best speakers what do you think


focal 1038 be or sonus faber venere s..... what do you think ?
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I have heard both of these speakers. The Focal is more forward (some will say brighter) than the SF.


Much will depend on the gear and cabling involved.

If you're talking the newest 1038be2 with the 1.25" tweeter, go with Focal for sure.


Two very different speakers!

Assuming your amp can properly drive either of them (the Venere are 4 ohm and much more difficult to power), I would pick the one that sounds best to you. Not us.

You're not really going to spend 5-9K on a pair of speakers by taking a poll, are you?
Focal for me but ...

Focal 1038BE is 9000 € and SF Venere S is 5500 €.
Given the prices it would be more reasonable to compare 1038BE to SF Olympica II or III.
My pre amp is nad m15hd2 et amp m25 with kimber kable 12 tc in home cinema my speakers is focal 826 w et 807 w et cc800 w with paradigm servo 15

Have you listened to Vandersteen speakers?  No matter your price range, they have an able contender. 
Can you make audition for both of them ?

I suggest you consider the Bryston Middle T overwhelming powerful speakers should match well with your power amp if you bi-amplify them with 2 set of speaker cables once listening to music you will have 2x160 watt going for each speaker with astonishing results.
Focals are extremely revealing and they need very good amp and source to shine. Such gear usually tends to be even more expensive than the speakers.
Don`t worry too much about cables. Kimbers are good.
I agree the Focal needs better amplification than the NAD , Regarding the SF Venere I am not sure that they for everyone taste they a bit too silky and smooth not sure that they are a good match with NAD. An audition is s must it's a huge gamble to buy any of them without testing them with the OP system. 
No one mentioned  $$ if bedt balance for money.
The New Coincident DYNAMITE  Loudspeaker is very well balanced 
And shoots Way above the  $3'k mark for excellent tight Bass ,Big soundstage,
And very focused imaging. The review  in Enjoy the music .com was pretty accurate. The reviewer didnot know better ,which was strange what his digital was plugged into. And another Tone audio review  that is very good.
I just may buy them a Best Buy ,IMO.

For the money... nothing is better than the Wavetouch Audio GT's monitors (now Anteros).  Virtually all reviewers agree - trading brand name speakers costing 10-20x as much for these great monitors.  They've got it all... and... a risk free trial.

http://www.wavetouchaudio.com/reviews.html

While I might opt for something like the Legacy Audio V or Aeris - they're way too big and heavy, require a complex set up (DSP), and they cost 10x+ more, and require a big space.  The GT's and Antero's sound very close, are a fraction of the price and are easy to set up and manage.  


bassdude,

Very interesting design. The tweeter seems AMT?
But the appearance is a bit scary. They look like someone has stuck a toilet plunger in the mid-bass. :))
You're not comparing speakers in the similar price range.  If you're going to compare Sonus Faber to Focal 1038 be, you need to be comparing the Olympica 3's with them.   I heard both the Olympica and 1038 in the same system and favored the Olympica.  Completely different sounds, mainly do to their tweeters.  Focal has the beryllium tweeter vs. the soft dome sweet of the Sonus Fabers.   Though an overgeneralization, the Sonus Fabers are more organic, richer sound, more musical to my tastes but not as detailed as the Focals.  Focal is more detailed, a bit on the bright side of neutral and has a larger open sound.   I favored the Sonus Fabers for my musical tastes and music genres I listen to.   I now put my Olympicas up for sale and hope to maybe move up the SF line.  I really like their sound though I realize everything is about personal preference.
If you listen to the T3's, you'll forget about how good the others sound for sure, but you are likely to immediately begin wondering how PSB got these $7,500 speakers so wrong, when they have a long-standing history of getting it right.  I have several pairs of PSB's, from the small XB's for my shop system, to the older Stratus Gold I's.  I am so glad the store had a trade in pair of the Stratus Gold I's when I went in to audition the T3's.  The T3's sounded awful.
IMO, if you are going to spend $7K, you owe it to yourself to audition the Legacy Audio Signature SE.  I can't find a better OVERALL speaker at that price.  Air Motion ribbon tweeters, dedicated mid driver, and two 10" woofers for 22Hz bass extension.  Of course, at $10K, the Legacy Focus SE knocks it out of the park.
smitchem1,

Try the PSB Imagine T3's! You will forget about the other two! 😉
And your option is based on the reviews or you have actually compared all three in the same system?
For less than $7K you can easily find a mint Alto Utopias so why bother with 1038 be..... YMHO
Take your amplifier to a store that will allow you to listen to several speakers.  If you have the opportunity , try the Monitor Audio line.  I have a 40w/channel Mystere' amp and although my speakers are supposed to get 100-200 watts the Mystere powers them very well.  

Don't ask so much opinion as the only thing that matters is how they sound to you.  Make sure you are listening to as pure a source as possible and bring your own software.  

Enjoy the journey...

jhv
To "Plutos"...

Yes... the Wavetouch GT's / Anteros use the AMT tweeter - which I find sounds better than most others - pristine, life-like, spacious, extended highs, with superb clarity and definition, without the brittle, brilliance of beryllium, etc. 

While I have other speakers with great highs that use other tweeters (e.g.  quasi-ribbon, Seas Excell Millennium, etc.) in the right design, nothing beats the AMT's.  

And... yes... I have the GT's and Anteros, not because of their stellar appearance... but... because of their stellar sound.

It direct comparisons to others, such as the Avantgarde's, etc., the GT's and Anteros sound as good, or better... for a fraction of the price.
Bassdude,

Thanks for sharing your experiences.
My experience with AMT is based on Monitor Audio PL II series. These are some of the most holographic 3D stage speakers. But the only weakness I find is that they are missing some snap and attack on faster transients, especially when compared to Focal Utopias or Electra's.
What are your feelings about the ability to reproduce fast/dynamic transients with AMT-s?