Sonus fabre Venere s

Stay away from the Venere line.  The cabinets are very light and cheap and limit the performance of the design.  There are tons of other great options out there.  What’s your price range?

Used under $3000.00. I see some revel speakers on the forum. Might consider some of those. 

You are wrong, the Venere 3 Signature being the top of the Venere line is made in Italy and has  a very beautiful and heavy cabinet. The models below are made  in China and may of lessor quality. There are some good reviews on the Venere 3 S worth reading.

SF Venere S, nice looking speaker. 

Spidey senses tell me assembled in Italy, but who are we fooling? Cabinet made in China, then shipped. 

Nothing new. Common practice to keep the balance sheet looking positive.

My made in China products look good and sound fine, just like my American pieces. I think the Venere S is a great speaker at a nice USED price-at least 1/2 retail. SF is a part of a corporate machine, it's not the SF 15 years ago.

Which ever SF veneer you get, I've yet to hear a bad one, it will sound more musical than the Klipsch, you’ll be able to listen for much longer periods with them and have a better sound stage in front of you. They are the violin’s of audio not fiddle’s.

Cheers George

You are wrong, the Venere 3 Signature being the top of the Venere line is made in Italy and has a very beautiful and heavy cabinet.

No, you are wrong. They’re not made in Italy, and their cabinets are still crap. Here’s a quote from Soundstage Access in their review of the Venere S:

“The S’s dimensions of 48.2”H x 15.2”W x 18.6”D make it a substantial proposition. Yet its 63.5-pound weight belies its size -- looking at it, I thought it weighed 10 or 20 pounds more. Sure enough, when I rapped my knuckles on a side panel, it responded with a hollow resonance -- the Venere S doesn’t have the most inert cabinet you can buy for $5000.”

Like I said, there are plenty of other excellent options in this price range that don’t have crap cabinets.

@georgehifi — I think you’re confusing the Venere line with SF’s “normal” speakers.  The Venere sound is much more bright and forward than the rest of the SF line — it was made to fit a lower price point and attract a different type of customer.  They bear no resemblance to the traditional SF sound.  I know — I had the Venere 2.5 in my system on an extended audition. 

I stand corrected then, I would never have though SF could make a non musical sounding speaker. Sounds as if someone took over the company and killed it.

Cheers George

You want a real speaker? There is a pair of Usher Audio CP- 8571 II Dancers available here now for $2700 (list $7500). They’re gorgeous and their sound will literally astound you. They’re a steal at this price.  You can read a review of them at Absolute Sound if you’re interested. 

I once heard a pair of SF Venere floorstanders in non ideal setup environment at Magnolia some 5 years ago of so and wasn't that impressed but again the speaker placements, electronics and room acoustic were far from ideal. the speakers were in their switchboard room hooked up to bunch of Denon, Pioneer Elite, Marantz & Arcam AV receivers. And the SF Veneres were indeed made in China but anything above that were made in Italy. 

However, the Venere line was discontinued and been replaced by Sonetto line, which is now a SF entry level line, and are made in Italy. I have yet to hear the Sonetto line speakers but according to many audiophiles who had heard both the Sonetto and the Venere they all commented that sonically the new Sonetto line is much superior sounding to the Venere. no comparison. and the SF Sonetto speakers are made in Italy. 

All that being said, I would seriously look into a used discontinued pair of the SF Olympica line as they will be a big step up performance wise (musicality wise) from both the Venere and the Sonetto. But I think the Sonetto line will get you closer to the performance of the Olympica line and somewhat bridges the gap between that of the Venere and the Olympica line. 
You should be able to get the SF Olympica at discounts as they are being phased out as SF is releasing the new Olympica Nova line. 

ProAc?

All of the Venere line from Sonus Faber were made in China. The Venere 3S is  the only model from that line which was designed and manufactured in Italy. I know for a fact since I have a pair. The fit and finish of the piano black version is beautiful and I must admit for a $5000.00 pair of speakers their sound is quite acceptable. Yes, you can always fine something better or worse at all price points. 

Sam

My bad.  You are correct.  They are made in Italy.  Color me surprised. 

I guess the Venere S could potentially sound good when set up right.

ProAc, Audio Physics, Harbeth, Spendor, ATC make great speakers and you should highly consider them as well. 

No problem Soix, us audiophiles have the right to screw up once in a while! We are all in this together, a great and never ending quest for the best sound at a fair price.