2. speakers
  3. 191943-133885

From Sonus Faber Extrema to...

Hello Everybody, I'm a prowd owner of a nice pair of Sonus Faber Extrema speakers, see pic downstairs.

They sound lovely paired with my Conrad Johnson MV125 or with the couple of Accuphase P360 amps I own, bridged to monos (actually I think the CJ is a far better match).

Anyway, I was trying to figure out if an upgrade, speaker wise, is feasible or otherwise it could easily transform to one of my biggest regrets having to part with these lovely speakers.

Do you think that a much modern speaker (but still used), considering a budget of what I could get from the Extrema + 1 or 2 grand could represent a solid upgrade? I was considering some Avalons (not really modern actually) like the Opus or Eidolons, Some Wilsons (Sabrinas/Sophias) or B&Ws like the recent 803 D3.

Any advice in general, but in particular from anyone that used to own (or still owns) the Extremas would be very very appreciated.

Thank you!

robertofabbri
Ag insider logo xs@2x
drrsutliff
858 posts
 

Beautiful system.  The speakers you proposed are all nice but very different in presentation from the Sonus Fabers.  What is your possibilities to travel to some high end stores that display a model you are curious about or attend an audio show to experience many options.  Certainly either option will not give you exactly how they will sound in your home, but also it can rule out some aspects of the presentation you do not think will work for you.  

grislybutter
2,997 posts
 

https://speakerchoices.com/index.html

goose
692 posts
 

It depends on what you think you are missing.  I own a pair of Vienna Acoustics Liszt speakers which I really like, but are always on the lookout for others.  I previously owned the Avalon Ascendents and the Liszt surpassed them, especially in the bass.  The Avalon customer service is bad.  I recently listened the the Wilson Audio new Sabrina.  My complaint with Wilson has been the upper end treble.  These are better but not to my taste.  I prefered the Liszt to the older version of the B&W 803's.  I use a tube pre amp and solid state mono block amps.  (Herron Audio).  Just my two cents.

ghdprentice
6,967 posts
 

Beautiful system. I agree that a CJ amp would be a big improvement.

 

I am a big Sonus Faber fan because of their relaxed, natural / musical nature. There really is not any other speaker like it, other that Serbin. I am very familiar with Wilson and B&W and they are very very different, as is Avalon than the Sonus Faber. 
 

If my understanding correct, that you want to sell yours and buy speakers with the money you get from them, that is an absolute no… you will be taking a big step down. If your going to add $5 - $10K to it then look at used Sonus Faber… Olympics .. Serefino… there are many. CJ or ARC are really great electronics paired with SF. 
 

you want to explore then you’re just gonna have to go listen to Wilson (fast highly detailed), B&W (rock speakers), and Avalon and see if they impress you. 

tablejockey
3,893 posts
 

"They sound lovely paired with my Conrad Johnson MV125 or with the couple of Accuphase P360 amps I own, bridged to monos (actually I think the CJ is a far better match). "

Based on your own comments, you're just  showing signs of "audiophool upgrade for no good reason" syndrome.

Since there isn't at least a $15k fund for a nice used pair of SF's, why bother?

Reposition/room enhancements(if allowable)

Stay away from audio forums and listen to music is what I would do.

More to discover