Sonus Faber Electa Amator III vs. the Bowers and Wilkins 805 D4?

@ghdprentice

I’ve found references to the Electa Amator II being more traditionally voiced than the III.  And what I've read is consistent with what you say about the Guarneri Homage. 

I’m curious -- did you become a S. Faber aficionado before or after the shift to greater neutrality?

@oddiofyl

"Beautiful sounding" is subjective. It would be helpful to know which sonic attributes constitute beautiful to you and in tandem with which components.

They are clear and sound big.  Excellent bass for a small enclose.  They are paired with a McIntosh MA 8950    You should try to listen to a pair , it’s an expensive proposition to buy either so if you can demo it’s worth the effort. 

B&Ws are difficult to drive, and they will eat up that Luxman. I am speaking from experience. If you go that route, you will be ok with the mids/highs, however you will not have any bass at all. 

@stuartk

I first heard Sonus Faber speakers several years before the SF made the change in their sound. They really turned my head. I couldn’t quite get my head around what made them sound so unique, I wasn’t positive it was good… it was not bad. But the memory stuck. A couple years later I had theorized Sonus Faber had sounded exceptionally natural and real. I read all about the change in sound that SF had made, it had just happened. So as a test, I bought a used pair of Cremona M speaker that I knew were made before the sound change. Within a day, I knew this was the right sound and ordered the just released Olympica 3 thinking with the greater detail, they would be perfect… they were.

@ghdprentice 

Were you already using tube amplification at that point?