description

SOLD   Very good condition!  Customer bought new and traded in for B&W 802D4's

Includes original factory packaging ,grills, and accessories.  Speakers must ship freight due to size/weight.

The Amati tradition is a large mid-size 3.5 way floorstander. Its front baffle possesses a simple rectangular geometry, breaking into a sweeping curve around the side panels said to mimic the shape of a lute as they taper towards the rear of the cabinet. Viewed from above, the speaker truly echoes the shape of a fine instrument or the cross-section of an elegant watercraft hull. The speakers weigh in at a fairly hefty 61kg each and measure (HxWxD) 1176 x 411 x 512mm. Frequency response is claimed at 28-35000Hz, with a very welcome sensitivity of 90dB. Impedance is nominally 4 ohms.

The tweeter is the H28 XTR-04 28mm silk dome ‘Arrow Point’ damped apex dome (DAD), featuring a neodymium motor and integral natural wood acoustic labyrinth rear chamber. The DAD system assists in the extension of frequency response to 35kHz by discouraging antiphase behaviour. Sharing the same sub-baffle and similar neodymium magnet system, the M15 XTR-04 150mm cellulose pulp midrange driver is smaller but identical in construction to the unit utilised in the Lilium and Il Cremonese models.

Two W22XTR-08 220mm lightweight “sandwich” cone woofers adorn the lower half region of the baffle and possess a syntactic foam core overlaid by two cellulose pulp skins designed with individual properties engineered to optimise each driver for a seamless hand-over from low- to mid-bass and from mid-bass to midrange respectively.

The baffle consists of a single 1.1-inch thick CNC milled piece of HDF dressed in a synthetic leather facing into which a geometric pattern (think Nazca Plateau) gently distinguishes the midrange driver and tweeter, helping to break up the rather large yet elegant fascia. The cabinet sides are a wood-press cured laminate amalgam of 1.2-inch-thick plywood and glue, which are then CNC milled before being hand-veneered, sanded and sealed with 11 flawless coats of clear lacquer. The veneer is available in traditional Sonus faber red or in a more contemporary wenge finish with horizontal linear maple inlays of contrasting colour. The red walnut versions feature a black leatherette coated front baffle and black anodised brushed aluminium hardware as found on the flagship models, Aida, Il Cremonese and Lilium; while the wenge versions flaunt a silver titanium brushed aluminium finish and coffee coloured leatherette front baffle. The more avant-garde wenge finish is a tribute to the aesthetic of the Olympica series loudspeakers and in a more general sense, to the styling of Italian motorboats from which this series draws some inspiration.

The cabinet top and bottom are constructed of thick aluminium plates forming, if you like, the metallic crown and rump of the speakers’ metallic exoskeleton. Two veneered and lacquered wood inlays are precisely set into lateral recesses machined into the top plate, which is then finished with a similarly recessed central circular glass feature onto which the Sonus faber ‘Sf’ motif has been perfectly silk-screen printed.

The Sound

The Amatis immediately impressed me, and their performance envelope continued to evolve over the course of the review period. From the get-go their 90dB sensitivity made for an involving and vibrant presentation, demonstrating a dynamism and rhythmic integrity that enhanced the immersive experience of any musical genre and preserved the microdynamic nuances of complex musical pieces even at the lowest night-time listening levels.

Their main areas of performance excellence were their immense soundstage size, their startlingly realistic imaging and their world-class articulation of tonal reproduction and instrumental timbres.

The Amatis presented an enormous soundstage that extended well beyond the lateral margins of the baffles, with height and depth portrayal to match. The largess of the soundscape allowed me to better imagine myself transported to within the recording venue and provided the foundations for better scaling and relative dimensionality between each sound source existing within that space.

Conclusion

I quite simply love these speakers because they love music. They have been crafted in respect and out of admiration for an art form. They in turn reciprocate with the utmost respect for your recordings. The Amati Traditions, in both their form and function, effortlessly and honestly pay tribute to the art they reproduce and the instrumental timbres they so skilfully mimic. Like a finely crafted violin, they produce sound that is a celebration of musical tone and colour, expressing the artistic raison d'être of the composer and composition, the harmony of the musicians and the subtleties of playing technique in such jubilant exaltation. They were supremely evocative and provided a window into the performance that connected me to my most treasured music in a way that few loudspeakers can muster. In all respects, they live up to the Amati name and the tradition that enshrines it.

These are not merely loudspeakers, they are musical instruments or more precisely, instruments of musicality!

I’m no musician and so my words are all I have in an attempt at an homage to them. I sincerely hope that I’ve managed to capture the utmost reverence I hold for these delightful creations.

It is said that if you love something, you have to be willing to let it go. Such is the case with the Amati Traditions, but make no mistake… As it is with all lost loves, they will be missed.

Product Description

SYSTEM: 3.5 way, full para-aperiodic vented box “Stealth Ultraflex” system and “Zero Vibration Transmission” technology

LOUDSPEAKERS:

CROSSOVER : 

80 Hz – 250Hz – 2,500 Hz 

FREQUENCY RESPONSE : 

SENSITIVITY : 

90 DB SPL (2.83V/1 M) 

NOMINAL IMPEDANCE : 

4 ohm 

SUGGESTED AMPLIFIER POWER OUTPUT: