Spendor S8e vs. Sonus Faber Grand Piano

IMO the Grand Pianos are a superior choice.(Yes, I own a pair)The current GP homes have just been discontinued and replaced with an updated model which is now viewable on the SF home page. If it were me, I would snatch up a pair of the Grand Piano homes at a deal...

Chris

I disagree, I prefer the Spendor S8e over the piano's. Just my preference.

I run my S8e with tube gear and it sounds sweet with great tone, timbre & texture and I usually play cds from major labels not audiophile ones. For example, Coldplay, Sting, Billy Joel & etc.

Neither speaker represents much value at their price point, the Spender is the more accurate speaker which to me makes it more musical and in that small a room its superior off axis response (to the SF) will also pay huge dividends.

The SF Grand P. Homeis has a sound some people like but in that small a room it will show how incomplete a design it is with its ragged off axis response causing it to become bright an fatiguing. In an open space the SF's can be competitive with the Spendors but not in the confines of a small room.

Dynaudio Mini-Monitors (5.25 woofers), ATC SCM-10's or 12's would unravel your two selections at half the cost, especially with the Sim Audio amplification. I suggest these two because I feel neither speaker listed above will perform satisfactorily in your space. The Dynaudio and ATC's are a superior combination for your environment and amp IMO. BTW spending the left over $$$ on some 2x4 wall/room acoustic treatments (if your decore will tolerate it) will simply increase the performance gap.

I haven't listened to Spendors, but the Grand Piano's in a slightly larger room, maybe 10' x 15'were the best sounding speakers I have ever heard in that price range (approx. $4K). There's just a certian quality there I really liked, call it the perfect balancee between accuracy, warmth, and tonal balance. I also admire the fact that SF appears to spec/manufacture their own drivers. I have a set of speakers with the Scan Speak revelator drivers in them and a well designed crossover, they are very good but not in the same league.