Sonus Faber Sonetto V’s Thoughts Requested

@soix – Thanks for your additional posts. My understanding is that the Venere’s were SF’s misstep into manufacturing their entry level speakers in China. I don’t know, but price point and the China issue may have had something to do with your poor experience. I believe they have taken everything back in house in Italy after that manufacturing experiment produced less than desirable results etc.

Thank you for your Usher suggestions. I will look into them later this evening.

I appreciate and understand you contradicting my I’m not an audiophile comment and maybe I am to a small degree, but much of @mijostyn comments to me were a bit over the head for this neophyte. 😊 So much to learn if I want to progress any in this hobby.  

@jbuhl – Thank you for your input. I can’t help but wonder how the V’s might have been a better match to compare, but I believe the Focals mentioned are a bit cheaper, so hmmm.

@kingbr – Well, you must have really liked the III’s to order the V’s. It will be interesting to read about how you might find them better/different than the III’s. It will also be interesting if you feel the Revels still beat the bigger V’s once you get them. I’ve only heard the Salon 2’s, but understand that Revels are hard to beat at each price point. Thanks for your comments on appearance. I agree that I too have to like the sound and the looks to spend what are not insignificant dollars for me.

@mijostyn – Thank you for confirming that my Arcam will be sufficient to drive the Sonetto V’s, should I go that route, and thanks for your other comments as well. I do care about bass but I’m not looking for a floorstander to be all that in the bass department. I do have a Revel B110 sub, so I should be able to make up any potential low-end deficiency that I might perceive.

To answer your question: I used to regularly frequent concerts when I lived in the big city, but now I’m lucky if I get to go every year or two. Just FYI, for those that like Pink Floyd, I highly recommend seeing a Brit Floyd show should they come to your town. I’ve seen them 4 times and would go back again, given the opportunity. Although, lol, there was a touch too much low end the last couple of times. 😊

@12many – Thank you and agree completely, but hard to do when I’m so far from so called civilization and only have 1 true audiophile friend. One thing I’ve learned while lurking these last couple of years is that there are so many factors that affect sound. A set of speakers may sound great at the dealer but less than desirable when set up in one’s room with their amp, which I bet would be quite frustrating, unless one can return them.

@rick_n – All good points, thank you. I will look at what’s out there in the Novas, but I’m already looking to spend more than I’m comfortable with, but than again, I am fairly frugal, so maybe I just need to get over it for this potential purchase. I’ve bought speakers 4 times, a pair of Q750’s new on sale, a used KEF R2C, and a used Revel B110. Of the 4 originally received packages, 2 were damaged. The new Q that came in damaged (hole in one of the drivers) was replaced by Crutchfield, but buying pricey used speakers... I’m not sure I would do so, unless I could pick them up personally.

@grislybutter – What was your bad experience with the 1 step down Lumina’s? I did like your speaker list. Looks like a large labor of love.

@carmed63 – Thank you for giving me your personal experience with them.

@gg107 – Thank you for your info on the Olympica III’s. I will take a look a bit later this evening.

Thanks to all of you for replying to this newbie. It is much appreciated. 

Doug

OP, yes, I understood that you now have KEF Q750s and are considering Sonus Faber Sonnetto… and I was recommending them to be a good choice.

@dbeckwith,

Thanks for the Brit Floyd tip.  I have seen Australian Floyd and The Machine.  I wasn’t that impressed with either.  David Gilmour said that Brit Floyd were the best of the bunch and you confirmed it.  I will definitely check it out next time they come my way. 

that's so cool of you to answer everyone.

My experience with the Lumina was: they were lifeless to my ears. Maybe lack of synergy with my then Marantz amp.

@dbeckwith 

Great. I was also at one concert that had more bass and volume than was necessary. 1983 or 4, Peter Gabriel at the Richmond Coliseum, a large outdoor amphitheater, the Summer home of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. Gabriel crammed a stadium sound system into one of the most efficient outdoor venues in existence. The bass drum kicked you in the stomach so that I could feel the abdominal wall shake. I had to stuff rolled up napkin in my ears. I did not get that abused at a Nine Inch Nails concert. 

There is a visceral component to live music. You do not just hear it, you feel it. This is one aspect that makes live music exceptional and it does not take as much volume as you would think to create that effect in a home system. It takes accurate bass flat down to 18 Hz at the listening position not one meter in front of the speaker, the rating the manufacturers give you. Big venues breath. You can tell you are in a big place with your eyes closed. This happens at very low frequencies. 

Most people expect a home HiFi system to sound like a home HiFi system and as long as they can listen to music played back cleanly they are happy. I expect my system to sound like the venue the music was recorded in, (With live recordings which I prefer) with all the visceral content intact. This means that I have been unhappy for decades and are always expecting the next improvement to get me closer to that goal. You are not a true audiophile unless you are unhappy with your system or lets say, not entirely happy. It is that visceral component that is hardest to get right. Maybe imaging is harder. I guess it depends on what day you talk to me.

You have one subwoofer. When you get a chance buy another of the exact same model and put both between your speakers. You can get a two way crossover from MiniDSP or dBx for not much money. IMHO the low pass filter found in most subwoofers is a half baked way of adding a subwoofer. Cutting the bass out of your main speaker is so beneficial it is hard to over state it. You will notice right away that your woofers seem to remain stationary and the sound is less .....stressed. You will also notice some of that visceral sensation even at modest volumes.