Sonus Faber sonetto II vs Harbeth 7ES-3


Hello Guys,
I'm in a search for a new set of speakers and currently I'm stacked between either Sonus Faber sonetto II or Harbeth 7ES-3. The SFs are brand new and they sell for 1700 eur pair (stands not included) while the Harbeth's are used and sell for 1500 eur. The history of the Harbeths is not known, but they are in a good condition (visually).
My amplifier is Pathos Classic One MKIII. 

What would be your choice, does anyone have experience with any of the mentioned models?

Thanks
celestial__sound
I had the Harbeths for almost 3 years and upgraded within the Harbeth line.
The C7ES3 are exquisite speakers- rich with an excellent midrange and eerily smooth with an overall forgiveness that makes everything sound great.   Imaging, sound stage and coherence are top of the class.   
A value for the money IMHO.  
I have heard some SF speakers and do not care for their voicing.  They are somewhat recessed in the midrange and a slight excess of high treble.
The measurements in this link seem to predict the same.  
If you prefer midrange clarity and realism, especially vocals & horns, the Harbeths in a split second.  

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/sonus-faber-sonetto-ii-measurements-now-with-a-spinorama.10727/
I've had the C7ES3 and @avanti1960 's description is exactly right. I also upgraded within the Harbeth line and gave the C7's to my son. He loves the them and I still get to enjoy them when I visit.
Thank you for your response. The excessive treble doesn't bother me as i'm used to it (currently owning q acoustics 3050i).
I'm somehow leaning more towards SFs because thy look superb and have more relaxed sound. But, the decision is not made yet :) looking forward for your opinions guys! 
harbeth over sonus faber any day of the week

unless you are a classical only music lover, even then harbeths are at least equal to sf's
How much power does your Pathos have? An amp/speaker combo can either work, or it can really sing. I prefer the latter. 
@fjn04 the pathos is rated at 70wpc at 8ohm and 135wpc at 4ohm, i think that should be sufficient for either of the speakers
@fjn04 also, which pair of speakers do you think would be the harder load for the amplifier? The harberths are 86db with 6ohm nominal impedence while the SFs are 4ohm nominal with 87db sensitivity
I'm running C7's with a 40 (maybe 45?) watt Croft. Nice tonality but I think more power would be of benefit. Really hard to say... you could very well be ok. I believe C7's are considered one of the easier Harbeths to drive. Perhaps not on paper, but that's what I hear from people with experience. Pathos is gorgeous looking gear.
My two cents concerning only these two speakers -- if you value tonal accuracy of voice and unamplified acoustic instruments over pleasant sound, go with the Harbeths.
Harbeth for sound and music.

Sonus Faber for looks. Good for display or to impress guests.
The Harbeths are easier to drive by a significant amount.   
These two speakers are on much different price and musical performance levels.  
If you need to stick in the Sonus Faber price range I would recommend investigating the Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a.  


For those who are interested, follow this link https://anyflip.com/ierm/qvce to see how Sam from stereophile describes the great magic between Pathos Classic One and Sonus Faber. Also, after seeing the interview with Paolo Tezzon (the man that ascended Franco Serblin) i’m almost 100% sure I’ll go with the SFs. This man is genius https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZG4BHRs62k