[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif how many dots do you place under each spker?

I use 4 of the 1" size........you should try the vibrapods perhaps they will work fine for you, or like me you can get both

 

[music_man]

i am intrested to hear this: http://sumikoaudio.net/sonus/prod_guarneri_memento.htm

it could maybe a huge upgrade to my micro utopias. on the other hand as always speaker sound is highly subjective. just because they are twice the price of my jmlab's doesnt mean i'd be guaranteed to like them better of course. once i hear them i'll let you guys know(what i think).

well, one thing i think already is they are some darn expensive little speakers

they'd have to compete with reference floorstanders for that kind of cash imho.

music_man

 

[DarkAngel]

MM
You must have deep pockets for 13k set of speakers........sure look nice

 

[ooheadsoo]

But it's hard to think of what could justify it's price. First order xover - doesn't get simpler than that, like, 2 to 3 components on each driver at most, and while you can theoretically maintain phase coherence (but you have to choose whether it is electric phase or acoustic phase you are shooting for) you also have to live with lumpy off axis frequency response. Granted some people can live with the frequency response issues, though. Finish on the cabinet affecting the sound? I sure hope the walls of those cabinets aren't resonating like a violin.

Well, I've always been mystified by sonus faber. Nice looking, I agree. The models I've heard have VERY soft and mellow sound. Could be very good for simply enjoying music.

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooheadsoo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Could be very good for simply enjoying music.

I think that's what they are designed for. ie listening to music rather than random noises.

You are right they are a bit over the top, but they are the best looking.

 

[ooheadsoo]

There're lots of ways to listen to and enjoy music, and not everyone desires or demands accuracy. Looks are also very subjective. The sonus fabers look fantastic, but the looks also betray fairly conventional engineering and design. Well, whatever. Not my personal choice, although I'd be very happy to receive a pair as a gift so that I could sell them and buy what I really wanted. I could buy a car with the change left over, too, if I compromised just a little. Not even a whole lot of compromise, just a little bit

This would be my compromise of choice: http://www.nuforce.com/partner/Broch...ure-lowres.pdf

Sounds quite nice, I was quite floored when I heard them. And worth the money, too, I couldn't diy this cabinet.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif i am intrested to hear this: http://sumikoaudio.net/sonus/prod_guarneri_memento.htm it could maybe a huge upgrade to my micro utopias. on the other hand as always speaker sound is highly subjective. just because they are twice the price of my jmlab's doesnt mean i'd be guaranteed to like them better of course. once i hear them i'll let you guys know(what i think). well, one thing i think already is they are some darn expensive little speakers they'd have to compete with reference floorstanders for that kind of cash imho. music_man

Around the same price are the L&R Utopia Be. I highly recommend them. They have a very similar sound to the Diva Utopia Be, if not a slightly bassier. Are your Micro Utopia the newer Be ones? If not, please go and listen to the new Utopia Be range! They're spectacular. Around the price of the Micro Utopia Be are the Dynaudio Confidence C1, which have very positive reviews too. I haven't heard the Guarneris, but judging from the Cremona Auditor, Cremona and Amati Anniv., the Guarneri must be good!

 

[music_man]

i have the micro utopia be's. i traded sf concertino's to get them. i wonder where higher end sf's would have taken me. i'll hopefully find out soon.

i think what makes them expensive is the cabinet. the craftsmanship is painstaking and exquisite. i do not know if that translates to better sound untill i hear them. on the other hand the focals(even with the avant garde finish) cabinets are rather basic. they do sound outstanding for shoebox sized speakers, don't get me wrong. i wouldn't doubt there is always better.

i say why not take shoebox sized speakers to reference levels. if it can be done. then the price should be commensurate with the best floorstanding reference loudspeakers.

a lot of people that are in the market for reference loudspeakers would appreciate the space saving if they could equal their bigger brothers/sisters.

if the micro utopia sounded the same as the grand utopia i'd take the micro utopia. i still had to take the micro's because i had no choice in this room. what if it sounded as good as the grand utopia though? then it probably would/should cost as much!

i know shoebox size speakers are very limited at some point. simple physics.
it will be intresting to see why sf is asking for that type of money other than looks. i will say the concertinos were very good. the focals are better.

about the money: there are people(here) that have 5.1 eggleston. so there are perspectives. although, with the eggleston it is obvious why they cost what they do. with the sf guarneri i am not so sure other than looks. in all honesty i would not care if my equipment looked like it went through a warzone. i care about the sound. that is why i regularly purchase scratch 'n dent and refurbished items. they work fine thats all that matters to me.

music_man

 

[milkpowder]

Please report back when you've heard the Guarneris! Will you be comparing the Guarneris with anything else at the audition? It'd be interesting to compare the Guarneris to the cheaper Cremonas and the more expensive Amatis.

