Paul Seydor's "Best of Show" pics -- Part 4

Posted by: Paul Seydor at 9:09 am, January 10th, 2011

On display at Sumiko is Sonus Faber’s statement speaker, called simply “The Sonus Faber” ($200k/pair—this is not a misprint or typo), a limited edition (only thirty pairs to be made) that, it is reported, is already sold out. The sound here was, to say the least, impressive, indeed, almost overwhelming in its size, scale, and beauty: for the second time that day I wound up listening to the better part of Act IV of Carmen, plus several of the Goldberg Variations in Sitkovetsky’s arrangement for string orchestra. I feared I was taking up too much time, but when got up to remove it, I was asked, “You’re not going to take it away, are you?” This demonstration could be a contender for best sound of the show except for a nagging feeling that the Audio Research electronics simply were not an ideal match for this speaker, which I think had considerably more to give in both dynamic impact and bass definition than the AR amp was able to provide. I’d love to hear these speakers with first class solid state amplification, say, Dan D’Agostino’s stunningly beautiful new Momentums monoblocks ($42k/pr), the BALabo amps, or one of the more powerful offerings by McIntosh, Plinius, or Threshold. Also on display at Sumiko was the new SME 20/3 integrated turntable, which provided the vinyl for The Sonus Faber.