Speaker choice : need help between Nola and Sonus Faber


Help!  I have narrowed down the speaker choice to Nola Contender vs. Sonus Faber Venere 3.0.  Building cabin and the room is moderately large I guess at about 20' X 20' with tall arched ceilings and open to the back.  Using Prima Luna Dialogue HP Integrated tube amp.  Searching for sort of a warm character and I love speakers with great imaging and may use a subwoofer.  Listen to classical rock and stuff from the 70's mostly.  Nola's check that sort of unusual and interesting box whereas the Venere's are pretty to look at and have the Sonus Faber name behind them.  Thanks in advance
zipline11

Showing 1 response by jezskates

Since I've been auditioning speakers for the last few weeks to upgrade from my existing Kirksaeter's, I have some feedback you might find helpful. Given your stated appreciation for the Totem sound, as beautifully musical as the Nola Contender is, you might not like it. The speaker is extraordinarily revealing in the midrange for its price point, and could make some of your recordings relatively unlistenable. In my listening opinion, the Totem's do a more acceptable job of masking typically over-produced recordings from that time period.

I found the Sonus Faber to be pretty forward in those frequencies, which again there's a chance you might not favor.

Hope that helps, and that you find something to your liking.