Sonus Faber

I never thought of the SF house sound as being particularly warm or dull sounding. Also, depending on the particular model, the sound can be quite different. I am also surprised that so many think their lineup is tube-friendly. I have found most of their speakers to be very particular about the amps used with them, and many are somewhat hard to drive with tube gear, except when used with high-powered, brute force tube amps (the type I generally don't like). My favorite in their lineup is the Stradivarius--it has a fantastically natural tonal balance and delivers a full harmonic spectrum, it is not overly edgy sounding or harsh (a common problem even with high-end speakers) and this combination means "musical" and "natural" sounding to my ears. The downside is that, like almost all regular speakers, it does not have the immediacy and low-level dynamics of the best high-efficiency and compression/horn systems (nothing else really come close to good horn systems in this regard so this is NOT a particular criticism of the Stradivarius model). I have also listened extensively to a friend's Anniversario and that is a pretty good system too, although it will sound limp and uninvolving with lower-powered tube gear (the kind I like). I have helped with the setup of an Elipsa and that turned out to be a hard speaker to set up, but, ultimately decent sounding. I know someone with the Amati Futura that are powered by the Naim 500 amps--that particular setup sounded WAY to brittle and edgy for my taste, but, I have only heard that speaker with another Naim amp so I don't know how it performs with other amplification.

 

We recently purchased a pair of Olympica IIIs. They sound awesome and are being driven by a pair of McIntosh 1201 mono blocks.

 

Having rocked Dehumanizer through our Olympica IIIs, I can tell you assuredly, they DO ROCK

 

I am enjoying a pair of Venere 1.5's in my second system. They have taken a bit of time to come on song but they seem to have turned a corner. Really enjoying them. They replaced a pair of KEF LS50's in my home office. Would love to try the Olympica stand mount one of these days.

 

Interesting way to put it " suit me and my music better " , like it. The same goes for my S.F.'s.

 

Now
I have Cremona M and SF Solo center

 

Anyone else with the grand piano domus?

 

Cool, sign me up!

Tweeters designed by Dr. Frankenstein!

But how do they sound?

 

Hopefully in keeping with the thrust of the thread -

Has anyone got views on how the sonus faber olympicas compare to the Proac response series? Eg olympica III vs Proac D48?

 

Oh, an opportunity to post a picture of my Anniversario's.

 

Oh another opportunity to post my delicious Cremona M.
I have only got one too. I am saving up for the other one.

 

I new somebody would mention there was only one. LOL

 

Just joking man, that is a lovely set up. Do you use them without the string, have you noticed a difference.

 

Not a big difference but I prefer them without the string grills, just a whisker more detail.
Have recently changed to an all Ayre front end from an Ayre KX-R preamp and Levinson #532 power amp.
There even more coherent and magical now.



Sorry for the crappy photo.

 

I should try it they came with the grills on,as Sonus-Faber suggest but nothing in Hi-Fi is written in stone.

 

Interesting. My owners manual recommends leaving the grills off when listening.

 

Tim - great pics of the Ayre gear....I've always thought that Ayre has some of the best looking gear in black....too bad it doesn't seem to be more common.

- Buck

 

Not as fancy as any of you but I enjoy them. Only had the speakers a few months - Grand Piano Domus

 

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Has anyone had any experience, in their home, with the Olympica 1 mini-monitors? I've had my eye on a pair and was wondering if they would pair well with tube equipment and the minimum power requirements. Of course I would like to hear your opinion on their sound in general along with their ability to reproduce bass knowing that they are a two way ported box and not a floor standing three-way design.