Sonus faber Il Cremonese

[mauidan]

Sonus faber Il Cremonese: a loudspeaker paying homage to both history and innovation.
At the end of a busy year full of new products and exciting news, Sonus faber proudly introduces Il Cremonese, the latest creation from the fabled Italian manufacturer: a no-compromise, high end loudspeaker to join the most iconic family in the Sonus faber catalogue, the Homage Collection.

As the newest member of the Homage Collection, Il Cremonese shares many features of both form and function. A three-and-a-half way, floorstanding loudspeaker, Il Cremonese is the result of evolutionary product design, and the adaptation of technologies from the Lilium and other Sonus faber speaker projects. The name Il Cremonese is an homage to Antonio Stradivari, and one of his most famous violins, celebrating its 300th anniversary in 2015.

First named after the original owner, and known since the 18th century as Joachim, Stradivari’s violin was renamed “Il Cremonese” in 1961 when it was selected as the first Stradivari to return to the city of Cremona as part of the permanent collection in the Museo del Violino. This is one of the most important instruments in the history of Italian violin making, thanks to its innovative design and proportions, the quality and the depth of sound, and the beautiful materials and finishes used to create it.

Technological innovation.

Many Sonus faber patents and technologies, originally initiated with “the Sonus faber” and later models, are implemented in Il Cremonese:

Stealth Reflex System – allowing for a reduction in the dimensions of the internal acoustic volume while providing distortion control, it utilizes two orthogonal ports: one on the back for the midwoofer, and the other on the base, facing the floor, for the woofers and infra woofers;

Z.V.T. (Zero Vibration Transmission) system – used for decoupling the speaker’s cabinet from the floor and the rest of the listening environment, this is implemented in a revolutionary way inside the floor spikes. This new system continues to use new, modern elastomers, and guarantees a further simplification in the construction and aesthetic lightness;

Upper and lower “Dampshelves” – two massive slabs of black brushed Avional, operating as mechanical energy dampers generated by Il Cremonese’s powerful drivers; “Staggered Low Frequencies Emission Technology” system – used for the first time since “the Sonus faber” project, it optimizes the performance of the integrated infrawoofers.

The driver cones are a continuing expression of Sonus faber’s ingenuity. Designed entirely in-house, these drivers serve sound reproduction at the highest level: the tweeter is the Sonus faber Arrow Point DAD (Damped Apex Dome), the midrange is a Sonus faber M18 XTR-04, the woofers are the Sonus faber W18XTR-12 (a scaled-down version of the Lilium woofers), and the W22XTR-16 infrawoofers are a new project from the Arcugnano factory.

The crossover network utilizes the innovative “Paracross topology” for superior results.

Concept.

Il Cremonese is characterized by an innovative cabinet with five sides, a “Rhomboidal diamond design” which optimizes the structural solidity of the wooden cabinets with a unique diamond shape that is immediately recognizable.

Inspired by the shape of Lilium, Il Cremonese introduces clean lines and an elegant, minimal, and sharp design. This new and atypical Sonus faber form represents an evolution towards technological and visual innovation, simultaneously maintaining the historic milestones that marked the history of violin making, as well as the history of the Sonus faber brand itself.

Il Cremonese pays homage to Antonio Stradivari, a luthier and artist who revolutionized traditional violin craftsmanship, and continued the work of Andrea Amati to create new concepts of form and finishing that are still appreciated and cherished today the world over.

Design.

As in Lilium, Il Cremonese combines contrasting design elements within a reduced cabinet volume: excellent capability for low frequency reproduction as well as the entire audio spectrum and the expression of power and absolute silence and resolution thanks to its floor decoupling system.

The aesthetic design of Il Cremonese was created to achieve the objective of natural sound reproduction while simultaneously communicating new visual elements.

Materials.

Lacquered walnut wood, tempered glass, leather and brushed black aluminum - the same materials of Aida and Lilium, and also the new Homage Collection.

Il Cremonese is available in the classical Sonus faber finishes of RED and WALNUT.

FREQUENCY RESPONSE 25 Hz – 35.000 Hz, Stealth reflex included.SENSITIVITY 92 db SPL (2.83V/1 m).
NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 4 ohm.
SUGGESTED AMPLIFIER POWER OUTPUT 100W – 800W, without clipping.
LONG-TERM MAX INPUT VOLTAGE (IEC 268-5) 30 V rms
DIMENSIONS (HxWxD)
1449.6mm x 398.23mm x 621.8mm 57.07’’ x 15.68’’ x 24.5’’
WEIGHT
84 Kg / 184.8 lbs each – net weight.


