Sonus Faber Stradivari Homage?

Jeff,
i think you hit the nail on the head with that statement.

I auditioned them with a friend yesterday for 2 hours at a dealer over here in the UK. System: DCS CD/SACD front end, Pathos hybrid monoblocks and valhalla cables and Nordost's new power conditioner. The room was of moderate size with the speakers about 4- 5 feet from the back wall and about 6 feet from the side wall. I found the sound very lush sounding. A bit too warm and not enough transparency for my taste (I currently use Revel Salons driven by Tenor 300HPs). I think M. Fremmer's description was exactly right They are absolutely gogeous to look at, and no doubt quite a bit of the cost is wrapped up in the cosmetics - they are essentially, furniture. While I would not pay that kind of money for them with that kind of sound, I could see people who enjoy that kind of presentation and are looking for speakers for their living room that won't stick out like a sore thumb spending that kind of money. Interestingly, the dealer also sells the Wilson Watt Puppy 7s, which my friend also listened to. Obviously, he got the two extreme ends of the spectrum (which is why I took him to listen to both), so now I'm having him listen to stuff in between (e.g., Von Schweikerts, Kharmas, etc.).

i would make a few additional comments at this point-
1. the strad cabinets imho could be built for $3k-5k each.
that would make them $26k-$30k a pair, not 40.
2. i've never heard a sf speaker driven with anything
other than a solid state amp. i've always found them
(extremas, electa amators, guarneri's) to be very musical
especially considering most people do not place their
systems in padded cells but living rooms with actual
furniture.
3. the amati's should fill most any room with enough spl's,
and they supposedly go down to 24hz, which is plenty low
(the extremas produce adequate bass, and they only go
down to about 30hz). the strads probably were built to
satisfy the most demanding listeners in the loudness and
low-bass departments.
4. fremer warned about soft-sounding components and cables
partnered with the strads. i don't know if valhallas and
pathos were a good choice or not, but obviously set-up
would be crucial if you're considering speakers that are
this expensive. i have eggleston andra-2's- they sound
great to me (ml-33h amps, ml digital, rowland preamp,
transparent cables, vpi aries). BUT THEY ARE UGLY!!
for almost $20k you would think that....well, they look
better than those rockport antares monsters, that much i
can say. but, i want speakers that look like art. period
exclamation point. i'm spoiled, and i have more
important things to concern myself with, so i will
continue to enjoy the eggs' sound and remind myself that
there are many brands of speakers with 5 figure (and 6
as well) price tags that look like ##$%^%^$!! plus, i
recently heard wilson maxx-2's, with sota components but
a really bad (boomy AND harsh) sounding room. you can
get the wilsons in yellow, ferrari blue, red, titanium,
and/or any color you specify, but i went home after an
ear-bleed audition to relax to music on my "humble"
system, and liked what i was hearing about 2000% more.
so go figure- in your face vs too warm vs keep what i
have. i heard a guitar piece by some guy named martin
taylor last nite that made me shake my head in disbelief.
that was on my tivoli table radio btw. then there was a
piano piece by jennifer williams- my jaw dropped again.
FORGET about components- i need to get some more cds....

JESSICA (not jennifer) WILLIAMS! SORRY ABOUT THAT. FF.

.
I have yet to hear a mediocre Sonus Faber product. I have the Extremas and would love to hear the Stradaveri set up somewhere.
.