Sonus Faber Elipsa review

[Milos]

You can find new Sonus Faber Elipsa loudspeaker review by John Atkinson
on Stereophile web http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/1207sonus

His conclusion:
>>>>>
"It is not quite without character —that slightly warm upper bass and slightly forward mid-treble will need some adjustment in system setup and/or choice of ancillaries —but Sonus Faber's Cremona Elipsa is, overall, a superb performer. It also looks stunningly beautiful. If you can stretch your budget by 50% for the Amati anniversario and be prepared to work harder to integrate it in your room, that might be, overall, the better choice. If not, the Cremona Elipsa is a loudspeaker for which no apology need be made." awprint:
>>>>>

Milos

 

[KingRT]

Thanks!

 

[DR. JAM]

Get it now. With this review the price may go up up and up.

 

[jamnesta]

If you can stretch your budget by 50% for the Amati anniversario and be prepared to work harder to integrate it in your room, that might be, overall, the better choice. If not, the Cremona Elipsa is a loudspeaker for which no apology need be made." awprint:
Milos

My local dealer had the Amati Anniversario's in his store, oh my god...just beautiful in the red lacquer. He keeps all the speakers he's not auditioning out of the listening room so as not to passive load the speakers under demo, (real 2 channel purists)! I didn't want to put him through the trouble for my benefit, so I'll have to check back when he has them wired up. If they sound like they look.....

 

[LIONKING]

He keeps all the speakers he's not auditioning out of the listening room so as not to passive load the speakers under demo, .

Totally weird I thought only I did that...

 

[PHC1]

Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Cremona Elipsa has a usefully higher voltage sensitivity than average, at an estimated 90dB(B)/2.83V/m. Though this is slightly lower than the specified 91dB, the shortfall is not important. While it will therefore require less of a voltage swing to play loud, the speaker is still a demanding load for the partnering amplifier, with an impedance magnitude that drops to 2.5 ohms throughout the upper bass (fig.1). There is also a punishing combination of 4 ohms magnitude and –50 ° electrical phase angle at 70Hz that will suck gobs of current from the amplifier.

I've heard the Elipsa driven by Krell evo gear and I can't say they exhibited any of the characteristics of mid or upper bass warmth to my ears. These speakers just need an amp that will do them justice and has the right synergy. I would bet the 501s and up will serve them right. :yes:

 

[Cough-Cool]

That Amati is one hell of a good looking speaker. Love that red violin finish.

 

[howiebrou]

These speakers just need an amp that will do them justice and has the right synergy. I would bet the 501s and up will serve them right. :yes:

So what are you waiting for?

 

[Grey.Coupe]

My MC402 certainly makes beautiful music with the Elipsas.

As to some of the article, they are certainly towards organic and away from clinical-sounding, but it's still rock 'n roll [or jazz or blues or classical] to me.

I am simply delighted with my new speakers, and expect to enjoy them for many years to come...

 

[PHC1]

So what are you waiting for?

To listen to Cremona M. :yes:

 

[howiebrou]

To listen to Cremona M. :yes:

I have A/B ed them. I think you will choose the Elipsas :yes:

howie

 

[Shane]

I've heard the Elipsa driven by Krell evo gear and I can't say they exhibited any of the characteristics of mid or upper bass warmth to my ears. . :yes:

That maybe more the Krell adding its sound to the equation, krell is certainly not neutral.

 

[Grey.Coupe]

Interesting observations, KCrowder.

I chose Elipsa over Cremona because I wanted deeper more defined bass, and I got it. Another important dimension of the comparison was speaker placement--Cremona placement needs to be out into the room more and precise placement was more critical. Proper placement of Elipsa is important, but is less fussy and easier to live with.

We have a big room, but cosmetics play some role. A floorstander placed well out away from the wall didn't look red-hot.

Your comments about bass changes [and bass definition] in the Cremona M are a little surprising to me--I have not listened to the new Cremona M, but I thought the big difference was going to be the new tweeter.

Cremonas are excellent speakers, but listening to the Elipsas in our home convince me that I made the right decision for me.

Good luck with your decision. You will be delighted with either combination, your electronics will drive either speaker effortlessly--

 

[PHC1]

While I was at the store I decided to give the Elipsa another audition. This speaker is growing on me a lot, and it might find it's way to my house. I was listening to it with MC402,C46,MCD201, and i'm pretty sure it will improve with what I have. My only concern is my main two-channel room measures 18(L)x13(W)x8.5(H), and I don't know if it will be to small. Someone will be contacting the distributor for me tomorrow.

I second what Grey.Coupe said. I was present at the official unveiling of the Elipsa in the states and spoke to Sumiko guys at great detail about it as well as some of the other products. The Elipsa was designed to integrate into smaller spaces much better with the "infinite baffle" design. In a room such as 18x13, you'll have a much easier time placing the Elipsa closer to the room boundaries and walls over the Cremona which does and will couple with walls and create bass heaviness and bloat and needs space around it. The details about the tweeter and midrange can be found in this post when I came back from the event: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=112142&highlight=elipsa

 

[william.keith]

The Stereophile article was confusing to me. He moved from good to bad to worse and then back to good. :scratch2:

 

[Grey.Coupe]

KCrowder~

You bet--It's nice to give back to this forum about something I know first-hand.

Many here have added to my knowledge. As Serge points out, less than precise placement of the Cremona can create too much, ill-defined bass. Muddy.

PS: I don't know if this has changed, but when I bought my Elipsas in October, Sumiko told my retailer that there were only graphite available from their California warehouse; that the natural color was sold out in the Cremona. That new natural color Cremonas would all be M version.

So if you prefer the natural [red, but not as red as the Homage line] you may be looking at graphite or be searching through retailer inventories all over the country...good luck.

 

[PHC1]

Congrats on the Elipsa's! :thmbsp: Let us know how they sound with the 501s at your house.

 

[howiebrou]

Congrats, You have a seriously nice system there now!

howie

 

[Chad.Wagner]

Will these replace your Monitor Audio speakers?

Are they that much better than your Monitor Audio Platinum's?