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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
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
I would stay away from the Domus line. They came in when there was a change in management at SF and the sound changed. With Olympica and Venere, the sound is back to being more like the early models. I have not heard the Toy Tower, but the small Toy was quite nice.

The US distributor Sumiko only services speakers sold from authorized dealers in the US. So, I would check with the seller on where they were purchased and with Sumiko on their current policy, if service down the road is a concern. That said, the speakers seldom fail, even the older ones.
ps
747 posts
 
I found a pristine pair of used SF Liuto Wood Monitors on Audiogon for a great price. My dedicated listening room is 11x13 with the rear wall open to the adjacent living room and two other openings to the adjacent kitchen.

I absolutely love 'em.

On a whim, I added a couple of inexpensive Pioneer SW-8MK2 subwoofers which are fun when I listen to bass-heavy electronic music but not really necessary.

Total expense including subs was about $1500 including shipping and sales tax. Talk about great ROI!
tenken OP
5 posts
 
thanks everyone for the suggestions.

i went to another showroom where i got to demo some of them.

they didn't have the venere, however they did have the liuto so i could compare to SF

i demoed the thiel cs2.7 and vienna acoustics mozart and beethoven along side the liutos.

bottom line: i very clearly preferred the liutos. the vienna acoustics are my second favorite. so far it seems sonus faber has a direct line to my ears/heart

i've got one more showroom to check out, where i'll listen to some KEFs, totem, revel, amphion, and aerial acoustics

Ps - you got the liuto for under 1500? talk about a steal i would take that deal in a heartbeat
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
Liuto are a good option. Not surprised VA are second. I am a big fan of Totem and Aerial. They will be good comparisons. They are probably out of your price range, but if you can listen to the new Totem Elements do so. They are very nice, if they are well broken in. New KEFs also have a lot of followers. You have a lot of nice options. I will not be surprised if you end up with SF.
ps
747 posts
 
Tenken:

If you are patient I bet you'll be able to find a good deal on Liuto monitors. If you're also looking for inexpensive subs, the Pioneers go on sale frequently. As I mentioned, I bought them on a whim and while not necessary, they're fun to play with. My TOTAL investment for the Liuto monitors and the subs was under $1500. The Liutos came with the stand posts and top plates but were missing the metal floor plate. I fabricated a base out of 2" maple blocks I had in my miscellaneous audio items.

If I could figure out how to upload photos to this site, I'd show you the base.

After many years of living with excellent floor standing speakers, I've never enjoyed home music reproduction more than I do now with the Liuto monitors. They are lovely to look at, they fill the room with music and at the same time, eliminate the sense that the sound is coming from boxes. They sound sweet yet detailed. I am very happy.
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