Speakers for MF A3.2

I wouldn't have said it better myself.

They arrived safely, and are now in the living room.
(My god are those stands heavy!!)

Now I have a whole orchestra in my living room!
Great stuff!

The only problem with them (not them really) is that they
are ruthless on the recordings... i spent a couple of hours
listening in awe last night, and from orchestral to REM on
both vinyl and cd (vinyl being by far the best source here)
the sound is just great.

Before i had to close my eyes to position the players,
now they are there, i can almost see them with my eyes
open. I finally have that tactile sound i wanted, so thank
you Greg! Don't be too disheartened, i will let you come
over and listen to them whenever you want! :MILD:

Ok, so don't go on thinking that it's all over...
I'm gonna need cables... and an upgrade to my cd player.

All in good time, no rush, as i am enjoying the sound as
it is, but I have Silver Anniversary Biwire cable and somehow
i reckon i will need to upgrade it... any suggestions?

Cheers everyone!
:beer:
Jack

(aka Ilidio but you don't want to be spelling that, do you?
)

 

Jack,

Whoever told you that was spot on. The Grand Pianos were Sonus Faber's first foray into floor-standers and they made a medium grade job of it. However, although the bass does not work well in many European rooms, I have heard it sound stable (not loose) in American rooms also with Krell amplification.

Btw, I auditioned the Signums and Grand Pianos at the dealer's listening rooms and also in my home before settling for the Signums. I felt that they outclassed the Grand Pianos for sound although the GPs had bigger but ill-defined bass. Signums + sub (or two) is a very engaging combination and I would put this sub/sat combo up there with the SF Electa Amator IIs in the pound for sound stakes although the original retail prices of the Signum/MJ Acoustics sub combo work out much cheaper than that of the SF EA IIs. Mind you, you can't tell by listening to them side by side though. Yes, the Signums have what I would call "hot tweeters" and with certain solid-state electronics, they do have a tendency to bite. However, I don't have this problem and I also use solid-state amplification. Go figure!

Just to recap on what I mentioned in another thread a few weeks ago, MY Signums do not suffer from flapping cones nor have I ever blown a cone or tweeter. My amp is currently dumping 300 real watts into the 4 ohm/87 dB Signums with no problems. My amp dishes out 180 watts at 8 ohms. Even before I added the subwoofer, I had no flapping cones. So if your's flaps, then either blame the amp or check that the speakers are not defective. So where would I go from the Signum/MJ Acoustics combo? Well the jury is out on that one but the successors would have to be better in all areas of the Signum/MJ Acoustics sub combo and that is one set of auditions that I am not really looking forward to hence the reason I am sticking with the current combo for now. They work for me.



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

Hey Michael,

You are very incisive my friend. I did indeed choose the Signums to match my decor which contains amongst other things: marble columns with gold inlay and velvet curtains. The velvet curtains do double-up as DBT props so they are are very useful.



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

Lawrie,

I found the Signums like the Amatis I heard, but without the
bass extension (and the price tag!). I don't have room for Amatis.
I can't think of a speaker I would upgrade to, right now, but i am
sure there are very good speakers out there. Still, I found my
pair. Have you tried the Amatis?

About the flapping cones, well even my B&W used to flap, and
the Signums flap a bit at high volumes. It is to be expected, as
far as I understand. They sound superb, no problems in the
highs, mediums or lows.

The cones always flap more when I use a turntable. This I can't
really explain, but it has always been the case with any speaker
I tried here at home. With cd, they only start moving (slightly,
not a lot!) when i turn the volume up considerably.

Any recommendations on cabling for the Signums? What are
you using?

(you have some power in that amp, btw. what is it? Krell?)

Cheers!
:beer:
Jack

 

When you are using vinyl, your system must be amplifying record warps. This is particularly noticable when using reflex loaded speakers. Its harmless enough, although many LP disc stages include a high pass filter to get rid of it.

