Sonus Faber Amati vs. Wilson Sasha V (and perhaps vs. Focal n3)

Hello,

Can you provide the room dimension (LxWxH) as well as positioning details? I think that it's a very important information to provide a custom-advice for your room.

Concerning gear, my advice for the AV receiver is the same as @deep_333 but I would advice for different kind of speakers for this dual-purpose setup:

- Replace your AV with Marantz AV10 system (processor + amp) or Anthem AVM 90

- Replace your speakers with something that can handle music and can be driven with a good HT AVR, such as the Grandinote towers.

Those are 8ohm simple load, high efficiency and huge power handling...The line arrays (from 8XL to 36 😱) models are pretty room-independent so you can live with really minimal room treatment.

--Front/Center/Right: Mach 2s, 4s, 9s or 8XL floorstanders (depending on your budget)

-- Surround left/Surround Right: Mach 2R (bookshelf) or Mach 2 (towers)

Whit this hell of a setup, all the speakers will provide Serious Bass but any HT fan would use at least a couple of subs :) 

For subs I can advice about 2 or 4 (better) SVS 2000/ 3000 to shake your chest, depending of your room size/ budget.

For music reproduction the Grandinotes are totally different beasts than the aforementioned ones...I strongly advice to find a dealer and listen by yourself...

There are several YouTube videos about Grandinote and, in one of them, the Mach 8XLs hit 116 dB of SPL in Axpona 2024 with no distorsion at all 🤣!

:) 

Happy listening!

"Sonus Farber, recommend and use only Mac equipment in all their demo rooms..."

Same corporation / owner of both companies so no surprise.

I have heard more than one model of Sonus Faber: Olympica Nova, Amati and Lillium. Amplification: Luxman, MacIntosh, Audio Research, Boulder, and I am sure something I am not remembering. To my ear the best pairing by far is Audio Research. If you only listen to rock I can see the pairing with Mac. I can’t see the pairing with Luxman ever. Boulder sounds good for solid state, but misses some of the warms and midrange bloom of ARC. This is my taste for detailed and musically real presentation.

@soix @ghdprentice 

Sonus Farber, recommend and use only Mac equipment in all their demo rooms and I have heard from a couple of people that they tried what the rig they currently had an it didn’t sound anywhere near as good. I have been looking at SF and have been talking with a local store and the local distributor and I asked both of them on a conference call about why and I was told all about the synergy Mac and SF have. 
I still have the Hegel H390 and now I have PS Audio BHK Preamp and 300 mono blocks. If what ever they eventually bring to my house doesn’t sound good with either of them, they better offer me a huge trade in before I am seduced by the blue glow.

During my extended audition of the Sonus Faber Liliums the dealer had them powered by the McIntosh Mc451 dual mono monoblock amps.  Sounded fantastic with top tier MSB Dac and I believe MSB preamp.

@jetter It’s interesting the dealer wasn’t using a Mac pre as I’ve heard some Mac owners say their preamps are a weak link relative to their amps, so I wonder how much of what you heard was the lack of a Mac pre in that system?  Just a thought. 

During my extended audition of the Sonus Faber Liliums the dealer had them powered by the McIntosh Mc451 dual mono monoblock amps.  Sounded fantastic with top tier MSB Dac and I believe MSB preamp. The reviews I read/viewed often have them powered by the more powerful McIntosh Mc901 dual mono monoblocks.

- Replace Cinema 30 with Marantz AV10 flagship Prepro

- Replace that shrill sounding awful Emotiva with Rotel RMB-1585 ( fat boy is a hidden gem)

- Front/Center/Right: Borresen X6, X3 or X2 floorstanders (depending on your budget)

- Surround left/Surround Right: Borresen X1 bookshelf

When you use a low cut and let subwoofers take over at 80 hz and below, the Borresens will slam you all the way to Chinatown for movies.

For music, sonically, the Borresens beat out the Sonuses and the Wilsons and the Focals, etc (this is common knowledge thse days). You also don’t want a terrible looking Wilson (hog) sitting there in your living room causing an eyesore, do you? Increase WAF, make wife happier.

Another @soix +1 but I would have thought the Arias with subs would be more than adequate for HT. If you are happy with overkill Wilsons or more expensive Focals for HT but Sonus Faber Amati every time for music but I agree with ghdprentice that SF and Macs are not a great match.

Well, as usual, @soix +1.

I love Sonus Faber speakers, but would never pair with Mac… on the other hand, if I had Mac (I would not choose this either), would pair with Wilson. I am also not a Focal fan. Many people love all these brands. Find the speakers you love the sound of, then choose complimentary electronics.

Not sure why you’re painting yourself in a corner with the Mac gear. You’re in an enviable position in upgrading both amplification and speakers simultaneously, so why not keep an open mind and choose the speakers/electronics that work best together? You could find yourself in the position that you prefer the sound of the Amatis but that the Mac gear pairs better sonically with the Wilsons. Then what? Synergy, especially at this level, is critical so limiting your options from the start seems counterproductive to me anyway. Personally I’d find the speakers that really “do it” for me first and then pair them with the electronics that best reinforce those qualities and can properly drive the speakers, but that’s me.  Just my $0.02 FWIW, and best of luck.

Focal Aria are great speakers  I use Aria 926 with the matching center for movies with Marantz AVR. In my main 2-ch setup I use Wilson Sabrina with Pass X260.8.

Wilson Audio released new version of The Watt/Puppy that are more affordable than the Sasha V. I would look into those if I were you. Good luck!

Well, I've heard all the speakers you mentioned, all in dealers showrooms or at high end audio shows.  They all have their own various good and not so good attributes.  I'm not an owner of any of the speakers you mentioned.  Anywho, speakers are so very highly subjective.  It's a decision that can only be made after intense auditioning, wherever you can audition them.  Once you get them home, if you find that they don't work for you, all you can do is sell them on the used market, then move on to the next set of speakers until you find the perfect speakers for your taste and your room, which is exactly what I had to do.  Happy listening.  

I have alway found wilson to out perform Sonus Faber at the same price points for my tastes. The Wilson just seems more dynamic which is driven from the better bass with better leading edge impact. 
 

I have a duel system myself and honestly home theater is all about the subs. Just add very good subs designed to reach low and loud. I am not sure it matters which brand of speaker you use for home theater. As the channel count increases the quality of the speaker matters less and it becomes more important that they can play loud without compression or blowing a tweeter.