McIntosh Sonus Faber love affair, alternatives?

IMO,SF is one of a VERY VERY few manufacturers that sounds outstanding with pretty much anything & everything,BUT ABSOLUTELY sing with Pure Class A Solid State,including the Class A Integrated Amp they marketed(not sure if still available) or Sugden,hybrid amps from Unison Research or Pathos & ANY good all tubes rigs from Chinese made amps like Yaqin & PrimaLuna to mega $$$ choices from a dozen different sources..

It depends on the sound qualities you are going for. From my experience and taste, Audio Research and Sonus Faber are a much better match. Macintosh is very mid range and bass heavy, notably lacking detail and treble. Audio Research is highly detailed with great midrange bloom , musical with natural rhythm and pace, so these are the great combination.

While I slowly migrated towards this combination over my fifty years of pursuing the high end, only after assembling these together did I hear this is one of the great synergistic combinations: Audio Research, Sonus Faber, and Transparent cabling. I have heard the combination of Mac + SF many times, but it is not at all appealing to me. It may appeal to folks that love rock… although that combo is bested by Mac and B&W.

I've heard Rogue do extremely well with SF along with Audio Research as  mentioned. 

Sans tubes, I'd suggest Bel Canto as an alternate to  Mac.  My humble Bel Canto c5i paired with Sonus  Faber Concerto Domus is an absolute pleasure to listen to. 

@emergingsoul   Oh the irony:  "I am interested in exploring an option involving infidelity."  Nice post.

@abnerjack ,thanks for pointing that out professor,NOBODY else noticed it & chose not to make a big deal about it!

Borresen  x3 Loudspeaker for example work very well with McIntosh.

The common partnering of Sonus Faber with McIntosh has much more to do with the fact that both companies are within a common holding group than anything to do with sonic synergy.

Like all good speakers, Sonus Fabers are polyamorous when it comes to amplification.

@ghdprentice mentions B&W although they have gotten brighter throughout the years, so not sure which series or years he’s referring to … mentioned a lack of treble with McIntosh; my Focal Utopia Evo’s & McIntosh is balanced for my taste, perhaps IAL2 beryllium, or the heavy flower magnets on the 6” …

Tannoy also B&W.

I listened to my Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII speakers with a Mac 252 amp.  Nice sound, but didn't seem to have that indescribable something to spend the money.  When I tried the SFs with a Modwroght 225i I knew I'd found the perfect amp for these speakers.  The Modwright made the speakers sound like a veil had been lifted.  Whole new experience.  And the folks at Modright are a dream to work with.    

I have been quite happy with Klipsch La Scala AL5s paired with a Mac 275.  It went to another level entirely when I added BACCH4Mac.  My dealer, who has been in the business for 50 plus years, says it is tied with the best system he has heard.  The room is highly furnished, but otherwise not sound treated.  

I think that the reason you have been seeing them together recently is the merger and joint advertising. The dealers now sell both brands so it is easy for them to pair together. That said, I organically ended up owning both brands and am very happy but a lot of components work well with both sf and mc 

I had to move on from all things Sonus Faber... Customer service is the absolute worst. They have a US distributor in MN, Fine Sounds, that is a complete clown car of incompetence and jackassery; just my experience. 

Yamaha NS-5000 does more for less.  Just make sure your amp has at least 400 watts into four ohms. 

Love the jackassery quote! Brings me back to my college days and listening to my Pioneer set up with Infinity Speakers. 

I have Sonus Faber speakers from a dealer out of the twin cities and couldn't be happier with the sound from them from either my Hafler 9290 J-Fet solid state or top of the line Primaluna integrated. The SF's have a mellow sound without fatigue in my opinion, lot's of detail without too much bass. I am anxious to hear the new Sonetto G2 line !

I have my SF Lilium paired with Mac 611’s and C22 preamp.  My opinion:  airy, and detailed but not etched, fast well controlled bass.  No syrup in the mids.  High’s are spot on with no added warmth anywhere.  I’m sure other electronics would do just as well, but this match works for me.  Just my two cents on this pairing.

I’ve been waiting on a pair of SF speakers for a while now and I’m hoping they will sound great with either my Hegel H390 or my PS Audio BHK 300’s. My dealer is hoping they don’t and that I’ll buy some Mac separates from them.

@emergingsoul I am a big fan of SF and have owned MAC gear. For me the answer is yes and I am not clear if my preferences are changing or the new products are advancing. 
 

An example of this is I heard Wilson’s new Watt Puppy - I was impressed.  I would like to hear them against SF Serafinos. And there are other brands (e.g. Steinheim) that have impressed me. 
 

I encourage you to listen to everything you can because so many factors influence your perception and enjoyment. And enjoy the journey. 

I mean knowing that The McIntosh Group owns Sonus Faber realy Spills The T does it not? My experience with Sonus Faber is that it mated extremely well with Luxman, Hegel & Plinius. Had my Cremona Auditor, M with a variety of amps and with a Plinius, Houtonga was amazing on every level.

@bgross

Love your listening space and that cabinet in the middle is awesome. Also, the voodoo lounge poster is incredible, and an incredible framing effort as well. Interesting comments about component mating practices and what you have learned. I’m focusing on il cremonese with mcintosh 901 mono tube amplifiers, because it seemed like a great way too biamp, which is working out well

Presently have Bowers 802 d3 which is really good but always trying to improve things.

The obvious alternative to Sonus Faber is Franco Serblin's current lineup of speakers.  They are gorgeous and IMO sound better than SFs current lineup.  Given his prior relationship with SF, in some ways these are more authentic. 

McIntosh is good sounding gear.  I don't get why people crap on it (even some of their dealers).  That said, it is not like their sound is so unique that no one else quite sounds the same or as good.  

I have a customer getting great results with Franco Serblin and Luxman.  Luxman and SF are extremely common matches.  I personally like the sound of AVM with both brands.  Someone above mentioned that SF sounds good with most amplification and it is sort of their super power.  To get everything just right, system synergy meeting your personal taste is most important but that is the case with most speakers.

Full disclosure, other than AVM I carry none of the brands mentioned above.  Just have spent a lot of time listening to gear.  

@emergingsoul yeah, that's a setup I put togther for a home office which ultimately morphed into much more of a listening room although I do get some work done in there, lol. I guess I'm still a fan of SF products just have had my fill of their representation here in the US. Long story but, I have since replaced the Concertinos with Cremona Auditor M and upgraded most everything else when it became my only system and dedicated spot. I also have no issue w/McIntosh just don't feel it's the "best match" for SF speakers. Its spoon fed to you because they fly under the same flag; smart marketing but plug in some Luxman, Accuphase or Plinius to anything SF and see where it goes. Need to explore audio options albeit that's becoming more difficult w/every brick & mortar shop that closes and more and more sales happening via the net. Too many dealers (sales people) pushing what they are deep in in-house. I understand that dynamic too but as consumers spending a lot of cash on this stuff, we should be diligent in finding the right compnants in like performance spaces. Just my opinion

And @verdantaudio - clearly you get it ✅

With the speakers you have I would suggest you also consider different amp/electronics. 
 

I know there is a fervent following of McIntosh electronics but compared to other electronics in the same price range Macintosh equip does not have the inner detail that your sonus fabers are capable off reproducing.