Cheers, Robbo

 

Jack,

Yes, I have heard the Amatis several times and they are not only superb sounding speakers but they are indeed 'works of art' that would not look out of place with my set-up or in my room. However, if I had to choose on sound alone, then I would go for the Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage speakers (also 'works of art') which IMO, are better sounding and cheaper than the Amatis. In fact apart from the new Stradivari which I haven't heard yet, I'd go as far as saying that, IMO, the Guarneris are the best speakers that Sonus Faber have ever made. Add a sub or two to the Guarneris and it's game, set & beautiful music. This could perhaps explain why one rarely sees Guarneri Homage speakers for sale second-hand. Most owners tend to keep them for life but which music lover wouldn't?

So in terms of an upgrade, well given that I currently use the Signums with an excellent sounding sub, moving on to speakers like the Electa Amator IIs, Cremona Auditor etc would not make any sonic or financial sense as the sub enhances the best qualities of the Signums even further without drawing any attention itself meaning that those speakers have very little advantages over the Signum/sub combo. This is something you should try if you have the room and when funds permit. So as an upgrade the Guarneris would feature on my list or even the Amatis (second hand of course on both counts).

In terms of cables, well the only solid recommendation I can give is that you don't use bright sounding cables with those Signums. Given that different cables react differently based on the amplifier they are connected to, it's difficult for me to recommend a brand as I am not really a 'cable man' so to speak. However, I can tell you that I use Transparent & Cardas cables and these have worked superbly with tube and solid-state amps whilst bringing out the best that the Signums have to offer. Others, no doubt, may have something negative to say about these brands as experiences vary. For amplification, I use Karan Acoustics KA-I 180, hand-made in a very small factory in Yugoslavia. http://www.karanacoustics.com/ampf.htm Btw, what's your system set-up?




Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

Hi Lawrie,

Thanks for the suggestions. You're absolutely right about
avoiding bright sounding cables. Not that I find the sound
too bright at all, even when many people had warned me
about the A3.2 being a bit bright on the highs... maybe it's
the music I listen to, or maybe I don't hear it as loud as them...
go figure...

I guess i should keep away from flat, multi-threaded (is that
how they're called?) cables like the Nordost and Siltech or
Kimber, as they are known to be very "clean". So in the same
line of thinking, I guess Transparent or even Audioquest would
be a good choice.

The problem with transparent is their price...
Since I might want to upgrade my cd player it will be a little while,
but i like to be on the lookout for a bargain, so having some ideas
is always a good thing.

perhaps i will try to borrow a pair of cables to see if i can
really hear the difference, like SideShowBob says.

My system has the MF A3.2 at its centre, with the Signums
at its side, a Project 2 turntable (the one with the two layer
platter) and a beloved Denon 160MkII (high output MC) cartridge.

The cd is the good old NAD 521 which i might keep as transport
or may go when i upgrade to a better one-box cdplayer.
Need to learn more about the virtues (or not) of separate
transports and dacs.

oh, i'm using vdh The Bay C5 interconnects, and QED Silver
Anniversary Biwire with the speakers.


Cheers!
:beer:

Jack

 

Jack,

I forgot to mention Audioquest as I also have one of their interconnects, (the Pythons) currently on my tuner and I think that they are very good. So for cables, I limit them to just Transparent, Cardas & Audioquest. I have no further intention to go searching for the latest and 'baddest' cables in town as these brands satisfy my requirements and I feel that there is nothing to be gained from searching further. Oh, I also use Siltech but only their digital interconnect between CDP & DAC. I don't like Siltech for interconnects or speaker cables even though they are a local brand here in Lawrieville. Btw, I hear you on the cost of brand new Transparent which can be high but second-hand examples are quite reasonable.

However, one thing I noticed is that you are using van den Hul interconnects (another local brand). Well, the Signums and many other Sonus Faber speakers are wired internally with van den Hul wire. So perhaps it might be worth including van den Hul speaker cables (bi or single wire + cable jumpers) on to your audition list in the interests of synergy and reduced cost but also check out Audioquest & Cardas as well if you can. Audioquest are now back in the U.K. courtesy of Marantz distribution, IIRC, but there might be used ones for sale where you are. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that the Signums are doing the biz for you, musically - they are superb speakers. Btw, you were right in one of your earlier posts about the Signums having certain traces of the Amatis to their sound. However, as you well know, the Amatis are a whole different ball game sonically as well as price-wise. Good luck and keep us posted.