Retail price and availability.

Il Cremonese will be available to non-US Sonus faber dealers and distributors in November 2015, and to US and Canadian dealers in early 2016.

The suggested retail price is € 31.250,00 pair (VAT not included).

Official launch.

Il Cremonese’s world premier will be in Paris on October 17th and 18th during the Festival SON & IMAGE 2015.
http://www.sonusfaber.com/en-us/products/il-cremonese

[joeinid]

Hmmm, I'd love to hear these.

[wizard]

At Festival Son & Image 2015 with ARC and Viard cables.

[Ritmo]

Thx for the picture. Looks like the new Ref 6 with the Ref 250 SEs driving the Il Cremonese.

[wizard]

More pics here http://wizard-highend.blogspot.com/2015/10/sonus-faber-il-cremonese-with-arc-viard.html

[Dafos]

Below the strad which remains in the product line-up?

[wisnon]

They look gorgeous and did sound good. HUGE too.

Heard them for a brief moment at the Warsaw show this weekend past.

[SoundRebels]

Yesterday We've got opportunity for short listening of Il Cremonese & Amati Futura during the meeting with Antoine Furbur (Audio Research) and Luca Vernacci (Sonus faber) - full coverage

[Steve]

My dealer is currently running these in. Looking forward to a demo. I've had a close look at them and heard good good feedback so far. Indications are that these will be better received than Lilium.

[joeinid]

Can't wait for more feedback. These look beautiful.

[BruceLet]

They are beautiful. I bet they sound great with ARC gear.

[Kuoppis]

Does any one have a view on how the ARC GS gear sounds?


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[Tedtag]

They sounded great at Axpona with ARC gear and they were brand new and not broken in at all. Jonathan Valin rated this room as one of the best of show.

[highEndguy]

I ordered mine last week, can't wait

[Ritmo]

Congrats Nelson!

[Rod#S]

My dealer is currently running these in. Looking forward to a demo. I've had a close look at them and heard good good feedback so far. Indications are that these will be better received than Lilium.

I imagine the Lillium's high price hasn't helped. The speaker and it's price may have been to close to the Aida I suppose. It would be interesting to read feedback of impressions of the Il Cremonese vs the Amati Futura as the Futura is well established and has been around for quite a while now.

I really wish I had a Sonus Faber dealer. I just love the looks of the Aida, Lillium and Il Cremonese and it would be great to see and hear them in person.

[Mike]

Rod - I heard the Il Cremonese at Axpona. The Lillium is good too, but I really liked the Il Cremonese better. Seems like a more realistic size for most rooms too. I would like to learn more about it's side firing woofers.

[Rod#S]

How big is it compared to the Futura? I know the dimensions of it and based on that it is larger but knowing and seeing to a known speaker are 2 different things. I've never seen a pic of the 2 side by side. The Lillium is clearly quite a big, well at least tall speaker but from the pics I've been seeing it's been harder to get a perspective of size of the Il Cremonese.

To bad Sonus Faber wouldn't introduce a 2nd large center, larger than the Homage Vox, one meant more for usage and mating in a Il Cremonse, Lillium or Aida system, sort of like Wilson does. The Wilson Mezzo is quite a big centre as is the Vox but the Polaris is a clear step up meant more for larger speakers like the Maxx, now, Alexx or Alexandria system than a Alexia, Sasha, Sophia or Sabrina. I guess the balance is size vs sales. B&W used to make a very large center the HTM1-D but was discontinued apparently due to very poor sales but Wilson has managed to pull it off for some time.

[highEndguy]

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[joeinid]

Wow, I love that photo. Wonderful speakers.

[Rod#S]

Awesome photo, thanks

[Mike]

It's like the Ms. Universe pageant of speakers. Gorgeous.

Rod - you sure that VOX center isn't big enough? If you get a chance to hear the Il Cremonese, let us know. Word of advice: bring your wallet just in case.

[Rod#S]

hmm, the Homage Vox isn't in that shot, has it been discontinued? It's still on their website.

[Rod#S]

It's like the Ms. Universe pageant of speakers. Gorgeous.

Rod - you sure that VOX center isn't big enough? If you get a chance to hear the Il Cremonese, let us know. Word of advice: bring your wallet just in case.

