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Anyone hear SF Venere's? Thougts?

Hello All,

I'm planning to upgrade my current speakers (Hales Revelation 3) with Sonus Faber Venere 2.5. I did listen to them and kind of liked their price/performance ratio. I heard them through Prima Luna Dialog tube amp and Nottingham spacedeck TT. Currently I power the Hales with DK Designs VS.1 Reference MK II. The set-up sounds good but I feel it's missing the mid-lower base (about 60-200Hz). Running hales through tube amp is a tough proposition because of how inefficient the Hales are.

My question is, would it be an upgrade/downgrade/lateral move with SF Venere?

Any thoughts are much appreciated.

Best Regards/Stay Well
livin_262002
stibin
12 posts
 
I can get one at $1,400 mint, do you think it is a good buy?
musicaddict
370 posts
 
I heard them several times at dealers when they came out and enjoyed them a lot. A very musical and warm speaker with nice detail too.
Don't tempt me. I need no more speaker. But, at $1400 for a nice used pair, folks should smile and buy, if they like them.
soix
8,911 posts
 
I can get one at $1,400 mint, do you think it is a good buy?
No.  I had them on extended demo and while they have their strengths there are better options IMHO.  For the same price you can get new LSA-10 Signature monitors (here on A’gon) and try them at home for 30 days.  Build quality’s much better and they actually go lower in bass than the 2.5s, and my guess is they’ll sound better too (read the stellar reviews).  The Venere’s cabinet structure is lightweight and not solidly built, and there is an upper bass hump that is nonlinear and tough if not impossible to flatten out probably due in large part to the subpar cabinet (see Stereophile measurements).  And when pushed with music that has any deep bass the woofers hit their stops pretty readily, which again shows where SF chose to shave costs.  There’s no doubt in my mind the LSA-10s are a superior speaker for your $.  FWIW, and best of luck. 

twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
Agreed.  The Venere line was built to a price point (let's just say inexpensive) and engineering to impress superficially during a brief in-store demo.  But take them home and listen to them for a while, and you'll discover that they are not keepers.  I hope SF's new entry-level line is better, but I haven't heard them.
tablejockey
3,803 posts
 
All speakers are great at the discontinued, blowout half price sale! A good deal not long ago was the ELAC AF61. They were a flop, and were half off just weeks ago. For a second, they were the talk on Agon.

I thought the Venere sound good, but not at full MSRP. Even if made in a companies home factory can be meaningless today. How many companies get their components shipped from China, only to get assembled at the factory, so they can put "Made in (insert country)"
Seems like only top of the food chain pieces are authentic these days.

I have no concern of MIC. I have a great sound MIC amp. I believe my phono amp as well.
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