Swiss Options - Piega & Stenheim

Hi @gregm 

...the Stenheim offered more clarity (exemplified subjectively by the sense of distance between the instruments). As a result perhaps, bass was more pronounced.

This is surprising, and valuable, thank you! I would have expected the Piega with its ribbon tweeter/mid to have won out when it came to the impression of clarity. That has me even more curious to hear the Stenheims.

I had the same assumptions on the standard vs the SE - they're charging the better part of $10k for those internal upgrades. Pretty wild. 

@overthemoon - It was the Alumine 5s I also heard at AXPONA and agreed.... wow. But those are obviously twice the price of the Alumine 3s. Interested to hear the penalty for the smaller model. 

Don’t waste your time with Alumine 3. Go for the SE. It is more than just an add-on upgrade. It is their next-gen technology and probably should have been called Mk. II. Remember, Stenheim is a relatively new company, so they are undergoing considerable R&D improvements. But they’ve hit it out of the ballpark with their SE models. If you can’t afford the 3 SE, you would be better off with their two.five as it has much of the same SE technology built into its crossover network. I recently auditioned the 3 SE and it is a remarkable speaker. I wish I had not listened to their reference series. What $195k will buy you these days in audiophile heaven.

Stenheim. Easy to drive. I would think they would be a better fit with Devialet. 

Well for those encouraging me to go with Stenheim, I finally did get some solid time with the Alumine 3s and I definitely can see why they're so well liked.

Incredibly clear, wonderful base signature, small size... just so very impressive. I got a solid 60-90 minutes with them. These were the standard models, not the SEs.   I was able to demo with both my Devialet and the dealer's demo amp, a $15k integrated from a manufacturer I wasn't familiar with, and that I can't recall the name of.

Both myself and dealer who was listening with me both liked the sound signature and punch with my Devialet 220 Expert Pro more than what he himself was demoing. And while I totally respected these speakers, I ultimately chose not to proceed with the purchase, and did so for a few reasons.

First off, the amount of clarity, while incredibly impressive, was a bit overwhelming. It wasn't harsh, but the higher frequencies seemed as if they're being driven by a laser right into your ear, if that makes sense. It made it impossible to casually listen to the music... everything was always just right there. It's a hard-to-describe sensation, but one that I felt both at AXPONA, and again in this listening room. They did do an incredibly good disappearing act though. You almost couldn't tell where the speakers were.. it was just... clear sound filling the room.

Then there was the price - these things are expensive at around $36k. For that kind of premium over the Piegas, I didn't want to risk buying them and finding the speakers too fatiguing later and regretting the purchase.

Speaking of the Piegas - I also got some solid time with the 811s driven first by some top of the range Moon gear (dac, amp, preamp) all from the newer North range. I then got to listen to them with my Devalet 220. 

If I had the inclination to spend the money (and had the space) I would have happily replaced the Devalets with this gear. They paired BEAUTIFULLY with the Piegas. The Devialets sounded great too, but these were definitely better.

As for the Piegas themselves, they gave me exactly what I was looking for. Great bass, gorgeous midrange, and incredibly natural sounding high frequencies. They do not disappear the way the Stenheims do though, which I missed.

In the end though, the 811s, while sounding marvelous, were physically a touch too big for my space. The dealer had a pair of 711 LTDs, which feature the exact same drivers as the 811s, but in a smaller, previous generation cabinet design. They were also willing to offer $5k off the price, where no discounts were available on the 811, so that's what I ended up buying. That brought the after-tax price of the 711s the better part of $20k less than I would have had to spend on the Stenheims.

The speakers were delivered a couple weeks later, and I've been thrilled with them. They needed a ton of break-in time, but once that process was through, they've been marvelous.

Glad to hear you found a good solution for you!

There are many exceptional speakers available and I think getting the opportunity to listen to them is the best way to find the pair that fits your needs.