Sonus Faber vrs Magnepan

Maggie's are not good to music like orchestral ??? you obviously have not heard magnepans properly powered by the right amplification. Sonus fabers are very well made and nice but compared to large properly driven planars, it's like listening to Mahler from the nose bleed seats with opera glasses and an oil funnel in each ear My 20.1's with 1800 watts of bryston driving them have enough slam to curl the fancy veneer off those monkey coffins. You just owe it to yourself to hear them properly set up and powered(for those who have not.)

Depends on what kind of Sonus Fabers you have in mind. The Grand Pianos are probably the starting block in their high end stuff. They are highly efficient, beautiful sturdy speakers with spot on dynamics. Clear crisp highs and tight bass. When paired up with the right source and amplification they are unbelievable. Planars usually have a more mellow sound with better staging. They require much more space and are demanding in their power requirements.
I vote for SFs any day.

Go with SF, there are certain advantages to be had with them. Efficiency means you will not need monster amps to drive them, which usually saves space and leaves some room for other expenses too. Those who consider Bryston to be musical have perhaps not heard what a good tube amp can do. SF are not fatiguing speakers and long listening sessions can be a pleasure.

The Maggies are very good speakers indeed but one of their drawbacks is the space they require to sound at their best and the workhorse amplification required as well. They can sound quite good too, perhaps more true to the music if that's way to put it but I think they require more attention to get the best out of them. Consider powerful ss amps for them if this is the way you go. Imaging is one of their greatest strenghts.

Any Signum owners out there? I've noticed that different SFs sound different (odd how that works eh?). They are said to be mostly warm, romantic sounding speakers but I did some extended listening to the Cremona Auditors and found them actually a little tense. Maybe too much treble info for my tastes. I like the initial attack but also the full body of the note with it. I've found some speakers excell at transients and initial attacks and give lots of info about the type of intrument being played, studio/hall size and set up, etc. I had this experience with the Merlin TSM MXs and was never able to relax into the fullness of music; never really got a sense of expression. However, they sure did tell me a lot about where musicians were standing and even sometimes the kind of floor they stood on! This is not my cup of tea.

I like a balanced sound in which a tenor sax sounds like itself and not an alto. I didn't get that with the Cremona (and I'm sure the Linn amp/pre-amp didn't help) but did with the SF Concertino Domus. I wonder how the Signums compare to the Cremonas or even the Concertino Domuses (Domi?). I know the prices are quite different but they are all stand mounters.

Tomryan, I own the Signum's and Sonus Faber Extrema's. When the Signum's are in the system I drive them with a VAC Ren. 30/30 MKIII amp (32W with 300B tubes). When the Extrema's are in the system I drive them with Lamm M2.1 monoblock amps (200W).

All I can say is that although the Extrema's are the better speaker, after a year of trying to dial them in I know I am not there yet.

The Signum system, on the other hand, has magic and I wouldn't change a thing. The Signum's imaging is better defined, they are very musical and the midrange shines like few others! These speakers are more equipment friendly and easier to set up and go.

My impression of the Auditors was similar to yours-I auditioned them at a dealer with SS equipment. The Auditors were very detailed and extended on the high end, but not as engaging as the Signums.

The best thing I can say about the Signums is that although the Extrema's were purchased to replace them, I have not had the strenght to sell them.

In a larger room (my room is 14' x 17'x 9'), and at louder listening levels then I enjoy, this might shift in favor of the Extrema and other speakers.