In my small dedicated listening room with vault ceilings this is the best system so far. Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage's which were some of the last pair to be brought into the US along with new Jadis JA 30 Mk2 Mono Blocks utilizing KT150's and Smooth Plate Telefunken tubes, a CAT SL1 Renaissance Black Path BPX with phono. The Linn LP12 Radikal D, Karousel/Kore is the front-end with a Lyra Kleos. Esoteric DV60 SACD player, Esoteric D-05 DAC, Alternate ss amp: Jeff Rowland model 8T modded by Jeff. Room tuning devices include the Real Traps Mondo Traps, Mini Traps and Shakti Hallograph's. Grand Prix Monaco amp stands. Audio Art SE-1 power cords with Furutech connectors.Zenwave power cord PL1 with Furutech NCF 50, Zenwave D2 Ultra ic's, Graceline 1.5 meter ic and Black Cat PC-1 Silverstar power cord for Rowland. Two REL T5i subs...running high level off the amp outputs and with Signal subwoofer cables and Supra pc's. Nessie Vinylcleaner.
Jskg, I agree with you that tubes are generally more transparent. That's why I am still contemplating adding a tube amp. Also, the G's seem to love tubes. Interesting that you do not find your LP140's to give off much heat. My old Melos tube amp used to act like a space heater after a very short time.
I beleive the CT5 is the "normal" partner for LP 140s. The case styling says so. I'd be surprised if the Rowland/Cat combo does tone color better! The bass ought to be tighter. But not necessarily "better", then again it might be? The CT5 is more punchy in presentation than the ART. The ART probably does air better at the expense of the CT5's drive punch and rhythm, I suppose you cant have everything unkess you want to spring for an ART 3! Incidentally the LP140 do not create too much heat in my small room. Even when thay are on all day. In general I find Tubes to be more transparent.
Jskg, I have heard the CJ LP140M's and they do sound great with the G's. Have not heard the CT5, is this the normal partner for the LP140M's from CJ? I heard the LP140M's with the ART preamp ( first version). I was tempted to trade in my CAT/Rowland combo for this setup, but in my small room, tube amps are a little too hot. ( Although I am still contemplating adding a tube amp and living with the heat) The CAT/Rowland combo does somethings better than the LP140's/ART combo, mainly in the bottom end and in the reproduction of timbre. The CJ's are a little more adept at soundstaging and I loved their depth portrayal.
Linnie01, Great eye, that is indeed an old Fender case on the floor, it holds my AS Tele. I also have a Tweed strat case next to it, but couldn't get it in the picture.
Igor, Wow, if you liked the Counterpoint you have not heard anything till you try the CAT. I used to own the Counterpoint SA 3000 and replaced it with CAT. The CAT is in a totally different league and that's an understatement. Like removing a massive veil on the music. I will try the CAT amps and the Atmasphere's. Now very curious to hear a tube amp with the G's. The Rowland Model 8 is no slouch so this should be very interesting. Do you use the Valhallas on your rig? Dave
Sorry for the delay. Yes I tried the G. with a lot of pre-amps , amps and integrated amps. Preamps: Counterpoint SA 3000(good),Ear 834L(very good),Gryphon Prelude(good-very good)Hovland HP 100(bad).Integrated amps: BAT VK 300x(bad) Unison research S2(good-very good). Amps: Electrocompaniet 100 MB (my favourite for 10 years),Ampzilla mono blocks(good),Audio research(cannot remember which model, very old,(good),Gryphon Encore(good-very good with Atmasphere MP1), and some other stuff that I cannot remember at the moment. In my opinion tubes are the way to go,and on the Guarnieris they are a MUST. I have never tried any CAT product. They are tubed, but not every tubed amp is a good combination(BAT for example). If you alredy have a CAT preamp yust try the amp and let us know. I bet it would sound better then a SS amp. For me, the hunting for a Pre-power combination has ended with the Atmasphere MP-1 MA-1. P.S. Try Nordost Valhalla interconnect and speaker cables too. Brgds, Igor
Igor, Have you tried any other tube amps besides the Atmasphere's? Any ss. amps? I am also very interested in hearing the CAT amps and the Joule amps on the G's. From what I have been told the ultimate tube amps for the G's are the CAT's. I own a CAT preamp and it is one of the best pre-amps I have ever heard. Head and shoulders above most if not all the competition IMHO.
