B&W vs. Sonus Faber

I own B&W D3 speakers, but I really like the sound of Sonus Faber when I have heard them.  McIntosh room at RMAF 2018 had some Sonus Faber bookshelves that sounded really special.  However, Sonus Faber with their soft dome tweeters is just a little laid back in the high frequencies.  Pairing with a laid-back McIntosh amp didn't give me a fast enough sound, but it still sounded very good.

In my opinion the B&W is likely going to be a better pairing with the McIntosh amp if you want a faster and more exciting type of sound, due to the diamond tweeters.  It depends on what kind of sound you're after.

Even though I can really appreciate the Sonus Faber, it's still just a little bit too laid back in the highs for my tastes, even with a high resolution amp.

I demoed SF top of range floor stander (£22k) and stand mounted top of the range. I own B&W 804d. SF floor stander was demoed with McKintosh amps. SF sounded absolutely fantastic with classical music, completely mesmerising, with great depth of sound and a real orchestral live feeling. But on pop/rock/electronic or most things amplified it sounded a bit dull, soft and uninteresting. .

B&W 8 series generally sound good with every amp I’ve heard them with.

So if you listen to just classical I would go SF. Otherwise B&W.

Or maybe used in the 16K range? You can a LOT of great stuff.
I'm a happy SF camper but for 16K maybe some Tanny's or Revels?

https://www.audiogon.com/listings?q=Sonus+Faber+

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa42fd-tannoy-kensington-gr-prestige-full-range


Revel Reference Salon2

Have you figured out the preamp thing yet?  Obviously these speakers are quite different from one another, so it’s a little surprising you didn’t have a more definite preference for one over the other. An outstanding speaker in that price range that to my ears falls between the two are the Joseph Audio Perspective 2 if you can find a dealer.  Vandersteen, ProAc, and Usher are a few others well worth hearing.  It sounds like you’d benefit from listening to more speakers to better nail down what really appeals to you — even traveling a bit would be well worth the investment if necessary.  FWIW...

None of both. Much better, and “natural sound”: Ilumnia Magister, Harbeth , Estelon , Magico , Focal , Marten...