Boulder 865 + Cremona M, comments?
danielaparker -- Tue, 12/08/2009 - 22:30
Slight change in plans from an earlier post!
I recently auditioned a Boulder 865 integrated amp with a pair of Sonus Faber Cremona M speakers, with an Esoteric X-05 source, and it sounded pretty nice.
My concern is my listening space, which is the living room of my new condo, which is nine feet high and about 14 feet wide. The length of the living area is about 20 feet, but it's open to the dining area, so quite long. The long side wall is glass with blinds, there's a sectional sofa against it, the narrow wall at the front is glass opening to the balcony, and the other wall separates the living space from a bedroom. The speakers would have to go in front of that wall, presumably 3 feet or so away from the wall, and the speakers themselves are between 17-21" in depth (21 at the base). I've tried to visualize it with boxes representing the speakers, I've sent photos to my dealer who thinks it will work, but I was hoping to get another opinion, is a floor standing speaker requiring distance from the wall really a good idea in an area of that size? Also, does anyone have any experience with how far the Cremona M needs to be from the wall? (my dealer suggests 32")
And I guess finally, I would be greatful if anyone has an opinion on the Boulder 865 with these speakers. To be honest, I hadn't even heard of this product before the audition, although I looked it up and the reviews are good, but I haven't seen it on any "Editor's Choice" lists or such. Would it be regarded as better in some sense than, say, the Simaudio Moon i-7?
Thanks,
Daniel
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Hi Daniel, I'm also considering the Sonus Faber Cremona M floorstanders. But I'm wondering what amp and source would match the Cremonas. Like you, I favour integrated amps. I'm thinking of Ayre C5xe and the Leema Tucana II. You might want to check out the Leema as it might make a good partner for the SF. It's won a handful of awards for 2009 from What hifi and Hifi Choice in the UK.
Let's keep each other posted on how it's going since our goals are similar. Thanks.
Hi jtein,
Hey, it's nice to get a response!
I spent a lot of time listening to first the Sonus Faber Cremona M, and later the Elipsa and the Amati. While I could happily live with any of these speakers, I have to confess that I fell in love with the Amatis, and while I couldn't have afforded new ones, my dealer gave me a reduced price on her demo pair. My dealer recommended the Boulder 865 integrated amp. It sounded so nice that I didn't spend much time auditioning other electronics. I did hear the Amati with both a reference Meridian amp and the Boulder, and the Boulder sounded just fine. I was hoping to get some feedback on this forum about the Boulder with these speakers, but none came. I note that John Atkinson in Stereophile liked the Elipsas with the Boulder 860 power amp, which I found encouraging.
So as I write this, I'm listening to the Amatis driven by the Boulder with the source an Esoteric X-03, my dealer offered me her demo X-03 for the same price as a new X-05, so I got that instead. The sound is really very nice. Esoteric is also coming out with the DAC 07 in the end of February time frame, and since my path will be to replace silver disk with hard disk, I may swap the X-03 for the DAC 07and a hard disk source, depending on how it sounds.
-- Daniel
Hi -
I heard the Cremona M's and the Cremona M Auditors in a somewhat smaller room than yours, and the Auditor was clearly superior in a small space. The floorstander was just to big for the space.
There isn't any chance your dealer will let you audition the floorstander at home?
I've never listened to the 865 plus Esoteric combo with the Cremona M, but have listened to it a lot with the Wilson Sophia 2. Very neutral sound with terrific imaging. IMO though if you have a large listening room like mine the 865 will not have enough in the way of dynamics.
I have heard the Cremona with Ayre electronics and I thought they sounded terrific. At $13k for the 865 integrated there are a lot of great options out there.
Hi Ryan, mind letting me know what's your room size?
It's 30'x28' and I have a couple of large openings coming in to the room. Please let us know what you decide to go with. I would like to hear. Thanks
Thanks for the posts guys. I guess there's nothing much for me to say except to go and listen for myself to the equipment. The frustrating thing is that I'll have to drive 200km to do that each time.