i have heard the extremas, guarneri's, and electra amators.
i have been nothing less than amazed by how musical all three speakers were, and i have zero doubt that the other models discussed above sound any less wonderful- mr. serblin has some of the best ears in high-end audio. i do have some concerns however with the introduction of the stradivari which doesn't image/stage that well (according to reviews)- at $40k that's not encouraging- it should do everything plus make cappiccino imho. i also feel that the amati's should do 20hz-20khz with ease, with tight, deep bass and macrodynamics second to none, especially at ITS price point. the amati-2's hopefully resolves these issues, although the pictures of it (that i've seen) aren't nearly as nice as the red-violin finish on the amati-1's.
so, i don't know if sf has done quite as well in designing large/expensive floor-standing systems as they have in previous years with their monitor-line, from a price comparison standpoint. i have guarneri's in one room, and eggleston andra-2's in my living room. both sound great to my ears, but as of late i've been tweaking/upgrading the guarneri system and the speakers actually "communicate" a bit better than the egg's, which are connected to a MUCH more expensive system (amazing). i do wish the sfg's could go a little lower (bass), so now i want to either get a different amp or better interconnects (or both!$!) to see what the little guys can do, without getting a subwoofer. but i just can't get over how good sf speakers sound- my first exposure to them was at the stereophile show in miami years ago, where i 1st heard the extremas. and, even under show conditions, the sf's sounded better than 95% of the competition in the other rooms, regardless of size, design, or price. i wasn't the only person who waited patiently for a chance to sit in the front-middle chair, where the realism and the imaging was really spectacular.
that day perhaps more than any other had an enormous effect on what kind of a system i myself would eventually end up with.
i have been nothing less than amazed by how musical all three speakers were, and i have zero doubt that the other models discussed above sound any less wonderful- mr. serblin has some of the best ears in high-end audio. i do have some concerns however with the introduction of the stradivari which doesn't image/stage that well (according to reviews)- at $40k that's not encouraging- it should do everything plus make cappiccino imho. i also feel that the amati's should do 20hz-20khz with ease, with tight, deep bass and macrodynamics second to none, especially at ITS price point. the amati-2's hopefully resolves these issues, although the pictures of it (that i've seen) aren't nearly as nice as the red-violin finish on the amati-1's.
so, i don't know if sf has done quite as well in designing large/expensive floor-standing systems as they have in previous years with their monitor-line, from a price comparison standpoint. i have guarneri's in one room, and eggleston andra-2's in my living room. both sound great to my ears, but as of late i've been tweaking/upgrading the guarneri system and the speakers actually "communicate" a bit better than the egg's, which are connected to a MUCH more expensive system (amazing). i do wish the sfg's could go a little lower (bass), so now i want to either get a different amp or better interconnects (or both!$!) to see what the little guys can do, without getting a subwoofer. but i just can't get over how good sf speakers sound- my first exposure to them was at the stereophile show in miami years ago, where i 1st heard the extremas. and, even under show conditions, the sf's sounded better than 95% of the competition in the other rooms, regardless of size, design, or price. i wasn't the only person who waited patiently for a chance to sit in the front-middle chair, where the realism and the imaging was really spectacular.
that day perhaps more than any other had an enormous effect on what kind of a system i myself would eventually end up with.