Whoa boy...a thread I finally feel the need to follow on the 'gon! LUBS me some Rosso Fiorentinos!
Seriously though, I have had 3 purchases in my audio journey that I have regretted selling. They tempered me to adjust my FOMO mentality and ultimately lead to my first purchase that was based on it being my "end game".
Going back, I had a pair of Silverline Audio Sonatina MkI speakers that I thought were my last pair of speakers. I had fully updated/upgraded the crossovers, rewired them, added outriggers...basically everything I could do without replacing drivers. But they were already good drivers so why bother, right?
I based all of my listening at shows on how they compared to my Silverlines. And I hadn't really heard anything that wowed me enough to consider replacing them.
Fast forward to about 4 or 5 years ago and I was down in Texas at Lone Star Audio Fest. I had known Skip, the owner of AudioThesis, through the Polk Audio forum for a few years and was looking forward to a chance to meet him at the show.
One of his rooms had the first generation of the Elbas in it. And it was fronted by some solid gear. But as I listened, I felt that they didn't do enough things better than my Silverlines to make the plunge. But I saw some potential.
The following couple of years, I heard more Rosso Fiorentinos and was even presented with a STONKING deal to buy the pair of first gen Sienas that Skip was demoing in his home. I ultimately had to pass though as they would in now way fit my listening space unless I sacrificed having a dedicated home theater and my wife wasn't about to allow that.
Prior to COVID, Skip would have an annual get together at his place to hang out, drink some good booze, eat some awesome food and to, of course, listen to some kick-a$$ gear.
In November of 2019, I showed up no expectations outside of just hanging out with some like minded individuals. Plus, the "star" of the show was supposed to be the Polk Audio L800s (Don't go down this road, Ryan...only darkness exists down that one! LOL). So I figured I would just enjoy the company of good friends.
When I showed up, Skip was setting up the various listening rooms so I jumped in to help out. After folks started to arrive, I meandered around from room to room listening to various speakers and gear. But I kept getting pulled back into his front room with the Elba IIs.
I finally got some time to sit in the sweet spot and worked my way through some of my favorite demo materials.
Looking back at that day, it was one of those "Ah HA" moments for me. It was that day when my thinking went from "The Silverlines do this or that better than these" to "These do this or that better than the Silverlines!"
Folks who know me, know what kind of titanic statement that is coming from me. I was an ENORMOUS Silverline fan boy. I would talk those speakers up every chance I got. And I really did love them.
But the Elba IIs just took everything I loved about the Silverlines and knocked it up so many notches. I found myself just getting lost in the music. And that says a lot considering the number of folks that were wandering in and out of the room.
Eventually, after talking back and forth with Skip, I decided to pull the trigger and order a pair of Elba IIs in Walnut.
When they showed up, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I got them unboxed and did a quick and dirty setup before firing up my amps and letting them warm up for the remainder of the day (class A tube amps) so that I could listen that night. Being that my office is also my 2 channel listening room AND I work from home, it was REALLY hard not to try them out before the end of the day.
But I managed to exhibit some self control and that night, I ended up spending about 9 hours total listening through some of my favorite tracks, albums and play lists.
I have a tendency to listen to a couple of minutes of a song and then just skipping to the next track on stuff I have heard many times before. But that night, it really was like I was hearing everything I listened to for the first time all over again.
The Elbas really brought forth everything I love about music. Without getting too gushy with praise, they are light and airy without being harsh. The bass is smooth and controlled without boominess (I listen to a lot of electronica and organ music so I did add some sealed subs but they do NOT need them...I am just a bit of a basshead sometimes lol).
But the midrange...the midrange is the stuff of legends. Male and Female voices both sound very accurate without any kind of over-emphasis that I hear in the other speakers in my house in the vocal ranges. One particular track, Norah Jones, "Come Away With Me", I can close my eyes and imagine Norah is there in the room with me they are so accurate in this regard.
I don't want to sound like some kind of shill but Francesco (founder and lead designer of Rosso Fiorentino) is on to something. And he listens to his customers/dealers. The Elba II is the result of this. He listened to what folks had to say and made improvements based on the feedback. So much so that the first gen Elbas were something I listened to and thought, "Eh, they're nice...but they aren't really all that memorable." to something I consider my end-game in the Elba IIs.
My opinion (and all of this is simply that), you can't go wrong with either the Siena or the Volterra. I have never just stopped and looked at a speaker like I do with my Elbas. And if he can do that with a speaker at that price point, I am willing to bet that the higher end options are even better (but way too big for my listening space LOL).