I don't think it would be, big enough that is not in a dual purpose system where multi-channel music is listened to or matrixed stereo music along with movies and a 3rd matching tower speaker can't be used, this being in a system with the larger speakers like the Il Cremonese and up. I say this from the experience I have had with my B&W's in comparison to one another. Even before I had the 800's I could clearly hear a collapse of the sound image in the center with music, the HTM-2 simply couldn't displace as much air and project as full a sound as the 802's. This was even more evident when I got my 800's. The HTM-2 is a very nice and very capable center in it's own right but when it's up against it's larger siblings it's shows it's deficiencies. Granted not having the marlan mid range head unit like the 802 and 800 contributes to this but overall cabinet size plays a part. In comparison with the 802 the bass driver size isn't all that much different, dual 7" vs dual 8" but the volume of the cabinet space is quite different.

I think like the HTM-2 was the perfect match for the 803, the Vox is probably the perfect match for the Futura.

Granted the Vox has more drivers than my HTM-2 does but fundamentally I believe cabinet size plays a large part when running in a system where other large speakers are in play.

[Mike]

I don't think it would be, big enough that is not in a dual purpose system where multi-channel music is listened to or matrixed stereo music along with movies and a 3rd matching tower speaker can't be used, this being in a system with the larger speakers like the Il Cremonese and up. I say this from the experience I have had with my B&W's in comparison to one another. Even before I had the 800's I could clearly hear a collapse of the sound image in the center with music, the HTM-2 simply couldn't displace as much air and project as full a sound as the 802's. This was even more evident when I got my 800's. The HTM-2 is a very nice and very capable center in it's own right but when it's up against it's larger siblings it's shows it's deficiencies. Granted not having the marlan mid range head unit like the 802 and 800 contributes to this but overall cabinet size plays a part. In comparison with the 802 the bass driver size isn't all that much different, dual 7" vs dual 8" but the volume of the cabinet space is quite different.

I think like the HTM-2 was the perfect match for the 803, the Vox is probably the perfect match for the Futura.

Granted the Vox has more drivers than my HTM-2 does but fundamentally I believe cabinet size plays a large part when running in a system where other large speakers are in play.

That's a good point. The VOX is almost 33 inches wide, so by most standards, it seems quite big. Unless I'm mistaken, it was designed to pair with the Aida (and obviously now the Lilium and Il Cremonese). The Wilson center speaker (which I had and is excellent), is only 20 inches wide. Is there a bigger Wilson center?

If you're a big movie buff, the center channel is very important. Probably gets 90% of the information in a movie, agreed? So, I agree with you that the importance of a great center speaker can't be underestimated.

[Rod#S]

For those SF enthusiasts, anyone know why with the Il Cremonese the infra woofer design was changed up from the Aida and Lillium choosing to put 2 drivers in the side of the cabinet (similar to The Sous Faber approach, but that had a single driver) rather than a single unit at the top?

[Rod#S]

That's a good point. The VOX is almost 33 inches wide, so by most standards, it seems quite big. Unless I'm mistaken, it was designed to pair with the Aida (and obviously now the Lilium and Il Cremonese). The Wilson center speaker (which I had and is excellent), is only 20 inches wide. Is there a bigger Wilson center?

If you're a big movie buff, the center channel is very important. Probably gets 90% of the information in a movie, agreed? So, I agree with you that the importance of a great center speaker can't be underestimated.

Looking at the Wilson dimensions, the Mezzo is 17.375" H x 29.5" W x 20.875" D and 159lbs while the Polaris is 29" H x 38.75" W x 25" D and 294 lbs For more perspective the Polaris has a typical 1" tweeter but dual 7" mid ranges and dual 9.5" woofers.

So knowing the difference larger drivers makes, the dual 8" in my 802 vs the dual 10" in my 800's, man having basically dual 10" drivers in a center must be pretty darn incredible.

[Mike]

Ah....Polaris! I didn't know about it. Almost 500 pounds shipping weight....Wow...now that's a center! Efficient too. Nice.

[highEndguy]

And you can use it as Front speakers


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[Dafos]

For those SF enthusiasts, anyone know why with the Il Cremonese the infra woofer design was changed up from the Aida and Lillium choosing to put 2 drivers in the side of the cabinet (similar to The Sous Faber approach, but that had a single driver) rather than a single unit at the top?

Space. The Aida has a a 12 inch downward firing subwoofer located below its wide cabinet. The Lilium, on the other hand, has a passive top firing woofer located at the top of the cabinet which is wide enough to accommodate this 10 inch driver.

