Are you familiar with Peachtre Audio iDecco's DAC? Is that the component you feel is weakest?

deaf_in_left_eye November 17, 2010 10:52

Noticeable difference with the traps?

I just toed mine in further toward me, and they sound noticeably richer, fuller. I think I was probably getting more reflections off side walls before, and the extra toe-in reduced that a lot, making them more near-field. That tells me traps would be helpful in my environment I think.

deaf_in_left_eye November 16, 2010 17:16

I've still got until the 28th on my Guarneri trial. I've been talking with some other G owners on the thread: "Integrated amp for my Sonus Faber Guarneri" if you'd like to take a look or join in. I really admire your system and appreciate your input.

deaf_in_left_eye November 15, 2010 22:53

Thanks for the suggestions, Davey, I also feel it a shame to let go of these, which are very rare indeed in Japan, but while I believe they would be unbeatable for small group classical, actually it is difficult for me to imagine the GHs sounding very good in deep bass and also in other genres such as jazz, rock, and soul, areas where the B&Ws and Yamahas excel. Do you frequently listen to such genres on your GH system?

Also, because I am in Japan, buying/trading around A'gon is not so viable an option. Here, the best I can find in used eqpt always involves losing more than 10% of original cost for a 30-day home trial. The GHs were an odd, sudden impulse buy, and way beyond a reasonable purchase level for me. I already risked and bought a McIntosh amp to try them with, based on several A'gon recommendations, but that didn't seem to do the trick, at least not with my iMac/DAC as source. It does seem an awful big gamble to swap out half of my gear without being sure I will really like the result better. Going complete analog to vinyl is also not an option for me.

I still have over two weeks left on my trial with the GHs to think about it, but I won't be able to try an ARC DM70 in that time unless one magically and suddenly shows-up here in time, and certainly won't have time or funds to test other amps at home.

deaf_in_left_eye November 10, 2010 10:18

Hello Davey
Thanks for your input. I suspected that my gear might be too "low end" to do justice for the Guarneris. Unfortunately, I might have to let go of these beautiful speakers, as I do not have the budget or time to mate them properly. It seems they are wasted on me, and could be playing beautifully for someone else who has the means.
Thanks again for sharing your great system with us, and your thoughts on mine with me.

deaf_in_left_eye November 09, 2010 13:01

I'm feeding mostly flac files from an iMac via Toslink to an iDecco DAC, then to the preamp and amp and to the speakers. The room is very small, but with sliding plexiglass doors on 3 sides, so from the perspective of bass it seems like a bigger room, but there might be problems with high frequency reflections. The Guarneris are spaced about 2 meters apart, which is abut max for this room. I have other speakers in this room, and all work fine. The Guarneris just don't stand out as sounding a lot better.

I tried them with the same equipment in a larger room that has no such potential reflection problems, and they also sound sort of above-average, though they do image amazingly well.

deaf_in_left_eye November 08, 2010 22:31

Hey Davey! My beautiful Guarneris just aren't knocking my socks off, so I think something is wrong.

They were just awful with a classic Luxman L-507 50 Wpc amp, as well as with a 55 Wpc class A Luxman L-550, so now I'm running them with a McIntosh MA6800 (150 W/channel), and they completely excel only in a certain narrow range, that of classical strings and horns, for example the Albinoni adagios from oboe concerti, Rachmaninoff's Vocalize, or Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. The Guarneris bring tears to my eyes with those sorts of music. Other genres, however, sound much better through my simple B&W 805s (jazz, rock, soul) or old Yamaha NS-1000X (big orchestras, voices, lower-register strings, saxophones, world music, etc).

Do you think the 150 Wpc from the Mac is still far underpowered, in which case I should throw more power at them, or are these speakers really intended for very specialized users who love these genres over all others?

I've got less than 3 weeks left of trial time on these, a trial that is costing about US$1000 just to see if I can make them work in my home (I'm doing ok, but not rich - just a uni prof).

Such classy speakers, a real treasure of workmanship, and really wonderful sound in that small genre in my home so far. I really hope I can make them work over a wider range and keep them.

With these I feel sort of like a mediocre violinist who's been given a Stradivarius, feeling guilty that these belong in more capable hands.

deaf_in_left_eye November 07, 2010 15:05

Hi Daveyf I just got a beautiful pair of SF GH's yesterday. These are very rare here in Japan and I feel like I've found some hidden treasure. I've been reading your posts all over Agon regarding Guarneris and have been learning a lot from them. Thank you for that. I just discovered your setup here and am very happy to see it all in detail. A very enviable system. My next step will be to find a compatible amp for mine, but have to deal with a wife who thinks the Guarneris aren't special (because she has only heard them since yesterday and with my two inadequate amps). I hope to find an ARC D70 for a listen, but read someone had loads of problems with tubes burning out and taking circuits with them. I hope his was just a quirky one and that yours and most don't have such problems. Besides my lower-powered Luxmans at home, so far I've only heard mine with Goldmund MM ESS 27 pre and SIS 82 amp, Krell KSL-2 with Goldmund SIS 82 amp, and briefly with a McIntosh pre and MC2500 amp. Of these, the McIntosh/SF GH combo blew me away!
I'll be revisiting this page sometimes for more info. Thanks for posting your great system!

deaf_in_left_eye October 30, 2010 17:10