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Sonus Faber Dominus Grand Piano vs Usher 6831/6731

Today I auditioned some Grand Pianos from Sonus Faber, coming out of mid-range Arcam seperates.

I also auditioned some Focal JM Lab's Cobalt 816s, and frankly I really preferred the $2K Focals to the $5k Sonus. The Focals had more detail, revealed more of the music and seemed to allow the music to sound more natural. It did seem a bit bright without the help of a sub woofer.

In contrast the Sonus Grand Pianos were more fluid, more emmotional, definitely warmer. The soundstage was not as open as the Focals though, things seemed to be compressed in terms of depth of the stage. I honestly just wasn't that happy with them.

All that said, I am wondering how the Usher 6381 or 6371 compares to either of these two? Are the Ushers more revealing like the Focals or are they warmer and more fluid like the Sonus?
toysnob
toysnob OP
18 posts
 
Ok but for point of reference, have you ever heard either the Sonus Grand Piano or the Focal Cobalt 816S?

Otherwise it could just indicate a difference in our tastes...
jihley
74 posts
 
I have own three pairs of JM Lab speakers form the Chorus, Cobalt and Electra lines, including the Cobalt 816. I found them all to be good but not great speakers and would recommend them if someone liked to listen to primarily rock music. I listened breifly to a pair of Ushers (looked like the SF Concertino's) and they were very different that the JM Labs. I recently purchased a pair of SF Domus Concerto (same size as the grand piano's but $3500)and they took almost 500 hrs to break in! I feel that these speakers mated with the right amp/wire combo will best most anything I have owned and 90% of what I have listened to. I just love them and am still amazed at what I hear when playing CD's I haven't listened to in a long time. I hope this helps
jond's avatar
jond
5,792 posts
 
FWIW I used to own the original SF Grand Piano's, and I now own the JMlabs Micro-Utopias. The Sf's were nice speakers, and very WAF friendly, my girlfriend still misses them, but the JMlabs are in another league. Much more transparent, but still fairly warm and organic sounding. Hope that helps.
stylinlp_38
44 posts
 
I demo'd the Sonus Faber Domus Piano's and the next size down. My friend and I really did not like that next size down at all. Congested sounding. The bigger Piano's was teh bee's knee's. But I could not swing $5k. I ended up buying the Usher 6371 speakers. Wow. Talk about getting your moneys worth. These are one hell alot of speaker for the money! They are bigger sounding and more detailed than the Sonus Fabers. So far with my 15 hours owning them they are not as warm. But still very smooth. I havn't spiked or filled them with lead yet. I read thats a must do.
You can check out my thread on AudioAsylum on them.
For half the price of the Sonus Fabers Im really happy.
uppermidfi
277 posts
 
Yes I have heard the Grand Piano's. They sounded very good, which surprised me because I did not like the electronics driving them. I have not heard the 816s, but did hear the larger/newer 1027's.

I like the Sonus Fabers and the JM Labs (which again surprised me, since I have sorta had a chip on my shoulder in regard to JM Labs. The chip has been replaced with respect) I think both of them are good speakers for the money especially for the price they can be had on AudiogoN. Neither are cheap, but they aren't expensive either. The Ushers, in comparison to the Sonus Faber and the JM Labs that I have heard sounded like a cheap speaker. Everyone has their opinion though.
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