WHAT HAPPENED TO SONUS FABER?

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.

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.