Wilson Maxx 2 vs Sonus Faber Stradivari

Spatine,

Thanks for your comments. Sorry for your disappointment. Such is the roadtrip of audiophiles in search of great sound. Speaking for the 2 speakers you heard, I found Maxx's to sound great with ARC equipment, and 'ok' with Krell (unless the Evo One)..particularly if soulful is what you are looking for. Again, the Maxx 2 comes at music from the technical end. I have found the Strad to be good with tubes (many love McIntosh with Strad) and good with SS A (Soulution, FM Acoustics, Gryphon, etc). It is not the most transparent speaker...I have compared with electrostatics, Wilson, and they do not have quite that transient snap/attack. But they deliver vocals really well, and have enuf detail for some people.
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I have not heard these Snells. They sound intriguing to say the least. Good luck and pls post when you've made your choice! Enjoy!!

Very different speakers, same class I suppose, personal taste is the main factor for deciding!

Hi Spatine

Unfortunately what you have heard in your hifi shop trip is typical of the " hit & miss" affair of listening to systems at shops. Sometimes you get the great sound, sometimes you don't.

I own Strad's and run them with both Mac tube gear and cj tube gear.

The Mac tube gear sounds great and is not boomy at all - however it is a little slower in delivery due to the mid hall delivery of the electronics.

I have recently gone back to cj tube gear and the sound is better again. I little more control and life, mainly due to the fact the amplifiers are a bit more forward in the vocal delivery and feel faster. Purity is at an alltime high with this combo.

Personally I feel that the Strad's have plenty of detail and transparency for me and an organic feel that really allows me to attach to the music better than other speakers I have heard.
They can be seen as a little lean in the bass compared to the Wilson's, (definataly not boomy) so for my big room adding a REL subwoofer adds a nice sense of ease in the dynamic bass delivery that is pleasing overall to enjoyng music.

BTW, the pass labs XA60.5 wil be fine, however like any big speaker like this - going to 160.5 would be evern more heavenly.

good luck in your search.

Hi Shane...

Have u broken 300 hours yet? I have placed everything on new equipment rack...3" thick birch ply with black african sapele veneer and piano gloss finish. It sits decoupled on top of 1.5" slab of slate. Wow...took 4 guys to carry it. But it made the Gryphon less dark, added lots more detail, deepened soundstage and dropped the bass half an octave and cleaned it up. I was genuinely surprised in spite of everything I'd read about equipment racks and their benefits...fortunately it cost a LOT less than the reference brands...finite, HRS, and others I've considered.

Loving the Strads more now...that said, I was considering changes my cables to lighten up the system a touch...but now I want it to settle in before I try. If I do...any thoughts? I have old pre-XL Ref interconnects and speaker cables.

Your advice always appreciated!!!

I'm proposing Stealth and Jorma among others...