you probably need to give it a good 200 hours run in before you can really determine....

i remembered when i first got my SF Cremonas......it took me nearly 400 hours before i find it smooth...
especially the ring radiator tweeters

then came my audio research amp.....solid state class D......not that i'm a fan of class D as they usually sound rough
but when i listened to the demo in Bangkok...it blew me away with its dynamics, detailed and yet maintained its transient

so i bought a unit as the demo in Bangkok was pushing the Cremonas to sing.....

out from the box...the first 50 hours were just terrible......after a year with it......i'm really happy with it.....

so my advice......save up for a better amp rather than buying in hurry only to regret and upgrade again

just like CDP.....i have a Marantz CD6000 KI for many many years....and tempted to upgrade many many times
i knew at that point that a slightly better cd player won't get me far....
so i saved up for AR CD5......my first so called high end entry level (obviously there are way higher end cd players)
and the music reproduction straight away went up few folds

eventually when CD6 model came out to replace CD5....it was a true dilemma for me....

although it was a replacement for CD5, i thought it was a minor upgrade until i had a listened at it....
i listened at few places....2 while i was travelling....Bangkok and Singapore.....in the end.....upgraded to CD6 also...

you can check out the Sonus Faber thread.....
my hifi pix should be there.....even my previous Grand Piano paired with AR SP17 & VS110

@topet you won't nose bleed one....kena poison that one no gurantee lar

Sonus Faber Cremona? can I see the pic...

The Cremona is a beautiful speaker. If being partnered with the right amp, it sings beautifully.

We had a used pair recently. Sold it in less than 2 weeks after putting it up in our blogspot. It's a complete set with original boxes. Of course, we did play with it. Used a push push pull tube monoblocs to drive it. Nice!

Maxx sold the unit that is first gen....wished i had the spare cash for it

the 1st gen came with full customized scanspeaks....ring radiator and revelators.....

Yup, the Cremona is more popular than the Cremona M. The pair that I sold is no. 097.

I also had a pair of Rogers LS3/5A 60th Anniversary edition.

GI Jie.....Passlabs certainly the way to go
you have my vote on that...

while you are looking into that....seriously...your cdp may not match up to the passlabs..something you might want to consider in balancing the system sound....

well Metronome is oso good...hehehehe

go LP man....i'm also starting to look into LP systems....
sadly the setup i like is sort of expensive

I need sifus recommendation over here.
I am looking to purchase my first hifi system with details below:

Budget: RM4000
Items: 5.1 speakers + amplifier + speaker cables

Others requirement:
- prefer punchy type of bass
- minimalist/small size design as all speaker going to hang on the wall
- 100sqft room size

Usage:
- Movie & music, source from HTPC sound card and graphic card.
- Music emphasize on vocal type
- Action movie oriented
Currently offer I get is like below with RM3900 price:
- Wharfedale DC-1HCP
- Denon amplifier
- Monters speaker cable
- Wireworld sub-woofer cable
- Installation and tuning included