Is snell the Italian way of saying snail? I thought that it was a typo, but then you repeated it.
Thanks for all of the FS info. It sounds like you're very fortunate to own those speakers. |
Venere S was on my list of two when buying speakers. Sound was fine, but speakers did feel the way I worried they would when it comes to craftmanship. They were advertised as "Made in Italy", unlike the rest of the Venere line. I walked away, but I did give them a serious consideration. I did not compare them to "Made in China" models but these were disappointing enough.
From what it seems to me, previous success of the company with the same name was due to the reign of one man who was in charge and who knew what and how he wanted to be done. It had nothing to do with the production location. Quite the opposite, many would say.
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speakers are not designed by ‘bean counters’
nor do speaker designers manage the company’s books
good grief |
Great information harris4crna. I love these kind of stories. His passion and designs were legendary and his love for music is unquestioned. I will have a second system with his speaker in some way. |
The larger the company the more likely it is that people in management and sales will come up with price points in a new line of speakers that they want the new product to hit. Then the designers/engineers make that happen. In a small company, where the designer is also the CEO or has equal footing, things will be very different. Sonus Faber today is a classic example of the first sort of company. The sales and PR people put out as much verbiage as possible in order to camouflage those basis facts. |
Calvinj, the Sim Audio evolution stuff is absolutely incredible very warm sounding and three dimensional. I have the p-8 W8 and I have not found anything way more expensive that sounds much better than this. Their amps and preamps are world-class also very expensive. The 850p is now 40,000. As good as it is that's way overpriced, when it first came out it was 25,000 and it was only 10% better than the p8. I think they make some of the best stuff out there but they've gone stupid with the pricing. |
@urbie19 always wanted to try sim audio |
Sonus Faber kind of became a caricature. Wood, leather, marble, metal etc, lets see how many different materials we can combine. The image is a bit stuck in the past and not really high design anymore. Altho the more accessible range has a much cleaner look, reminiscent of Tidal Audio.
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Sonus Faber is a company that produces a fairly large range of speakers. They give you the choice of going from an entry level product...all the way up to SOTA. The new Aida 2’s will compete with most any speaker out there..
So, for those who are happy to naysay this company, I think they really are disseminating poor information. SF released an excellent speaker a few months back...the new Electa Amator 3! If you can find one, go and have a listen...I’m sure you will be as impressed as i was.
@willmacc Go and take a listen to the new EA3’s and then get back to us...and yes, this beautiful speaker does employ wood, leather, marble etc.LOL. |
@daveyf, I didnt critique the sound of any particular SF product. Have a great day. |
Not putting bad info out. A lot of us just prefer the way they used to sound. They have went more detailed and transparent. The older models just sound more musical and like real instruments. I also liked the hand crafted build quality of the old speakers. Most people do that I know. |
might be partly down to SF liking to use relatively small mids across quite a broad frequency range.
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@calvinj The original designs from Franco are certainly some of the best speakers that SF has made. I am certainly NOT disputing that fact. I personally enjoy his GH model even though I could have gone and acquired any of the newer models or even some of the far more expensive competitors. IMHO, Franco hit one out of the park when he designed the GH and to a lesser extent the Extrema and the Strad.
Nonetheless, i do feel that the new line ,particularly the new Aida, the Fenice and the recently released EA3 are excellent speakers. Unfortunately, I also think that SF did somewhat lose their way with the versions of the Guarneri that followed the GH. Not that surprising to me, because to improve on near perfection is a very difficult task...and one that is easily failed.IMHO. |
"What the hell happened?" HEA is not the same (no where near) as the audiophile products of the 70's-80's-90's. Now with a little care and knowledge one can easily beat up the expensive way over built audio products being peddled by the same ole revolving door that took your money the first several times around. We see listeners dumping their massive components for a much better sounding inexpensive reality. |
@michaelgreenaudio things have changed in Audio. I was not trying disparage any brand but serblin hand made cabinets are not being done anymore but in a few select speakers. There was time put into what he did. Care and craftsmanship. Now it’s build to a price point and marketing. After the Amati Futura for me I think it all changed so do a lot of others. I hope the best for the company but they have changed. As far as other companies. I put together a system with no major named companies that competes with the big boys to my ears. KR audio amps, Gato speakers, Resonessence digital and I’m very happy.
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Calvinj - interesting thread because I was wondering how modern SF might sound with my Gryphon gear. My note to you, though, is are you aware that Resonessence has gone? I have their stunning Mirus Pro DAC, too.
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@eagle3333. Yes I actually showed with them last year at capital Audiofest in DC. Their dac us stunning. It’s been my best source outside of my Soulutions 540 which retails at 6x the price. They made great gear. Hans Loomin has shot off to his own company LOOMIN LABS and is developing an amplifier which I have heard and it is stunning! |