 

[music_man]

i will have to see what store has what. it will probably be a little while before i find a place that has enough stuff for comparison.

they would have to be a lot better than the utopia be's for me to consider them. if they were just a little better, you know diminishing gains aren't that appealing to me. the micro utopia's already push the limit of what can be done with such small boxes. with a rel sub they really are pretty impressive actually.

the Amatis are larger speakers, aren't they? the point for me is to get the highest performing speakers that are considered "bookshelfs". of course different people have different ideas of what fits on a bookshelf

by that token i really don't even know how the sf's would perform off of their stands. so what i hear at the store may not even be indicative of what they would do in my room. plus i'd really have to be selling those stands if i was not using them. that is fine as long as there was a buyer for them.
i'd say $1,000 or more of the money in those speakers is their stands.
it is kind of a shame not to be able to use them. most stores offer in home auditions for gear at that level. i like to go to the store first so as not to waste their time unless i am very serious. that is only fair.

music_man

 

[milkpowder]

Again, if you liked the sound of the Micro Utopia Be, I urge you go go and listen to the L & R Utopia Be. They are seriously good speakers. I'd call them large "bookshelfs" because they're almost as large as a pair of slim floorstanders (a bit like the Marten Design Alto in size). You're "book shelf" really has to be quite big to fit them

However, how big is your room? The L & R Utopia Be require a fairly big room. What's putting you off from a pair of slim floorstanders? They don't take up that much room and will sound better than even large bookshelfs. (that sounded funny LOL)

 

[chesebert]

I measured my VR1 in-room response (C-weighted) and need to know if there are anything I can do to tame the nasty 8-10khz aberration?

make a note: the graph makes it look like I started my measurement at 30Hz. but the 1st data point is at 25Hz.

THANKS!!!!!

 

[chesebert]

I thought I fixed the problem but I still have the treble elevation

 

[music_man]

unfortunately i am dealing with space constraints due to furniture. i cannot unfurnish this room simply for the pleasure of listening to music.

luckily i have another room for that(i think i mentioned that already in this thread). this "little" system tends to be the one that gets the most attention from me these days. so i'd like it to be somewhat decent..

the speakers are 16' apart on a dresser/table. so as not to jam the speakers to the wall i am realistically limited to 24"x18"x20"(h+w+d). this room is easily big enough for floorstanders, but not with all the furniture in here.

the utopia be's are very forgiving of awful acoustics and way less than ideal placement. this room has very bad acoustics due to furnishings and odd shaped walls and ceiling. it is almost a joke. a teddy bear sits atop one speaker. i try to remove him when listening lol. the cdp which is maybe 10" tall is on the same table 10" from the other speaker. i am not an idiot, but i would still rather have good equipment with rotten placement than rotten equipment with rotten placement

the sonus fabers may very well need to be on their stands and have some space around them. in this area the utopia's have excelled. the utopias also work very well with the little rel sub. it sounds very good all considered.

i may not get any benefit in this room from better speakers but that will not stop me from trying. larger speakers are just out of the question in here.

music_man

 

[ooheadsoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought I fixed the problem but I still have the treble elevation

gikacoustics has the most inexpensive fiberglass based traps I've seen. You could snag a set to tame some of the reflections in your room, but it might be useless if it's a furniture placement problem.

If you don't have a height constraint to your "bookshelf" problem, I'd recommend seeing what you can do to hear the nuforce s-9. It's quite the dynamic performer but never sounded harsh with any of the recordings I heard it with. I can say wholeheartedly that they play like speakers 5 times their size, if not more. Very clean and neutral. I think there's a review in the upcoming feb issue of TAS, but I haven't seen it yet.

I'm also extremely confident that a heck of a lot of more intensive labor and craftsmanship (and expertise) goes into the making of a $13k violin than goes into the making of a $13k sonus faber. While I haven't heard the micro utopia bes or the sonus faber in question, I still make music about 2 times a week, and the nuforce s-9 comes closer (for me) to making real music than does the single sonus faber I remember hearing most recently (I think it was the cremona.) Actually, it's not very close. It's a different sound signature. It sounds like I'm actually talking myself into saving up for a pair of s-9s, which won't be any time soon. Oh well, allow me to bow out of this thread somewhat gracefully.