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.
John, I have a very small dedicated room for the system... appx 10X11 with a vault ceiling that extends to 15'. I doubt any speaker could reproduce bass in this room. The Hales I had previously were very good for their time, but the Guarneri's are in a different league. I have heard many speakers in the last 25 years since I started in this hobby and the G's are my current reference. Incredible ability to portray lifelike imaging ( given room size of course) great depth and tremendous high freq air. I play small ensemble, solo string instruments and blues. I also like voice and intimate recordings with great warmth. Nothing I have ever heard is better than the G's in this regard. When I move to a larger room ( If I do) then I might use a sub. It will be a major issue to get one that will work with the G's though.
I am a SF fan (both the city and the company), I am sort of waiting for a used paif of Amati's to come up that i can afford.
How did you take the reduction in bass when you dropped (gently) the SFG's into your system? I suspect that are much to refined to be able to integrate a sub to..
System edited: New Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage. They are the best speaker I have ever heard and I have been an audiophile for over 25 years! With the Rowland and the CAT, the Guarneri's come to life!
System edited: Will add pics of the Guarneri's soon. They are IMHO some of the most beautiful sounding and looking speakers I have ever heard. I bought these brand new and they are still breaking in. With the Rowland amp and CAT pre-amp they are magnificent.
Dgad, My X-over is stock, however, Paul changed the x-over connectors and the tweets towards the end of the run of the Sig 2's. Mine are a very late pair with all the later changes. The tweets are still MB Quart but are round and are apparently slightly more efficient than the previous version. The connectors on the speakers and the x-overs were also changed to copper Cardas models. The foam that was originally on the ealier units was also built into the grilles.
I have a pair of Sig IIs & a Muse matching sub w. personality card in storage in my garage. A little damaged on the cabinet. I loved them & owned them for a long time. Traded them w. a friend who eventually got out of audio. Did you modify the crossover? If so what did you do? Also did you modify the tweeter. Mine has a square plate & is the dual magnet MB Quart II. I used to blow my tweeter all the time & have a few spares in a closet. I used a Krell 600 with them when I had them.
I had limited (but not zero) listening experience, with the Hales. They seemed like a very good speaker, with a somewhat laid back sound, although not overly so. They SORT OF put me in mind of the Aerial line, but that may be off base, and people with more experience may strongly disagree. At any rate, it's very sad that such a fine company went out of business. I really hate to see that happen.
Thanks guys, The Hales displaced a pair of very modded Acoustat 3's. Like all speakers though, as soon as the manufacturer went out of business, the speakers plummeted in value. So, like Jsujo says, I feel that in the used market today they are simply a steal. Oddly, while I once in the while get the upgrade itch, I have not really heard any speakers that are that much better that I have to have them. Although the Kharma's came pretty close.
I think its a well thought out system,,Having the Hales must be a good start for anyone, given how good they are and their prices on Audiogon...I am glas that you are using a tube preamp as well..
I once listened to a Hales Revelation3 and a Transcandent 8 which i still have in memory. It was the first speaker that impressed me. I heard a Wilson Watt Puppy and some big Meridians that day, but the Transcandent 8 and R3's got stuck in my mind. One of the same experiences i had with all Apogees i heard till now.
