Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors or Olympica I

I hope my response will be helpful.  I've happily lived with a pair of Liuto monitors for close to two years.  I just acquired a pair of SF Cremona Auditor M's and am thrilled.  As good as the Liutos are in my home, with my electronics, the Cremona's are substantially better.  Fuller, bigger soundstage with appropriate width and height.  Detail, in my opinion, is close to some electrostatics I've heard but not clinical.  

The music is simply "there" with no hint of boxiness. I would say that the sound is slightly "warm" side of neutral, but given so many variables, what is "neutral" really?  Does one concert hall, jazz club, or other venue sound more neutral than another? But please guys and gals, let's not go there.  :)

I'm in the process of experimenting with placement, room treatment,  and to a lesser degree with cables.   My electronics are excellent all-tube.  Mono amps are 120 WPC.  As you know, the Cremona Auditor M's are 4 ohm speakers so they are getting plenty of power.

One other thing- my dedicated listening room is small, but the rear wall opens to the living room and a side wall partially opens to the kitchen.  Bass response is surprisingly good, except for the lowest bass of course, which I don't miss.  Most of my listening is to classical, jazz, electronic, small acoustic instruments, and "new age".  

Just an update. I moved the Cremona M’s further out into the room- they were about 3’ now they are 4’. The room measures only 11’ wide with the speakers 22" to center of tweeter from the side walls. I like it. I’m using 12awg magnet wire for speaker cable and they like it. :) I have floor to ceiling tube traps in the corners of the front wall. At the moment I’m listening to Christopher Parkening through Spotify with a MicroMega myDAC and running Amarra sQ+ flat.

Lovely.

Man, dialing in these new-to-me speakers is an enormous amount of fun.  So easy compared to a lot of other speakers I've owned.

For me, having lived and worked in Italy some years ago, Sonus Faber has a certain romantic quality and hence, great appeal. Call me a bit of an Italophile (is that even a word?) but Italians sure know how to design and craft some gorgeous things. A side benefit is that SF speakers have excellent resale value, which is one of your concerns.

I owned a pair of highly-regarded floorstanding speakers for many years, and although they sounded pretty good or better, depending on the room, I could never get over how "homely" they looked. :) I finally sold them for a fraction of what I paid for them, even after I spent a lot to have them upgraded.  My next speakers were Sonus Faber Liutos.  A weight had been lifted.  :)

ihmeyers,
There’s nothing to be "almost embarrassed" about. :) Beautiful design enhances our lives in many ways. That you now own a pair of Liutos clearly indicates that you "get it." :)