea please go somewhere else, don’t waste your time giving Sonus Faber one stare rating, because that is ridiculous.


Equipment:

CD-player: Marantz CD 63 KISi,
modified with a high end clock (LClock 2), highly recommended
Pre amp: Electrocompaniet ECI 4.5
Power amp: Electrocompaniet AW60 fft
Speakers: Sonus Faber Concerto
Stands: Sonus Faber sculptures made of walnut and stone.
Cables: Tara Labs, Audioquest

Very expensive for the sound they produce.they ned big room big amplificationand the outcome is not the expected one

These speakers have very sweet, smooth mid range and excellent soundstage. However, image is not as good as my other pair of B&W 804. It can be my pre-amp and amp. (Adcom GTP600 and Adcom amp. I am thinking upgrade the preamp and amp.) I use slant 6 with a subwofer. The overall sound quality is better than B&W 804. Does anyone have any experiences with these slant 6 in Home Theater setup?

These may not be the best speakers for everyone. They don't have great low bass, dynamics are good but not great, and they can't play at the highest volume levels without strain. BUT, if you like vocals, folk music, string quartets, or simple acoustic arrangements, the sound is fabulous.
Some songs can sound so realistic that the hair on the back of your neck stands up.

So I'm giving them 5 stars - but with the above qualifiers. For rock music, I'd only give them around 2 stars. But if you want to turn down the lights, close your eyes, and pretend Frank Sinatra is in your living room, then these speakers do it better than anything else in the price range.

natural sounding timbres, vocals are a delight, imaging and soundstaging are very good

very fussy with partnering equipment, like a high power amplifier, very difficult to set up right in your listening room

I had a read through the reviews on this website on this wonderful product. Firstly, i think it will depend on what style of music you listen to. But...and i say but...i listen to folk, jazz, blues, country, rock, pop, 60s, acoustic, traditional irish, some rap, some heavy metal and some alternative and... the electa amators do not have a problem with any musical style. The reason they might sound oustanding with say vocals or acoustical music is because of their natural sounding timbre. Listen to violins (an incredibly difficult instrument to reproduce) and you will see what i mean. Yes they are not the most dynamic of speakers (remember most monitors are not). As for people saying their bass isn't very good, all i'm going to say is rubbish. I have a friend who has a pair of rogers ls6a's...which are larger speakers than EAs...and he was surprised at the amount of bass and the quality. Need i say more? Morris, you seem to have a extreme disliking for Sonus Faber products, fair enough you are entitled to this opinion. But please base it on fact. I've had my pair for well over a year now, and friends are totally amazed at how good they sound. Yes they are not cheap, i agree with you there. I notice some of the reviews have been done by americans (looking at the brands they list) - americans tend to like "brasher" sounder hifi (look at cerwin vega for instance). Take the time to set these babies up right, and i mean take the time. use good amplification and source and you will be satisfied. They are not overly bright, in fact i'd say they are very smooth. Read the stereophile review on them, it mentions the problem with brightness and how to avoid it. I give them 3 stars for value, not so much on the price (as they are expensive) but i recognise the craftmanship involved in making them, and craftmanship is not cheap. 5 stars for overall rating? You betcha :) and just to please those...i use a REL stadium 2 subwoofer to augment the lower regions. They are a very good match. Anyways, fine speakers.

Similar Products Used:

n/a

With the right configuration (amplifier, cabels, cd-player and right placement)this speaker comes to live. Staging/imaging is very good. Vocals have the right timbre, wood is wood, metal is metal etc.. Bass is also very good and extends to the very low regions. These speakers have the "looks" and the WAF (Woman Approval Factor) is very high. They give so much details without losing the total.

These speaker requir havy gear. When tried with Mission Cyrus II with PSX and Philips CD304 MKII, the speaker was dead! Now, with Krell 500i, Meridian 508.24 and Transparent Super Bi-cables they are showing it all!!