Ryan
Seriously though, I have had 3 purchases in my audio journey that I have regretted selling. They tempered me to adjust my FOMO mentality and ultimately lead to my first purchase that was based on it being my "end game".
Going back, I had a pair of Silverline Audio Sonatina MkI speakers that I thought were my last pair of speakers. I had fully updated/upgraded the crossovers, rewired them, added outriggers...basically everything I could do without replacing drivers. But they were already good drivers so why bother, right?
I based all of my listening at shows on how they compared to my Silverlines. And I hadn't really heard anything that wowed me enough to consider replacing them.
Fast forward to about 4 or 5 years ago and I was down in Texas at Lone Star Audio Fest. I had known Skip, the owner of AudioThesis, through the Polk Audio forum for a few years and was looking forward to a chance to meet him at the show.
One of his rooms had the first generation of the Elbas in it. And it was fronted by some solid gear. But as I listened, I felt that they didn't do enough things better than my Silverlines to make the plunge. But I saw some potential.
The following couple of years, I heard more Rosso Fiorentinos and was even presented with a STONKING deal to buy the pair of first gen Sienas that Skip was demoing in his home. I ultimately had to pass though as they would in now way fit my listening space unless I sacrificed having a dedicated home theater and my wife wasn't about to allow that.
Prior to COVID, Skip would have an annual get together at his place to hang out, drink some good booze, eat some awesome food and to, of course, listen to some kick-a$$ gear.
In November of 2019, I showed up no expectations outside of just hanging out with some like minded individuals. Plus, the "star" of the show was supposed to be the Polk Audio L800s (Don't go down this road, Ryan...only darkness exists down that one! LOL). So I figured I would just enjoy the company of good friends.
When I showed up, Skip was setting up the various listening rooms so I jumped in to help out. After folks started to arrive, I meandered around from room to room listening to various speakers and gear. But I kept getting pulled back into his front room with the Elba IIs.
I finally got some time to sit in the sweet spot and worked my way through some of my favorite demo materials.
Looking back at that day, it was one of those "Ah HA" moments for me. It was that day when my thinking went from "The Silverlines do this or that better than these" to "These do this or that better than the Silverlines!"
Folks who know me, know what kind of titanic statement that is coming from me. I was an ENORMOUS Silverline fan boy. I would talk those speakers up every chance I got. And I really did love them.
But the Elba IIs just took everything I loved about the Silverlines and knocked it up so many notches. I found myself just getting lost in the music. And that says a lot considering the number of folks that were wandering in and out of the room.
Eventually, after talking back and forth with Skip, I decided to pull the trigger and order a pair of Elba IIs in Walnut.
When they showed up, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I got them unboxed and did a quick and dirty setup before firing up my amps and letting them warm up for the remainder of the day (class A tube amps) so that I could listen that night. Being that my office is also my 2 channel listening room AND I work from home, it was REALLY hard not to try them out before the end of the day.
But I managed to exhibit some self control and that night, I ended up spending about 9 hours total listening through some of my favorite tracks, albums and play lists.
I have a tendency to listen to a couple of minutes of a song and then just skipping to the next track on stuff I have heard many times before. But that night, it really was like I was hearing everything I listened to for the first time all over again.
The Elbas really brought forth everything I love about music. Without getting too gushy with praise, they are light and airy without being harsh. The bass is smooth and controlled without boominess (I listen to a lot of electronica and organ music so I did add some sealed subs but they do NOT need them...I am just a bit of a basshead sometimes lol).
But the midrange...the midrange is the stuff of legends. Male and Female voices both sound very accurate without any kind of over-emphasis that I hear in the other speakers in my house in the vocal ranges. One particular track, Norah Jones, "Come Away With Me", I can close my eyes and imagine Norah is there in the room with me they are so accurate in this regard.
I don't want to sound like some kind of shill but Francesco (founder and lead designer of Rosso Fiorentino) is on to something. And he listens to his customers/dealers. The Elba II is the result of this. He listened to what folks had to say and made improvements based on the feedback. So much so that the first gen Elbas were something I listened to and thought, "Eh, they're nice...but they aren't really all that memorable." to something I consider my end-game in the Elba IIs.
My opinion (and all of this is simply that), you can't go wrong with either the Siena or the Volterra. I have never just stopped and looked at a speaker like I do with my Elbas. And if he can do that with a speaker at that price point, I am willing to bet that the higher end options are even better (but way too big for my listening space LOL).
Ryan