As you may guess I'm driving the Guarneris with the MP-1 preamplifire and the MP-1 MK2 power amplifires from Atmasphere. You can try them with the S-30 which is a stereo amp with "yust" 30 watts, that are enought to drive the speakers at "normal" levels mantaining the Atmasphere family sound.I have had this little gem for six months in my sistem, then found a used pair of MA-1 which I simply MUST have. With Atmasphere amps the Guarneris yust sing, all the positive attributes that they alredy have are moved to a next(ultimate?) level. The micro and macro dinamics are things that you must experience, the music is yust transformed in a live session with the musicians on stage. Records are assuming the REAL message that the artist want us to hear from them. I can go in a very long message, inventing new words and so on and so on. Please yust try any amp of Atmasphere and let me know what are your feelings.
Igor, Several people have suggested the MA-60's or the MA-1's. I will try and do a demo with these amps if possible. The Rowland with choke is the best ss. amp I have heard. But,I am sure that a great tube amp would be magical on the G's. Curious what amp you use to drive your G's?
Great system, as an owner of SF Guarneri I can't say anything but good about your components. I would suggest you to try the Atmasphere amps MA-60 or better yet the MA-1 with the Guarneri loudspeakers as they sound fabulous with them.I have tried recently the Gryphon Encore with the Guarneris and was not bad at all, but the OTL Atmasphere amps are from another planet in comparison with EVERY solid state amps I have heard to date. Brgds, Igor
Chipman, once you have heard the M's, I suspect that you like I will be glad you own the Hommage's. Joey, I also listened to the Cremona's. IMHO they are not really in the same league as the G's. The Cremonas do have more bass and can probably play louder ( although this is not something I really tested) However, compared to the G's in my room they were no contest in any other area you care to mention.
Have been a fan of Sonus Faber for many years starting from my first pair the Electa Amators then switching over to the Guarneri Hommage which I have had for a number of years now. You can guess this from the serial number I mentioned previously no. 13!
I have heard most SF speakers as they have been progressively introduced, including the Cremona (light brigher sound), Amati Hommage (which was like my Guarneri but fuller +deeper), and Stradivari which was amazing in all respects.
Have not heard any other newer versions but I must say I prefer the look of my Guarneri compared to the Momento. Will have to track down a dealer to take a listen!
Palasr, the knobs on top of the plinth are called Sound Cat's that are unfortunately no longer available. Basically they are a rubber based dampener with a inner concentric ring made of brass that lift the cover about 1 1/2". They were sold to owners like myself that mounted WTA arms, since these arms are too tall to allow the cover to sit on the table with that arm installed. The Sound Cat's can be removed from the plinth when the cover is not being used.
Joey, That is a good question,the new Memento's have the ring radiator. Sourced from Scanspeak I believe. IMHO, the Dynaudio Esotar in the Guarneri Hommage ( which are my version) sounds smoother and is more extended than the radiator in the Memento.( Having heard both) Also, the Hommage uses the Audio Technologie mid/bass driver( which I also feel is a superior mid/bass driver to the Memento's ( a 150mm doped paper unit I suspect sourced from Dynaudio) and has the ability to be bi-wired which the Memento does not. ( This is again IMHO a major drawback, since I am a very strong believer in bi-wiring).Lastly, the Memento's cabinet are made solely from Maple and again appear inferior to the Hommage's. The Memento's are also far more expensive. I still would have considered them if I thought they were actually superior, however, like many things in audio, the latest sometimes can be a marketing gimmick and actually I believe they are inferior.
