Would like to hear from classical music listeners as to best floorstanders for that genre. B&W 803's sound good but want to get input with regard to other possibilities.
IMHO, Sonus Fiber and VA are from the same school. At your price point you should listen to both, IMHO. I, obviously, prefer VA, but I can see what others see in SF.
06-06-08: Musicnoise said: "for the person recommending vienna acoustics - what electronics work well for those speakers (mahlers and something smaller)- both amp and preamp? And in general what are people who listen to classical music using to drive their speakers? Tastes run from symphony (mahler beethoven) through instrumental and chamber."
The VAs like relatively high power (at least 100 wpc). I've heard them sound very good with Primare, Bryston, Conrad Johnson and Rowland. My best experience has been with the Rowlands, but that's kind of "the ultimate".
If SF uses a simple crossover and VA uses a complex one, you might conclude that the SF puts more into their drivers, for the same price range. I keep reading about SF driver quality.
I use MBL 116, which is fantastic on classical (which is what I listen to mainly). Highly recommended. Another speaker I have massive respect for is the Acapella Violon. Pair that with some dynamic tube amps (CAT or Jadis for example) and you have a system for life. Stunning on classical, the imaging and dynamics is in a class of its own.
Make sure you factor in a vinyl playback system if you haven't got one already. Classical and vinyl is a no-brainer. :)
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