Silverline Sonata II or III owners

I'd have to agree with Pdreher about being a little light in the bass (I have Sonata II's) when running alone but I've had a Rel Stadium II sub with them that really fills in the bottom and fleshes out the already good imaging. I'm using fairly powerful VTL monos (tubes of course, at 125W per side) which have a pretty good grip on them. Great on female vocals, jazz, etc, as he mentioned... I came from Audio Physics (Tempo 3's) before these (which I also liked a lot) but improved on the overall full and rich sound without losing the detail. Agree that on the used market between $2500 - $3k or so, they're a very good value. Added benefit of SET use which I am still planning in addition to my main amps... this flexibility is very nice. Can't say I've ever recognized the "cupped hands" effect and I thought I was pretty familiar with them but ... . If you were closer to the NY area I'd welcome you for a listen, but you're better off from where you are simply heading west to Alan. BTW I've just posted my system (poor digital pic quality but I'll fix that soon) and am also always welcome to comments/ suggestions. Good luck and Happy Lissnin'.

I have owned the Sonata ll, both Mk.l and MK.ll. versions and I enjoyed both of them but I kept upgrading with Alan because I found the quality of the speakers to my liking. I finally stopped at the lll's. The difference between the ll's and lll is not insignificant. The lll's corrected all of the deficienies of the ll's and brought a new found love of tube equipment ( I am using AR lS16 and VTL 150). I have found this speaker to give outstanding value for the $ spent. If you audution the lll's against any speaker in its price class, you will purchase the Sonata lll's.

I agree with Cavy, one of the best values in that price range for sure. I use the Sonata III with all tube gear, a Tom Evans Linear A and they are fantastic.

Room size and adequate break-in are massively important issues. Same speaker will sound bassy or light depending on (a) size of room and (b) how much breakin have they had. Break-in seems at affect especially the bass response.
Art