Rosso Fiorentino Arno 40 speakers Great speakers/Beautiful music

@teajay   The Certaldo 2 is at the top of my speaker replacement list and very curious if the Arno 40 is a worthy upgrade over the Certaldo 2. Will be attending Axpona 2025 to narrow down my speaker choices to 3.

Hey dayglow,

I have never heard the Certaldo 2 speaker. My hunch is for another 5K you get another level of refinement/polish to the RF house sound. If you like one of their less expensive speakers, you just get more as you move up the line. Remember some of their larger physical models might not do as well in a smaller acoustic space.

If you would want to hear the Arno 40s during Axpona this year, I don't live very far away from the show. You are more than welcomed, if they don't show the 40's at the show. They probably will show the 40s being that its their newest model.

@teajay thanks for the heads up regarding the Stereo Times review of the Rosso Fiorentino Arno 40 speakers, very nicely written review by the way. I always appreciate a heads up regarding your reviews.

@teajay   Thx for the quick reply and invite. At $7.5k -$15k IMO is the sweet spot for a near reference loudspeaker. Currently my list includes the Certaldo 2, Atohm GT 2/3HD, YG Talus and the Quad 2812(not heard X model) all have a high(Audio) ceiling in this price segment. Also considering a preowned YG Carmel 2, any thoughts?

Great review on the Arno 40's Terry.  Based on owning Voltera 2's for three years your description of their positive traits align with my observations.  They are a music lovers speaker line much like another relatively under the radar brand, Reynaud.  Maybe reach out to Mike Pranka, the Well Tempered, Dynavector and Reynaud distributor about getting a pair of their floor standers in for review.

Just another brand with the biz model of stuffing mediocre, mid-fi drivers into a glitzed MDF box. 

Hey helomech,

Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but it would nice if it was based on facts or actual experience. The 40s are not just an MDF composed enclosure, put a complex multi-material layered design that leads to very low levels of cabinet added distortion equaling a very low noise floor. Secondly, the 40s series are based on new, designed and built for RF drivers, not off the shelf modified transducers from other companies. Of course, if you had read the review you would have seen factually that your statements are disingenuous.  

Hey dayglow,

The list of speakers on your audition list are some very fine designs. For my taste, and I have heard three of them, I still believe you would be more smitten with the 40s, if your taste is very similar to mine. Good luck at figuring out what speaker you will eventually decide on.

Hi @teejay you had mentioned about your upcoming review of the Qualio. Maybe I missed it- but can't seem to find it anywhere. Was really looking forward to it.

regards,

Manu

First, dxbwineguy something has come up regarding the review on the Qualio speakers. It's temporarily on hiatus for now.

Just had another guest listener come over to listen to the RF Arno 40s and he used the term "swept away by the beauty of the music" to describe his experience of the speakers. It's interesting to me that I and other listeners do not use analytical terms to try to explain the magic of this speaker, but descriptors that first talk about the emotional & visceral response to the music, not the "sound" of the speaker. 

How does this speaker compare to a similarly priced Tekton?

teajay, I read your review with intrigue.  I didn't see any rock or pop recordings in your review.  How would you characterize these speaker with that type of music?  

Hey kclone,

Your correct regarding the musical samples I used in the review. Here's a short list of pop/rock/funk albums used in the reviewing process: Usher -James Brown - George Clinton and the Mothership Connection - Allman Brothers - Cream- Santana- Bob Marley & the Wailers.

How did the Arno 40's do on these genres? They kicked butt regarding dynamics, pressuring the room on the low frequencies, effortless very high volume levels without any strain or harshness, and finally on live recordings the space of the venue was completely replicated in spatiality.

Thanks teajay. I don’t listen that loud these days, probably 65-75 dbs. I was looking at getting the Dali Epikore 11s, but I am definitely going to look into the Arno 40s. I think that one would be an easier sell on the wifey. :-)