P.S. At what height/measurements are your stands (assuming you have the adjustable iron/wood stands) from the top speaker plate to the base plate where the spikes sit?



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

If you look at the Audioquest line of cables I would look at the older Diamond X3,pure silver and top of the older range,the newer range are crazy prices,I have them in my system and got them for a good price they're still quite pricey,but very clear and clean sounding.Had the quartz before,more relaxed and smoother sounding,The Vipers and Python Lawrie uses are also very very good,the Viper bought of the reel was sooo cheap,but a exellent cable with clear extended treble and tight upper bass.

I use Midnight cable for speakers,again big smooth and powerful sound but,a real pig to terminate/fit,you need good strong terminals or the cable can bend them off.but nevertheless a nice cable.

 

Has anyone other than me tried JPSlabs found these to be clean and smooth, no harshness and good prices, they can also be had on sale or return basis, have their cable throughout my system and it just lets the music flow.

Paul

 

Lawrie,

Thank you for the very helpful message.

That's very good to know. I will be focusing on these
brands, as it is easier to do so than to look at just about
any brand under the sun... I guess at the end of the day,
I need clean, smooth sounding cables. If they work with
your Signums, they are likely to work with mine too...

I don't have a CDP/DAC combination although I am starting
to build some ideas on how to upgrade my cd source. Still,
nice to know! BTW, how do you think an A3 CD would
do in my setup? Or a Marantz CD17 KI?

As for second hand cables, I will definitely look for some in
audiophileCandy and the likes, but the problem with that is
that it is sometimes hard to try them out before you buy them.
But it is the best way of saving some money.

well there's something i really didn't know! I'm only using the
Bay C5 interconnect which i must say is a pretty good i/c.
i'm using it with the analog source and it has a nice smooth
sound. Would you suggest any particular VDH speaker cable?

yes, i am very happy with them. the difference in the way the
whole setup sounds is amazing. singers sound like they are in
the room, bass is tight and precise, and more than adequate
for the size of my room. the mids and highs are really very open,
detailed and natural. i rarely hear the boxes, if ever. the music
is just all around...

but you are right, the amatis are a different ballgame. yet
i could not drive them with my amp, and would need a much
bigger room for them... besides, i don't want to have to sell
my cello to buy them... nor would i do that!

My stands are Ironwood but are not adjustable. They have
a fixed height. I can measure it if you like, but I am assuming
you know the height of the fixed SF stands. When I sit the
tweeters are a bit higher than my ears but I think that is the
right thing to do with these SFs.

Let me know if you want me to measure it.

:beer:
Jack

 

Thanks, adam.

I have heard of Adioquest Diamond but thought it was an i/c.
Wasn't the Argent the silver cable, some years ago? Maybe I
got it all mixed up...

Either way, it would be great if only I could find them 2nd hand.
From my searches so far, couldn't find anything, but one can
always wait... and keep trying. Maybe you end up selling yours?


In general, I am looking for cables that are smooth and silver
seems to do it better than anything else (even if they are not
pure silver cables). What are the Midnight cables (forgive my
ignorance, never heard of them)?

:beer:
Jack

 

Yes,you are right in saying the Diamonds are interconnects,I think they were about £600 new a few years ago(1996era)I found a pair with Eichman silver bullets on E-bay,maybe nobody knew what they were as I won them for £125.

Argent was high up the range,I think the top cable was the Dragon,it was pure silver and still cost a bomb even now.Midnight x3 is good, it was about £40 per metre,just very thick,unflexable,making it hard to work with,you'll curse a few times,but a nice powerful,smooth cable,with no nasties aparent.I would like some forest or clear,again hard to find,but you could try Audoadvisor in the USA,they have from time to time offers on AQ cables.