Speakers sonically similar to Sonus Faber?


I recently demoed the Sonus Faber Venere line (their cheapest, made in china line) and loved it. It was being powered by inexpensive gear (sonos server source, arcam DAC, some integrated elite pioneer). i liked it much better than much more expensive speakers powered by much more expensive gear.

sadly, even venere 2.5 is still a touch out of my price range. my question: are there other speakers that might be sonically similar for a lower price?

some info that might help:

-the speakers in question use a silk dome tweeter and curv cone drivers
-i liked that they were very smooth and dynamic, and also sounded very good off axis and outside the sweet spot
-my listening rooms are not big. 14x17 ish
-my sources are 100% digital
-bookshelf/monitor or floor standing are both fine, just nothing too big

these are some that i've read might be a good fit, but might be hard for me to demo before hand: harbeth P3ESR, KEF LS50, sjofne clue, totem-mani 2

thanks for any suggestions!
tenken

Showing 1 response by dweller

"Not sure that THIEL is soft sounding ???????????"

'Cmon bubba, it's not the '90s anymore. "Thiels are harsh" is an urban myth in this day-and-age.

I've been listening to Thiel's (1.6 & 2.4 SE) for 15 years.

Thiels are extremely neutral. If the recording is harsh, guess what?, Thiels will sound harsh. If your front end and/or cables and/or amplification are trash, guess what?, Thiels will sound harsh.
Are you detecting a pattern?

Saying Thiels are bright doesn't make you a hip hi-fi guy, it says you are not informed.