Music is a very personal thing. Everyone who has written something over this fabulous speaker (my opinion) is wright in his own way. Therefore somebody's oppinion shouldn't influence you own judgement.
When you buy this speaker, be shure you'll hear them first in you own envirement and on you own set! It's now wonder these speakers are hated/beloved.
When equiped with the right gear, you'll be rewarded with some very fine, warm, detailled, deep, crispy sound/music.
When i already had the Krell and Meridian, i first used "normal" Transparent speakercables. You can't imagine the difference in imaging, staging and clearity i got when switching to more expecive cables (try before buy!!!).
Example: Gold-cd Roger Waters, Amused to death. Listen to the dog barking after 7 seconds from the beginning. Due to the quality of the set and CD, the dog was outside my house at my right hand. In earlier sets it wasn't...

Value-rating 5 stars because this speakers envolve me enormous.
Overall Rating 4 stars, because of the havy equipment needed.

Bought this speaker two months ago and I´ve never been happier! This is truly the best upgrade I´ve done so far.This Italian speaker is a true beaty, with a solid cabinet in pianolacque-finish and a genuine leatherfront. The elements are from Dynaudio(famous Danish manufacturer).
This is a loudspeaker that has it all according to me(well, almost).
The soundstage is surprisingly big for a speaker this size, with a great 3-D capability, which give the listener a really lifelike experience.
The treble is very impressive, with great dissolution, and the midrange have just the right warmth that give voices a real natural and seductive character.
The bass is tight and full-bodied, quite impressive for a speaker this size (about 15 litres).
I think that this speaker manage to combine a quite analytic sound with great warmth and musicality. Sounds like the perfect loudspeaker, doesn´t it. It probably isn´t, but in this pricerange(under 6000 USD), I think it´s very hard to beat.

Equipment:

Preamplifier: Electrocompaniet EC-3 MC
Poweramplifier: Electrocompaniet AW-250 DMB
CD-Transport: Pioneer PD-77
DAC: G-Dis DAC-1(GREAT DAC, MADE IN SWEDEN!)
Cable: Kimber 8TC/PAD Elementa XLR

Other loudspeakers auditioned before buying the ones tested above:

DALI Grand Coupé(good value!), Dynaudio Contour 1.3, B&W 805(very analytic, owned theese for 1,5 years), Totem Manitou(Try them out, great bass!), Jamo Consert 8, KEF Ref. Series 3(didn´t like them)

build quality

horrible sound, outragous price

I don't get it. Someone can say that audio is a matter of preference, but these speakers are just plain bad, very obviously colored. How can people say "I know these speakers might not have any bass, dynamics, etc, BUT...." That is rediculous. Speakers in this price range deserve no excuses: there are so many really good speakers out there (Theil? Vandersteen?), that no excuses need be made.

I own a Sonus Faber Electa Amator with original stands, a couple months. I demo listen him with: Conrad & Jonhson PV10 - Pass Aleph 3, CJ PV10 - MV55 combination, Jadis Orchesrta EL34, CJ PV10 Electrocompaniet AW100, VTL VT100 monoblock and finaly handmade four EL34 tube integrated very similar to CJ PV10 - MV55 combination (high component and build quality).The sources includes SONY CDP XA50, XA20, Marantz CD67 OSE, Cal. DX2 and SONY DVD DVP7700. The interconnect Van Den Hul First, Audioquest Quartz, Emerald. Speakers cable includes Van Den Hul CS 122 hybrid (I am owned this) and Audioquest crystal bi-wired.
My room is 4.5x4x2.5m. I listen mainly classic and modern jazz, classical and pop rock (Sting, B.Ferry, D.Sylvian).
Overall sounds good for me but I am not very experienced audiophil. I have a couple question.
1. I need a suggestion which amps combination is best for Electa Amator?
2. Which interconnect is best option to pre, power and CD connection. It is a better to upgrade my speaker cable (CS 122 HB) to biwire status or replace him.
3. I am interested to DVD audio. Would be better byu CD player or CD/DVD combination (SONY DVPS 7700, Pioneer DV05, DV717)?

The amps avaliable price for me is:
Pass Aleph 3 $1700 (6 months old)
MV55 $1000 (4 years old)
Jadis Orchestra EL34 $1400 (6 months old)
Electrocompanied AW100 $950 (9 years old)
VTL VT100 monoblocks $1250 (5 years old)
CJ PV10 $550 (4 years old)
Handmade EL34 integrated $800 (brand new)

I give them 4 stars

Please e-mail me. I desperately need answer to this question.

stojic@cent.co.yu