Sonus Faber Stradivari Homage?


i would like to know if the sf strads(or anything really) sound good enough to
justify the price. with tad audio, wilson maxx's, avalon
eidelons, rockports, etc. in that price range, imho spending $40k defies rationality, unless you're trying to move enormous am'ts of air in an unusually large room. if i was a loudspeaker manufacturer, throwing everything i know and the best materials available at the project, i feel i could come up with a pair of speakers for under $30k that could do 20-20 with the utmost transparency and musicality, look beautiful, and complement most living rooms with "average" attention paid to acoustics. i trust m. fremer's descriptions of the sf strads (they image like a "3d curtain wrapped behind the baffles??") about as far as i can throw a piano. the sf amatis at $24,000 didn't make enough bass "in his (stupid) room".
THAT review ended with something like "they were to die for". then he sells those and gets wp-7's. however, the rockport antares, uglier than two 600 POUND(!) gorillas, are his "reference" by which everything else must be judged. so much for s.phile's choice of speaker reviewers... so could any MUSIC lovers who actually owns sf strads comment on their sound, and/or why you chose them over something else? should sf have put a 10 in. woofer in the amati's (i think so.)
should m.fremer do something about his freaking room before they hand him another pair of $40k speakers to review? (i think so.)
btw, have a happy and a healthy....
french_fries

Showing 2 responses by french_fries

i would make a few additional comments at this point-
1. the strad cabinets imho could be built for $3k-5k each.
that would make them $26k-$30k a pair, not 40.
2. i've never heard a sf speaker driven with anything
other than a solid state amp. i've always found them
(extremas, electa amators, guarneri's) to be very musical
especially considering most people do not place their
systems in padded cells but living rooms with actual
furniture.
3. the amati's should fill most any room with enough spl's,
and they supposedly go down to 24hz, which is plenty low
(the extremas produce adequate bass, and they only go
down to about 30hz). the strads probably were built to
satisfy the most demanding listeners in the loudness and
low-bass departments.
4. fremer warned about soft-sounding components and cables
partnered with the strads. i don't know if valhallas and
pathos were a good choice or not, but obviously set-up
would be crucial if you're considering speakers that are
this expensive. i have eggleston andra-2's- they sound
great to me (ml-33h amps, ml digital, rowland preamp,
transparent cables, vpi aries). BUT THEY ARE UGLY!!
for almost $20k you would think that....well, they look
better than those rockport antares monsters, that much i
can say. but, i want speakers that look like art. period
exclamation point. i'm spoiled, and i have more
important things to concern myself with, so i will
continue to enjoy the eggs' sound and remind myself that
there are many brands of speakers with 5 figure (and 6
as well) price tags that look like ##$%^%^$!! plus, i
recently heard wilson maxx-2's, with sota components but
a really bad (boomy AND harsh) sounding room. you can
get the wilsons in yellow, ferrari blue, red, titanium,
and/or any color you specify, but i went home after an
ear-bleed audition to relax to music on my "humble"
system, and liked what i was hearing about 2000% more.
so go figure- in your face vs too warm vs keep what i
have. i heard a guitar piece by some guy named martin
taylor last nite that made me shake my head in disbelief.
that was on my tivoli table radio btw. then there was a
piano piece by jennifer williams- my jaw dropped again.
FORGET about components- i need to get some more cds....