Opinions on the ; Rosso Fiorentino Sienna or Volterra II Speakers

My road actually started when I thought it had ended.  I was at a local audio show, Lone Star Audio Fest one year when a friend came to the show and set up his own system.  He had just purchased the Usher Mini Dancer 2 speakers, I don't know if it was the alcohol or what but he put on a BB King cd that just brought tears to my eyes and I said somehow I had to have those speakers.  At the time the retail was $5k at the point of being out of my reach but one day the distributor called and offered $3k, he was getting out of the business and needless to say I jumped on his offer for my endgame speakers.

Fast forward a few years, I was looking for a pair of speakers for my secondary system at same Lone Star Audio and had several days to listen to the Fiesole 1.  Guess what went home with me at the end of the show .......... Fiesoles.  When I got them home they were so close to my "endgame" speakers that I called Skip within a day or two and asked how much to move up to the Volterra 1 and traded in my Ushers.
                                       - to be continued -

Whoa boy...a thread I finally feel the need to follow on the 'gon! LUBS me some Rosso Fiorentinos!

Seriously though, I have had 3 purchases in my audio journey that I have regretted selling. They tempered me to adjust my FOMO mentality and ultimately lead to my first purchase that was based on it being my "end game".

Going back, I had a pair of Silverline Audio Sonatina MkI speakers that I thought were my last pair of speakers. I had fully updated/upgraded the crossovers, rewired them, added outriggers...basically everything I could do without replacing drivers. But they were already good drivers so why bother, right?
I based all of my listening at shows on how they compared to my Silverlines. And I hadn't really heard anything that wowed me enough to consider replacing them.

Fast forward to about 4 or 5 years ago and I was down in Texas at Lone Star Audio Fest. I had known Skip, the owner of AudioThesis, through the Polk Audio forum for a few years and was looking forward to a chance to meet him at the show.
One of his rooms had the first generation of the Elbas in it. And it was fronted by some solid gear. But as I listened, I felt that they didn't do enough things better than my Silverlines to make the plunge. But I saw some potential. 
The following couple of years, I heard more Rosso Fiorentinos and was even presented with a STONKING deal to buy the pair of first gen Sienas that Skip was demoing in his home. I ultimately had to pass though as they would in now way fit my listening space unless I sacrificed having a dedicated home theater and my wife wasn't about to allow that.

Prior to COVID, Skip would have an annual get together at his place to hang out, drink some good booze, eat some awesome food and to, of course, listen to some kick-a$$ gear.
In November of 2019, I showed up no expectations outside of just hanging out with some like minded individuals. Plus, the "star" of the show was supposed to be the Polk Audio L800s (Don't go down this road, Ryan...only darkness exists down that one! LOL). So I figured I would just enjoy the company of good friends.

When I showed up, Skip was setting up the various listening rooms so I jumped in to help out. After folks started to arrive, I meandered around from room to room listening to various speakers and gear. But I kept getting pulled back into his front room with the Elba IIs.
I finally got some time to sit in the sweet spot and worked my way through some of my favorite demo materials.
Looking back at that day, it was one of those "Ah HA" moments for me. It was that day when my thinking went from "The Silverlines do this or that better than these" to "These do this or that better than the Silverlines!"
Folks who know me, know what kind of titanic statement that is coming from me. I was an ENORMOUS Silverline fan boy. I would talk those speakers up every chance I got. And I really did love them.

But the Elba IIs just took everything I loved about the Silverlines and knocked it up so many notches. I found myself just getting lost in the music. And that says a lot considering the number of folks that were wandering in and out of the room.

Eventually, after talking back and forth with Skip, I decided to pull the trigger and order a pair of Elba IIs in Walnut.

When they showed up, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I got them unboxed and did a quick and dirty setup before firing up my amps and letting them warm up for the remainder of the day (class A tube amps) so that I could listen that night. Being that my office is also my 2 channel listening room AND I work from home, it was REALLY hard not to try them out before the end of the day.
But I managed to exhibit some self control and that night, I ended up spending about 9 hours total listening through some of my favorite tracks, albums and play lists.
I have a tendency to listen to a couple of minutes of a song and then just skipping to the next track on stuff I have heard many times before. But that night, it really was like I was hearing everything I listened to for the first time all over again.

