SonusFaber GP? Other recomendations?

Tom, good choice. The Grand Pianos sound nice, look good, and if you buy them on The Gon used, you'll save a bunch-a-green. Now to decide whether you want the HOME version or the older ones that were biwireable. Have fun! Dean

BTW, what was your impression of the Merlins? Were they the TSMs ot VSMs?

How did the older series GP sound different from
the new series? I heard the new ones on my Classe
and they seem to really sing with Classe...

You know equipment matching is really the key..
Here's why..

I heard the Viena Beethovens on the $15,000 Krell
Dual Balanced amp & pre before I swapped in my Classe and
I must say that the Krell & Beethovens were probably
the best I have ever heard.. Really.. But when I mated
my Classe, the Beethovens turned into a muffled, resonant
and boxy sounding nightmare. I mean really bad.
Embarrassingly bad..

I also put the Areius on the krell and nearly lost my
hearing from the perceived +100db bump in the high
frequencies. I am not joking here..

Since I can't afford $15,000 worth of krell, the $5000
Beethovens wouldn't work out for me. I hope others
that read this take away the knowledge that components
will sound completely different depending on how they
are mixed with other pieces..

But again.. Tell me more about how the older GPs
sound vs the newer ones...

Tom

Tom, from what I know of your Classe gear it is on the forgiving/musical side. Krell is more transparent and revealing. I've heard the Vienna Acoustic Beethovens in a store and the VA Haydns in my house, and in both cases they were smooth, musical and warm. It doesn't surprise me the VAs really sang on the Krell amps but sounded muffled when matched with the Classe amps. Therefore, you could probably take greater risk than some people in coupling your Classe amps to more revealing speakers. Conversely, the Krells might benefit from being matched to less-revealing speakers.

People have posted in the forums here that the new Sonus Faber HOME speakers are warmer and fuller sounding than the previous models. It'll probably be tough to find a place to audition the older models since the HOME line has been out for awhile. But many forum members seem to think the newer models are better. So it looks like by purchasing the Grand Piano HOME you'll have an improved model and will also be able to save some cash by only having to use a single pair run of speaker cable, since the new models can't be biwired.

While the Sonus Fabers are good in my system, they were definitely bettered by the ProAcs. However, it seems the Grand Piano HOMEs might be AT home in your system. Good deal, because this way you'll save a ton of cash, and will have a system you really enjoy. This is what it's all about isn't it? Let us know what happens Tom!