Sonus Faber Grand Pianos vs. Thiel 1.6's

I have lived with the Grand Piano for several years now and all I can say is that I loved them as much as ever! I'm still amazed some times of the sound they produce.

Good luck with your tough decision!

I've sold both the Theil and Sonus faber lines. I find I do like both those speakers. I do like the 1.6's overall, and think they are a tremendous speaker at the price range, or any! I'd chose those first. Both however have their strenght of clarity, detail, and balance. Yes, I think the Piano's are a bit warmer in body, while the Thiels are razor clear. They both need differnt gear ultimately...season to taste. I think you could however get superb sound from either with the right mix.
I would still however lean towards the 1.6's at the very least because they are a more sensitive speaker, thus easier to drive, with a bit more nimble dynamic to the sound. You have more options.
Still, it gets down to tastes. Me, I like both, but lean towards the 1.6's for movie/music if need be. I think it's a special little speaker actually. But, I'm sure some would differ, depending on experience and associated gear/setup, etc.
When Stereophile reviewed em, they hinted that they thought this should be one of the "speaker of the year" choices..I agree.

Razor clear versus warm. Real music, at least to me, is neither. Any speaker which, of its own performance "speaks" with too obvious of a voice, is noticably flawed.
I find the THIEL 1.6's too forward.
Oddly these speakers are so diametrically opposed to one another it seems strange you would narrow your choices to them. Perhaps in your lexicon of accuracy you have decided to pick something with the 'strongest' voice.
The Fabers will give you less 'apparent' detail, but more 'musical' enjoyment.
I hate to say that, after having worked for THIEL, but it is an honest answer.
As always, opinions are for those giving them. Extended, hands on will tell you more than anything else.
Best,

Hi,

Recently I heard Thiels and sonus faber GP's as well as few other speakers, I am looking to replace paradigm ref 100 v2's. I preferred these in following order.

1. Odyssey lorelei - Really nice speakers, great soundstage great imaging.
2. JM lab Micro utopia (old version) - Overall good, best imaging and soundstaging (may be because of being a bookshelf)
3. Monitor Audio Gold ref 60 - Good soundatging, good imaging , may sound bright to some, but eill revel everything.
4. Magnepan 1.6 QR - Great speakers, lacks bass and narrow sweet spot.
5. Sonus Faber GP - Treble is one of the sweetest but lacks the the detail especially in the bass and lower midrange region.
6. Gallo ref III - Too short for floorstander, images are shorter than other speakers.
7. Theil 2.6 (?) - somewhere in between SF GP .. and BW 804
8. B&W 804 - lots of detail no bass, no deep soundstage.
9. Joseph audio 25i - same as above (B & W)

Now all these speakers except lorelei I heard at different dealers with different components (but those were really good), and there is chance that some of them were not set up correctly but still those were HI FI Shops.

Given the choice between Sonus faber and Theil I will prefer Sonus Faber all the time.

Hope this helps, Good Luck !

Thanks,

Milind

If I had to choose between the two it would be the Sonus Fabers all day long! Another speaker that sounds similar to the Grand Pianos are the Soliloquy 6.3s. The Sols are a tad more detailed and have much deeper bass but cost less.
Another sleeper that spanks both of these speakers IMHO is the Eminent LFT VIII. With tight bass,super transparency..it has the dynamics of a box speaker with the speed of an electrostatic. For the asking price I haven't heard a dynamic speaker several times it's price that could do what this speaker is capable of. I have a good friend who dumped a $6500.00 pair of box speakers for these. After hearing the comparison I could only agree.

Good Luck!