Neither of these two woofers will fit below or on top of the somewhat narrower el cremonese cabinet, hence the side placement of the twin woofers which I believe are 8 inch drivers. What perplexes me is why the SF chose to actively power the Aida and Cremonese subwoofers while chose a passive approach for the Lilium.

[Rod#S]

And you can use it as Front speakers


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Yeah it's a monster and with a monster price tag. A center of that size fascinates me as did the extinct B&W HTM1-D.

It's interesting you mention about it being used as mains. Focal does something similar with their Viva Utopia, they actually offer both horizontal and vertical versions. That's also quite a large center as well with 8" bass drivers and 125lbs

[Rod#S]

Space. The Aida has a a 12 inch downward firing subwoofer located below its wide cabinet. The Lilium, on the other hand, has a passive top firing woofer located at the top of the cabinet which is wide enough to accommodate this 10 inch driver.

Neither of these two woofers will fit below or on top of the somewhat narrower el cremonese cabinet, hence the side placement of the twin woofers which I believe are 8 inch drivers. What perplexes me is why the SF chose to actively power the Aida and Cremonese subwoofers while chose a passive approach for the Lilium.

It's been a while since I looked at the Aida specs, I forgot that it's infra woofer was at the bottom not the top like the Lilium. I also didn't know the Aida's woofer was actively powered. It makes sense what you say about the Il Cremonese woofers needing to be placed differently due to size limitations. A single 8" may have fit at the top but I suspect since it has 2 that a single 8" wasn't enough for the low definition they were looking for.

[surrounded by sound]

I heard these speakers last Friday at my dealer. I liked them.

[Rscotth]

Delete

[Rscotth]

IMG_0847.jpgIMG_0849.jpgI have some news to share. I just pulled the trigger on these new beauties. They will be installed on Monday/Tuesday of next week. I'm debating between my futuras and evo's as the rears for my 5.1 set-up. Currently the Evo's are fulfilling that duty very well, but the opportunity to use a full-range speaker for the rear is something I've always wanted. We will play with both to see what works best. Very excited!

[Mike]

Congrats!! Awesome speakers.

[kzhtoo]

IMG_0847.jpgIMG_0849.jpgI have some news to share. I just pulled the trigger on these new beauties. They will be installed on Monday/Tuesday of next week. I'm debating between my futuras and evo's as the rears for my 5.1 set-up. Currently the Evo's are fulfilling that duty very well, but the opportunity to use a full-range speaker for the rear is something I've always wanted. We will play with both to see what works best. Very excited!

These are handsome speakers. Congrats! There's nothing like the joy you have with new speakers.

[Rod#S]

Congrats! My vote is for using the Futura's as surrounds. Having been using full range surrounds myself now through 2 setups there is no substitute especially for music. That's a killer setup. Make sure to post pics of the room once the new beauties arrive and if you move the Futura's to the surrounds. If your room is large enough for 7.1 then use the Futura's for surrounds and Evo's for rears. Keeping the more capable speaker within ear orientation will give better results vs the other way around.

[highEndguy]

I'm jealous


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[Rscotth]

They have arrived!_DSC0010.jpg_DSC0013.jpg_DSC0015.jpg

[Rscotth]

Sound wise, very similar sound signature of the futura's, which one would expect. Much larger sound stage with better extension in the high end, and much better control and impactful authority on the bottom. Mids are typical Sf sweet, especially with the ARC Ref250se's. The sound is soooo much larger with the best sound stage depth I've ever had in my room. A true dream come true. The funny thing is I wasn't even in the market for new speakers, until I heard these. As for the futura's as surrounds in my 5.1 (replacing Evo's) the rear channel has reached a whole different level of performance. I never realized how much bottom end info was recorded in the rear channels. Incredible full range, both front and back. Pinch me!

[highEndguy]

HiFi news gave them 90 points, that's a lot coming from them

My set of speakers should be arriving my home next week

[Rscotth]

HiFi news gave them 90 points, that's a lot coming from them

My set of speakers should be arriving my home next week

Is there a new review in HIFI NEWS? I'm smitten with them. You will be very pleased. An exceptional speaker.

[highEndguy]

At last !!


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[highEndguy]

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[highEndguy]

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[kzhtoo]

Simply breathtaking..

[Rscotth]

[QUOTE=highEndguy;175311]


What are your impressions?

[Steve]

Stunning.

[yamaha man]

Nice system mate.