While this thread is a bit stale, I thought I’d chime in as I’m now in the market for speakers in another system. Specifically, I am now trying to decide between the SF Olympica IIIs and the new SF Serafino which is clearly better but more $s. I have listened to the 800 series of B&W many times and in many different locations - and found them accurate, but not very exciting. I could live with them, but there are better choices for me. I have also listened to the Kef reference line many times and like them very much - again very accurate (and better to my ears than the B&W) and quite dynamic. However, for music, the SF I’m looking at are just more satisfying than all the others I’ve listened to.
In my auditions, I’ve concluded something all of you know already. Auditioning a speaker at a dealer is a very mixed bag. Case in point - I listened to the Olympica IIs (slightly smaller than the IIIs) in a room that did them no favors - they were overly warm and a bit muddied in the mid bass - a reaction shared by one of the posters above.
I am amazed at how many demo rooms are severely compromised with HVAC noises, phase irregularities (cancellelations or summations), etc. I don’t think bad demo rooms are necessarily the fault of the dealer - as each speaker is different, though I do think they’d help themselves with a bit more room treatment.
In any case, I think it’s fair to assume that most speaker brands are not going to put out crap and that while there are clearly differences in “house sound”, when we react really negatively to a product, it may be the room (or perhaps, source or electronics) that is the factor. Bottom line - I’m glad I listened the Olympica IIIs in a different setting - different room, different electronics, different source. And, the difference was all very good.