The Elbas really brought forth everything I love about music. Without getting too gushy with praise, they are light and airy without being harsh. The bass is smooth and controlled without boominess (I listen to a lot of electronica and organ music so I did add some sealed subs but they do NOT need them...I am just a bit of a basshead sometimes lol).
But the midrange...the midrange is the stuff of legends. Male and Female voices both sound very accurate without any kind of over-emphasis that I hear in the other speakers in my house in the vocal ranges. One particular track, Norah Jones, "Come Away With Me", I can close my eyes and imagine Norah is there in the room with me they are so accurate in this regard.

I don't want to sound like some kind of shill but Francesco (founder and lead designer of Rosso Fiorentino) is on to something. And he listens to his customers/dealers. The Elba II is the result of this. He listened to what folks had to say and made improvements based on the feedback. So much so that the first gen Elbas were something I listened to and thought, "Eh, they're nice...but they aren't really all that memorable." to something I consider my end-game in the Elba IIs.

My opinion (and all of this is simply that), you can't go wrong with either the Siena or the Volterra. I have never just stopped and looked at a speaker like I do with my Elbas. And if he can do that with a speaker at that price point, I am willing to bet that the higher end options are even better (but way too big for my listening space LOL).

Ryan

The Volterras, well, they are tonally accurate, well integrated throughout the music spectrum, with a sound that just oozes music.  I listen mostly to jazz, female vocals, classical, blues, and classic rock and I find that the Volterras are oh so musical but still have the obligatory massive sound stage, monster imaging, great detail without being harsh or edgy.  The music is layered in rich harmonic textures as said earlier... organic, bass is tight and goes low enough.  I have them in a 12x15x8 room and they work just fine.
Add a sweet sounding amp/pre or integrated to them and you are set, they also sound great with tubes.

Word of warning, when you think you are set look out for the upgrades.
Skip brought the Volterras 2's which I paid for before I heard them, as they were sitting side by side I begin to wonder why I would pay extra money when they look identical but boy when they started to play my face lit up and this dumb smile came over me and all I could say was take the 1's with.

If you have to start at one of the lower cost Rossos I guarantee you'll start saving from day one to move up the line.
I can now say my endgame speakers as I can not afford the price of a speaker to beat them and I am very satisfied with their performance.

   : from a music lover

Ryan, never say endgame speaker. lol

I'll chime in as a dealer, not new to the industry but new to RF. I have a pair of Elba 2 and they were somewhat of a revelation for me. I've heard so many speakers over so many years, many from very well-known manufacturers. Like many, my interested was piqued by the TAS article and I'd been watching the brand for a bit prior.

Honestly, I could not have expected what I heard when I first plugged the Elbas in. Regardless of price the Elba 2 gets some critical things right that few others have. It's portrays a slightly bottom-up presentation but absolutely not at the cost of detail and certainly not to a fault. In fact, there is a "quiet character" to the overall presentation that I feel lets me hear further in to recordings, revealing more detail than speakers that are more forward-tilted. It seems that the crossover design is executed so well that there is a synergy between the drivers that allows the speakers to cast an incredible, dimensional sound stage with utter smoothness throughout their range. The top end also has the ability to sort of "float" with delicacy, smoothness and palpable sense of ease. The speakers make great bass as well. One of my measures for success isn't just how the speakers produce bass on their own but how seamlessly and easily they integrate with one of our staples, REL subs. And the Elba does so as well as any speaker I can remember trying. The Elba 2 isn't perfect but at it's price, it's a steal. And it absolutely does not do anything that bothers me, which I cannot say about most speakers, regardless of price.

I understand that coming from a dealer this may sound biased. Fine. But in all honesty, I think Elba 2 would sell at several thousand dollars a pair more than they do, at least based on performance. And while looks are subjective, I personally find them attractive. If this was a larger speaker company, I think they'd be wildly disruptive. The last speaker I heard do this many things inherent to my listening enjoyment, this right, was a $36K pair of Sonus Faber Amati Futura. I'm a fan and look forward to sharing just how good RF is with my clients. I also realize that I'm not addressing the speakers that the OP was asking about. I just haven't spent time with the rest of the line yet. But considering what RF was able to do with the Elba 2, I have all the faith that this is a very talented designer and that all of the products will exceed expectation.

BTW, the first demo I had was with a young couple who'd been all over the Bay Area listening to speakers all over the price spectrum. Elba 2 powered by Hegel H590 ended their audition process rather quickly.