Persona 9h vs S3 mk 2

@audiotroy I have heard the T+A 3100 HV several times and I think it is great, actually tremendous gear. Something I am going to look at with my future down stairs big room system (KEF Blades). I was considering getting the T+A clearance units from Sunny's (Covina, CA) for the low price but decided against it. Mainly because I was not going to buy any of the speakers I heard with the T+A gear.

When I heard the Luxman I was even more impressed, though I think the TAD ME1 speaker I heard with them were one of the reasons for my over the top high praise. I even heard a Harbeth ($5K) with the Luxman's and I also liked them with the Luxmans (though not as much as the TAD ME1). My feeling is that ANY speaker will likely sound good with the Luxman 900 series. I have also heard the 800 series extensively with Vivid speakers and they are warmer than the 900 series.

I think the Persona 3F maybe better for me than the TAD ME1 but a home demo will confirm this and having the TAD ME1 as a backup plan is a no lose situation for me. As I mentioned before in many posts getting a small room to sound good is not easy, but it is getting there. Lucky for me my stock investment to buy this gear is getting delayed so I have more time to research.

With regards to cost, I am looking at home demoing the Mola Mola Makua preamp with the DAC board to pair with the Luxman m900u amp. This will save me space and $$ over getting the Luxman c900u preamp. 

@smodtactical If I was smart I would just buy the CODA #8 amp and the Simaudio 390 network player to pair with the Persona 3F or the TAD ME1 and save a lot of dough and get great sound. However, I am not that smart.

I am also going to setup the Sonare SystemOptique fiber optic system ($700) + one of their RENDU models for my digital streaming needs. I like the idea of using a computer for my streaming needs.

@yyzsantabarbara  what do you like more between 3f vs me1 ?

I’d take the 3F over the TAD ME1 any day of the week.  Local dealer had TAD and I think he got rid of them quickly for a reason.  Wasn’t impressed at all.  Nor was I impressed at Axpona.

Contuzzi, their is no doubt in our minds that the Persona 3f is the better value, for one brief shining momment the Me1 was lowered to $10k at that price the speaker was a great deal.

We have heard the Me 1 sounding very good, with a slightly richer midrange response than the 3F.  They still sound more like a monitor on a stand and for $5k less the 3F is just so hard to beat, for $5k you can get yourself a great dac or be half way to a great sounding intergrated amplifier. 

We do think that the ME 1 for a person with a very small room who wants a stand mounted speaker is one of the best of its kinds. 

The reality as we see it is that if you dial in the 3f it is one remarkable loudspeaker that sounds more like a $20k loudspeaker than a $10k one. 

We setup our Persona 3F on a setup of Naim Separates for $13k with the Paradigm SW 1000 a compact subwoofer from Paradigm and the sound was just remarkable and the entire system was more affordable then many reference systems we have heard that were two to three times the price.

The way we see it is that the 3f if used with the right combination of gear does so many things extremely well: a huge soundstage, great image float, superb detail, very tight deep bass response for its price point it is very hard to beat.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Persona dealers