Sonus faber choices - help me decide

Thanks for the feedback. I share your concerns about the electronics. My plan was to eventually upgrade them via the secondary market, but that will take a while.

I had not thought about the spare parts. I have never had a speaker break on me, so maybe that was why I had not thought about it that way. How much should I worry about that?

I am fairly new to this hobby. I have always been passionate about audio, but previously did not have the means to spend what it takes to achieve audio nirvana. Those Futuras look like an end-game speaker to me, but I wonder if they are too big of a mountain to climb!

One more question. Assuming I stay in the Nova line, my decision to go with the Nova II was largely because I have subs that will handle the last octave. I didn't think paying $5000 more for a a ~5Hz difference was worth the money required to step up to the Nova III. Is this logic sound? My assumption is that the only difference between the II and III is bass extension. They have the same cabinet, tweeter, and mid-range driver, after all. The III just has one more woofer.

I cross over the subs in the Denon @ 40Hz. The CDMs go down to ~38, so I thought 40Hz would be a good choice. I have experimented with higher crossovers, but don't have a real preference. At one point I ran Audyssey and told it that I only had two main speakers and was shocked at how great the bass was from the 9NTs (without the subs). I was still missing the deep lows, so I eventually did run it again and tell it I have subs. That is where I am now: 2.2 on Audyssey Preset 1 @40Hz. Preset 2 is for my 7.2.4 setup.

I have my eye on the Anthem STR integrated amp. It has ARC and supports bass management. I figured I would use the HT bypass for the main speakers and then do a bunch of Y splitting for my subs. I assume the Anthem would integrate the subs similar to the way the Denon does, and I would not blow up my subs by having them connected to both amps. I would just turn off the Denon when I'm running two-channel (and vice versa). The good thing about the Futuras is that they go down to 25Hz so I would not even need the subs in that configuration.

Given that, I still wonder if I should shoot for the higher-end speakers. Would the Anthem drive them appropriately (Stereo integrated amplifier with 200W/400W/550W into 8/4/2 ohms)?

I need to make a decision today. The Nova II's are on order and I need to tell the store if I am going to cancel the order. The guy with the Futuras will not have them forever. I'm assuming they will be snatched up soon.

Final update. I just talked to my local dealer. He has been selling Sf for years, and cautioned me against buying something as old as the Futuras. He actually gave me a deal. He is going to sell me the Nova V speakers at the same price I was going to pay for the Futuras. He says he has the newer Amati speakers at home, and the Novas are so close to them that he would have bought Novas if they were available when he bought the Amatis.

The only downside is that I have to wait for the Nova V's to come in. Fingers crossed it won't be months.

It's definitely going to be a while before they arrive. At minimum 6 weeks.

Point taken on the dealer trying to sell me on a product he carriers. However, his argument was that Sf has made enormous strides since the Futura line was available, and that this is reflected in the fantastic quality of the Nova line.

Also, based on feedback on this forum and elsewhere, I was already leaning toward sticking with the Novas. I envisioned having to spend much more money to upgrade my gear just to drive the Futuras properly. Less so with the Novas. Plus, I didn't want to get stuck with 125pd paperweights if something went wrong and I could not source a part for an older speaker.

Either way, I'm pleased with the outcome.

I’m in Columbus, Ohio. 

That is why I didn't buy the $38,000 speakers. I went with the Olympica Nova V instead. And I'm not driving them wholly from the Denon. The Denon is running in preamp mode. The signal is going to a Rotel 5x200w amp.

My next update will be amplification or pre-amplification. I use the room mostly for 2-channel (technically 2.2), but it is a home theater as well. That leaves me two paths. I could buy a higher-end AVR or processor+amps to clean up the signal path (e.g. Anthem), or I could buy an integrated amp that has home theater bypass. I have a PS5, so HDMI 2.1 is a big nice-to-have, and none of the higher end brands I have seen support 2.1 yet. I'm leaning toward the HT bypass route, and have my eye on the Anthem STR integrated. I really want room correction. In my experience it makes a world of difference. That is why the STR is attractive. I understand ARC is really good.

I'm open to suggestions. I am new-ish to high-end audio, so if anyone has suggestions on the right path and right equipment to match Olympica Nova Vs, I'm all ears.