Sonus Faber Stradivari ....

joeinid

joeinid

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I delivered my Dartzeel amp to its new owner today and when I walked into his living room, OMG! I see these stunning speakers. :heart: This is the second time I've heard them and I love these things.

Am I crazy to think about them? Are they still competitive today considering Magico S3/S5 and Wilson Alexia?

Oh boy I am in trouble. The Sonus Faber Stradivari were one of the only two speakers to give me goosebumps. Serious goose bumps. I can only imagine how perfect they'd be with my CJ GAT/ART monos.

I am on the ledge ....


1(24).jpg



Sensitivity:
92dB, 1W/1m

Nominal Impedance:
4 ohms

Power Handling:
Minimum amplifier 30W, Maximum Amplifier 300W without clipping.

Frequency Response:
22Hz - 40kHz
 
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First of all, congrats on selling the Dart. I know you've had that for a while and really enjoyed it. As for the Strads, they are beautiful speakers for sure and if they speak to you, well sometimes that's all you need.

Joe how do the SF Evos compare to the Raidho D1's (or the C1.1's for that matter)?
 
Doug,

That's a great question. I am not sure how to answer. Different presentation for sure. The Strads are full range and "softer" for lack of a better word. I have not had extended listening time on the D1/C1.1 (or at least enough to form a long term impression). I think more time at Bob's is in order.
 
joeinid said:
Doug,

That's a great question. I am not sure how to answer. Different presentation for sure. The Strads are full range and "softer" for lack of a better word. I have not had extended listening time on the D1/C1.1 (or at least enough to form a long term impression). I think more time at Bob's is in order.
Click to expand...

More time at Bob's is always a good thing! I ask because I was thinking that you could sell all the speakers you have now, bring in the Strads, or something full range for your basement and a really nice set of monitors for the bedroom (the Raidho's come to mind). You'll have two different set ups with lots of electronics options for them. I'm just thinking out loud...
 
joeinid said:
I delivered my Dartzeel amp to its new owner today and when I walked into his living room, OMG! I see these stunning speakers. :heart: This is the second time I've heard them and I love these things.

Am I crazy to think about them? Are they still competitive today considering Magico S3/S5 and Wilson Alexia?

Oh boy I am in trouble. The Sonus Faber Stradivari were one of the only two speakers to give me goosebumps. Serious goose bumps. I can only imagine how perfect they'd be with my CJ GAT/ART monos.

I am on the ledge ....


1(24).jpg



Sensitivity:
92dB, 1W/1m

Nominal Impedance:
4 ohms

Power Handling:
Minimum amplifier 30W, Maximum Amplifier 300W without clipping.

Frequency Response:
22Hz - 40kHz
Click to expand...

:exciting:
 
look familiar....





What I have now I think is better to the way I like my system to sound. The above is voted the best system I have had by my wife.



 
Hi Joe, Before my X1s, I owned the Strads. In fact, my history is Celestion SL6si, SF Guarneri, SF Strad and now X1/Grand Slamm. Although I have not A/B's the older Strad with newer speakers, at the time I told my dealer that the Wilson X-series are the only series (other than Arrakis, big Genesis 1s) that I would take over the SF Strad. (I told him this when I traded in my Guarneris for a demo Strad he had). One day, an old mint condition pair of Wilson X1/Grand Slamms showed up about 2 years later unexpectedly. I was positive NOT in the market, perfectly happy, and I managed to do a straight-up trade plus shipping...a deal I could not pass up. I have never looked back since. But the Strad was indeed special. I can see why it remains a favourite of many...note that the Strad will sound like a Strad with many different kinds of electronics...it is not designed to be perfectly transparent. But that said, it is so well voiced, it got me to the point of 'do I care?...or do I just want to listen to music?' It matches the delicacy and air/space of Quad electrostatics (which I had in the room on the same system with the Strads before I bought the Strads because I was curious how they would compare)...and when I did, I concluded the Strad not only matched the Quad, it also provided the scale and powerful of a cone speaker with a richness in the lower mids and upper bass that I preferred to the Quad electrostatics. You will want to have a natural but extraordinarily precise source with your CJ equipment. And while the Strad sounds great with medium powered tubes...you will not realize how much more percussive and tight the bass can be until you use some serious muscled tubed or Class A amps...I have an entire thread dedicated to 'Powerful Tube Amp for SF Strads' on Audiogon...and you can see all the recommendations people made and that I considered. In the end, if I were to recommend today...Gryphon Class A amps or CJ ART would be my 2 choices...so I think you are perfectly positioned. You also have Nordost Cables...I like Transparent, but somehow I would be tempted to try the higher level Nordost just to see...Valhalla, Valhalla 2...yikes...Odin...hey's its YOUR money I am using here! ;) As for source, I obviously am partial to Zanden but as along as it is very detailed, delineated, with percussive tight bass, SF will give it back to you thru its voice this way. (Sidenote: it took me 5 years of tinkering to get the Zanden to be far more detailed, tight, percussive...but its been worth it.) Back to Strad and its voicing, you have SF so you know and clearly like the SF voice. So do I.
 
Kev,

I know you've come a long way. I am going to have to think about where I want to end up system-wise.


Lloyd,

Thank you so much for your response. You've documented an amazing journey. Since getting my TADs, I've wanted a more forgiving sound. My SF Evos are wonderful and I think that sound is the direction I'm going. I have many more speakers to listen to before I jump.
 
highEndguy said:
Make the Jump and dive directly to SONUS FABER.
:)
You are lusting for that sound
Click to expand...

I am Nelson, I am. I was blown away again when I heard them. Nothing spoke to me like the Strads did. They are wonderful.
 
As a former Strad owner, you will get tired (bored) of it very quickly. They are lush and romantic sounding, but lack speed, dynamics, resolution and drive. If you listen to mostly classical music, they are superb. Good for light soft jazz. But they absolutely do not do rock IMO. That being said, I preferred the Strads with Class AB dynamic fast amps like the Classe CAM600's more than my Pass or Mc tube amps. Ying/yang synergy.

However, like Kev's wife, my friends still say my Strad/Pass XA160.5 combo was the best system I ever owned. So much so that one friend (Charles) has copied my older system and now owns Pass/Strads - but he strictly listens to classical. But they haven't heard the Alexia/Dag combo. I know their "best" will change now.

That being said Joe, I agree with Lloyd, I think the CJ stuff would be magical on the Strads. You would certainly be in heaven for a while.
 
Joe...I am a big fan of going with what speaks to your heart/emotions and sweeps you up into the music. All the other audiophile stuff is great and good to consider and listen for but go with what tugs on the strings because ultimately that's what will make you want to listen to music.
 
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