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Deciding between kef r11, b&w 702s2 and sonus faber sonetto v

Hi,

  After listening to a few speakers, these are the speakers that have sounded the best to me. Unfortunately they were heard at different dealers wth different rooms setups soI cannot definitely say which I liked the best. 

Kef r11 - heard 3 months ago. Rich sound and very well rounded speaker overall.  nice and tight bass. Dealer setup was poor with stuff all around and playing through a parasound amplifier that sounded a bit bright (which I found later when he switched another speakers from a rotel to parasound, and the speaker became way too bright)

b&w 702s2 -  room setup was great. Used mcintosh amps. Possibly the best conditions for demoing. Under those conditions, the speakers shone. Very nice bass, great imaging and spacing. Mids and trebles also very good, though in hindsight the treble may have been a tad bright. But I dont remember thinking that at the time, so I may be playing mind games on myself. 

Sonus faber sonetto v - very musical and easy to enjoy speakers. Really enjoyed listening to them. Beat a b&w 703s2 pants down in a double blind test (dealer had forgotten which speakers was connected to a/b). Room setup was not great, many bare walls and lots of equipment lying around. So though i dont remember being as moved as by the b&w 702s2, given the fact that it beat their little brother easily, I think the speakers could have done amazingly in good conditions. 

I know ultimately speakers are about personal preferences, but curious to hear other peoples opnion about these speakers. I also heard Focal aria (forgot model) but they were disappointing. Not really considering any other brands because I am not able to demo them (though there is a PMC in brooklyn that I am tempted to drive down to). 

So what so you think?


kachda
dynguy's avatar
dynguy
65 posts
 
Never did I think I would own Bowers speakers. I picked up the 702 S2 two weeks ago. They are NOT bright and they are not edgy.

Im really quite happy with them early in. And they are outstanding imagers. I’ve moved them out of their dedicated spots to get to the back of my gear and still get a great center image. When placed back they do a really great job imaging center and front.

i didn’t plan on these. I actually went to audition some Martin Logan’s and listened to them while there. I instantly thought they sounded great with the music I like to audition.

They are lookers too if that matters. In white, it’s matte. Looks incredible.

I’m running them on Simaudio mono blocks. NAD Masters source gear for stereo. Arcam for HT.

Really nice speakers and the imaging has shocked me the most. Not sure how they can be placed the way I’ve had them to do set-up in my rack and still get that insane imaging.

Ive owned Dynaudio, KEF, Sonus Faber etc

Here come the measurement hounds in 3, 2, 1 (-:


65whalergon
1 posts
 

Deciding between Sonus faber Sonetta V and B&W 702 s2.  (possibly DynAudio Evoke 50)  I know this thread is a few years old, but I can't find these exact models in town and need your opinions before I order speakers.  

I listen to classic rock, traditional jazz (Miles Davis), southern rock, and blues rock.   Occasional movie with 3.0 surround.  I have owned Klipsch Cornwalls for 45 years and they need some new drivers and capacitors.   I listened to new Forte IVs, and they left me un-impressed with dynamics and were not live sounding.    I am thinking of not investing $1800 to re-build my Cornwalls with Crites drivers (JBL Selenium), and put that toward some newer designs.

I am down to Sonus Faber Sonetta V vs. the B&W.    Or possibly DynAudio Evoke 50.   No one seems to stock DynAudio in Dallas.   I have some bookshelf DynAudio Contour 1.1 that are amazing for their size.   I want larger towers with good bass extension, good imaging, real sound stage, lively dynamics.   They need to sound good at live SPLs and at low volume.   I currently do not run a sub-woofer.    I use a Classe solid state amp CAV-150.

Thanks in advance for sharing your opinions on these speakers.

Mark

pierr
1 posts
 

I am in the same conflict, though I am still stumbling between the KEF R11 and

the Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII .... the Kefs sound greatly and wife, the timberland is great but the Sonetto are more enjoying... the Kefs costs 30% more though

mofojo
2,290 posts
 

@66whalergon,

If you were left unimpressed by the Forte 4 dynamics then your really gonna be unimpressed by the 3 speakers you have in your list. 

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,198 posts
 

They are all good. Whichever YOU prefer is all that matters. 

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