I'll chime in as a dealer, not new to the industry but new to RF. I have a pair of Elba 2 and they were somewhat of a revelation for me. I've heard so many speakers over so many years, many from very well-known manufacturers. Like many, my interested was piqued by the TAS article and I'd been watching the brand for a bit prior.
Honestly, I could not have expected what I heard when I first plugged the Elbas in. Regardless of price the Elba 2 gets some critical things right that few others have. It's portrays a slightly bottom-up presentation but absolutely not at the cost of detail and certainly not to a fault. In fact, there is a "quiet character" to the overall presentation that I feel lets me hear further in to recordings, revealing more detail than speakers that are more forward-tilted. It seems that the crossover design is executed so well that there is a synergy between the drivers that allows the speakers to cast an incredible, dimensional sound stage with utter smoothness throughout their range. The top end also has the ability to sort of "float" with delicacy, smoothness and palpable sense of ease. The speakers make great bass as well. One of my measures for success isn't just how the speakers produce bass on their own but how seamlessly and easily they integrate with one of our staples, REL subs. And the Elba does so as well as any speaker I can remember trying. The Elba 2 isn't perfect but at it's price, it's a steal. And it absolutely does not do anything that bothers me, which I cannot say about most speakers, regardless of price.
I understand that coming from a dealer this may sound biased. Fine. But in all honesty, I think Elba 2 would sell at several thousand dollars a pair more than they do, at least based on performance. And while looks are subjective, I personally find them attractive. If this was a larger speaker company, I think they'd be wildly disruptive. The last speaker I heard do this many things inherent to my listening enjoyment, this right, was a $36K pair of Sonus Faber Amati Futura. I'm a fan and look forward to sharing just how good RF is with my clients. I also realize that I'm not addressing the speakers that the OP was asking about. I just haven't spent time with the rest of the line yet. But considering what RF was able to do with the Elba 2, I have all the faith that this is a very talented designer and that all of the products will exceed expectation.
BTW, the first demo I had was with a young couple who'd been all over the Bay Area listening to speakers all over the price spectrum. Elba 2 powered by Hegel H590 ended their audition process rather quickly.
Honestly, I could not have expected what I heard when I first plugged the Elbas in. Regardless of price the Elba 2 gets some critical things right that few others have. It's portrays a slightly bottom-up presentation but absolutely not at the cost of detail and certainly not to a fault. In fact, there is a "quiet character" to the overall presentation that I feel lets me hear further in to recordings, revealing more detail than speakers that are more forward-tilted. It seems that the crossover design is executed so well that there is a synergy between the drivers that allows the speakers to cast an incredible, dimensional sound stage with utter smoothness throughout their range. The top end also has the ability to sort of "float" with delicacy, smoothness and palpable sense of ease. The speakers make great bass as well. One of my measures for success isn't just how the speakers produce bass on their own but how seamlessly and easily they integrate with one of our staples, REL subs. And the Elba does so as well as any speaker I can remember trying. The Elba 2 isn't perfect but at it's price, it's a steal. And it absolutely does not do anything that bothers me, which I cannot say about most speakers, regardless of price.
I understand that coming from a dealer this may sound biased. Fine. But in all honesty, I think Elba 2 would sell at several thousand dollars a pair more than they do, at least based on performance. And while looks are subjective, I personally find them attractive. If this was a larger speaker company, I think they'd be wildly disruptive. The last speaker I heard do this many things inherent to my listening enjoyment, this right, was a $36K pair of Sonus Faber Amati Futura. I'm a fan and look forward to sharing just how good RF is with my clients. I also realize that I'm not addressing the speakers that the OP was asking about. I just haven't spent time with the rest of the line yet. But considering what RF was able to do with the Elba 2, I have all the faith that this is a very talented designer and that all of the products will exceed expectation.
BTW, the first demo I had was with a young couple who'd been all over the Bay Area listening to speakers all over the price spectrum. Elba 2 powered by Hegel H590 ended their audition process rather quickly.