Help me find WARM speakers a la Sonus Faber

Surely Sonus Faber has less expensive speakers, no?
Vienna Acoustics are good, as are Dynaudio, ProAc, Vandersteen, Verity Audio and a few others. What CAN you audition? Anything?

While I have not heard the new Olympicas, I have auditioned many Sonus Fabers and Vienna Acoustics models. I have found both brands to be more similar than different - warm, lush, very musical. Exactly the kind of speakers I personally like which is why I am a VA owner. If your dealer recommended the Beethovens, I assume that means he can get them and maybe allow a in-home trial.

If he cannot and is truly being a good guy by recommending a speaker that you would have to buy from a competitor dealer, then I applaud him and would take his advice. He has given you a good suggestion.

Now if your dream speaker were B&W 802D's, you couldn't afford them and someone said try VA, I would say don't do it. These two brands sound nothing alike. But as an alternative to Sonus Faber, I say your OK considering the VA'S. Even if you have to go in blind.

Did you audition the floor standing SF Venere? They also sound quite nice. IMO. There are some nice used SF Elipsa's out there too, which I prefer over the Olympica's as I have auditioned both. Again, just my opinion. Good luck in your quest. Hunting for new loudspeakers can be a lot of fun!