Happy with a new speaker setup: Conrad Johnson and Sonus Faber

[stuartr]

Hey guys, I just figured I would post a pic of my new speaker setup. It is still in sub optimal condition while I wait for my non-biwire speaker cables and a more appropriate stand. I am fairly sure I am going to put the premier 140 on the ground...Man, it was a nightmare to get up on top. It is 80lbs, but the problem is that all the weight is in the left side, so it is wobbly. In any case, the amp and preamp combo sounds fantastic. The setup is the CJ Premier 140 and Premier 16LSII, with cary 306/200, and sonus faber cremona auditors. When I was listening to Vladimir Horowitz's live concert from Moscow, it really sounded as if the piano was set up in front of me. The dynamics are outstanding. To get the real sound level, I would have to turn it up a good deal, but there is plenty of gain (perhaps a bit too much...I find myself listening at 4 or 5 out of 99 steps on the attenuators at night with some louder cds. Usually I am around 20.

Well, I suppose I will write more later, I just wanted to give a quick update.
Here is a pic of the stuff.

 

[jjcha]

Congrats! I'm no speaker expert, but I certainly enjoy my SF Cremona Auditors (now my room acoustics, on the other hand...)

The rest of your rig looks awesome. I've only heard the Cary briefly, but certainly liked what I heard. No experence with the CJ stuff, but it's been highly recommended.

Are your Auditors graphite? The pict makes the wood look like they're blue...

Best regards,

-Jason

 

[ayt999]

wow, looks very nice.

I need to buy a rack for my equipment....

 

[eyeteeth]

Simply Lovely!
There are no appropriately heart type smilies to attach or I would.

stuartr do the Sonus Faber have that very attractive stringed grill and have you listened both with and without to hear if there is a difference? I can't tell by your suitably dark, welcoming picture.
Also, out of curiousity what speakers were defeated in your auditions by the Faber?

 

[immtbiker]

Teriffic...the Sonus speakers are one heck of a line. The Conrad Johnson's are some of the most beautiful pieces of hardware out there. I see you take your conditioning seriously. I had a silver 306/200 and it was my favorite CDP. So dominant and clean.
The standing waves that are bouncing off your components (tubes especially), by having your speaker right in front, seem like they would lessen the potential of your system though.

 

[bozebuttons]

Very Nice!
I love the Cj sound as I have owned a number of their amps & preamps,currently use Premier 12s monoblocks(alternate KT88s & 6550s) & was thinking of picking up a 140 to gain more rack space. Cj products have a very holographic sound especially Vocals.
The Sonus Farber are impressive sounding as well.
You have many great hours of listening ahead of you with that system,Congrates.

 

[stuartr]

Jason -- The auditors are graphite. It is a very nice grey/black color. I imagine they look blue because of the Cary LED's.

Eyeteeth -- they do have a stringed grill, and I have done some brief listening to see if I can tell the difference, and I cannot. Perhaps with more careful listening I will be able to, but for now I am just going to keep them on there. As for other speakers, I compared them directly to my B&W 805s (which I traded in for them), and the other speakers I compared were expensive floor standers like the Wilson WATT/Puppies and Sophias. I did not want to spend that much, and I really liked the sound of the SF, so I went with that. It would have been nice to compare to everything out there, but sometimes you are limited by your area...

immtbiker: I know, I am very unhappy about the placement. It is one of the things that I am going to address when I get the new speaker cable. The room is very difficult to work with, so I am not sure how I will wind up placing everything. I would like to be able to use my TV with my speakers for movies, but at some point I might just have to decide against it in favor of better speaker placement. In any case, tweaking is part of the fun. Or at least that is what I tell myself as I move heavy objects around.

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuartr Eyeteeth -- they do have a stringed grill, and I have done some brief listening to see if I can tell the difference, and I cannot.

That's good because I thought the grills looked so fittingly distinctive. Although looks are secondary, it would be a shame to realize the speakers sounded better without grills. Thanks stuartr.

 

[screwdriver]

nice system stuartr.

i have abandoned headphones totally and just listening to my speaker rig.

 

[bln]

Do you still have your MMF-9? What cartridge?

 

[stuartr]

Yup, still using the MMF-9. I am using the Music Hall Maestro cartridge, which is what it came with. Eventually I suppose I should get a new one, but this still sounds good to me.

 

[Dimitris]

Nice rig! I would love to see photos of the whole room. I bet you dont listen to music sitting in the corner and from one speaker.

 

[stuartr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dimitris Nice rig! I would love to see photos of the whole room. I bet you dont listen to music sitting in the corner and from one speaker.

Ha, I actually rearranged things again. I put the stereo back against the other wall. I will take a photo tomorrow after I clean everything up.

Does anyone have any advice on placing speakers? I followed George Cardas's method as best as I could, placing them as far wide as the golden ratio dictates, but the soundstage is not what it could be. The speakers seem too close together to me. I think my equipment is to the point that I can really make the speakers disappear with proper setup. I was listening to Kevin Deal's setup at upscale audio, and it was with a worse amp (his new integrated), worse source (his ah njoe tube or whatever), and the full cremona speakers. The speakers were literally not there. It was the oddest thing. With my eyes closed, I could not spatially locate the speakers, just the sound. I would like to recreate that if possible.

Edit: well, ok, I have insomnia, so I figured I would post a pic, despite not cleaning up. Here is my less than optimal setup. Forgive me if there is some tilt -- I did not want to use flash with my digital camera, so I steadied it on my head to get a lower shutter speed.

 

[Dimitris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuartr Ha, I actually rearranged things again. I put the stereo back against the other wall. I will take a photo tomorrow after I clean everything up. Does anyone have any advice on placing speakers? I followed George Cardas's method as best as I could, placing them as far wide as the golden ratio dictates, but the soundstage is not what it could be. The speakers seem too close together to me. I think my equipment is to the point that I can really make the speakers disappear with proper setup. I was listening to Kevin Deal's setup at upscale audio, and it was with a worse amp (his new integrated), worse source (his ah njoe tube or whatever), and the full cremona speakers. The speakers were literally not there. It was the oddest thing. With my eyes closed, I could not spatially locate the speakers, just the sound. I would like to recreate that if possible. Edit: well, ok, I have insomnia, so I figured I would post a pic, despite not cleaning up. Here is my less than optimal setup. Forgive me if there is some tilt -- I did not want to use flash with my digital camera, so I steadied it on my head to get a lower shutter speed.

That looks great to me!Thank God you are not one of these people that spend all their money in buying equipment and live in a cave!

It all looks good to me!Enjoy!

 

[bhd812]

I am so jealous of you, Sonus is sexy.

enjoy a song for me please