Sonus Faber Electa Amator III vs. the Bowers and Wilkins 805 D4?

@ghdprentice 

I see. Thanks for the explanation.

@soix 

...So does S. Faber even make a stand-mount with their older, "traditional" presentation???

One review I recently came across of the E. Amator asserted it had a "smiley face" EQ profile. I subsequently watched a review by that Canadian dealer Adrian who compared the E. Amator to the D. Hertz Eva. According to his characterizations, I got the impression it was the latter that would seem to offer what I expected from the E. Amator.

@soix 

Excellent suggestion 

@ghdprentice

I’ve found references to the Electa Amator II being more traditionally voiced than the III.  And what I've read is consistent with what you say about the Guarneri Homage. 

I’m curious -- did you become a S. Faber aficionado before or after the shift to greater neutrality?

@oddiofyl

"Beautiful sounding" is subjective. It would be helpful to know which sonic attributes constitute beautiful to you and in tandem with which components.

@ghdprentice 

Were you already using tube amplification at that point?

So, if the Cremonas were perfect with SS amplification, why did you eventually move to tubes? 

I doubt I'll ever be able to afford the Maximas and even if I could, their weight would hardly be practical but I'd love to hear them.  

The Maxima floorstander actually takes up less room than either bookshelf on stands, yet puts out a room-shaking low C which is 32.7 Hz.  And hands down, the most beautiful speaker I have ever seen!  

Congratulations -- I'd love to hear those !