BrownieXYZ Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Ok guys so I am going through a clean out and selling off my 2-3 year old gear and replacing it with what I hope is better sounding. Current speaker is Sonus Faber Venere 3.0. Purchased these as much for the wife approval as for the sound. However in my room they sound great. The amp which is on its way, by foot it would seem!! is the new McIntosh Ma7200 ok so the contenders are Sonus Faber Olympica II. - full wife approval on looks however I have concerns about the response range. B&W 804 D3. Better range and I have always owned B&W until the current set. Wife says yuk! Or Focal 1038. Never heard them but great reviews. Wife says .. hmmmmm I know now I need to go listen to them and fortunately the dealer I am now using has all three and my amp on hand so will be great to spend an afternoon there switching. However based on on your experience with any and or all of the above..... where is your cash going? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Ah, pity you are over that side as I think @Darren69 had the Focals you list and upgraded to Lenehan ML-5's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baethos Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 I've only listened to the 804 D3s which I thought were nice. I like the D3 series but in the end went with something else. Yeah I'm not a huge fan of their looks either...they're okay, but not really my taste. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 (edited) Might still be worth looking at the ML-5 thread here. Might even be someone over in Perth that has some, I'm not sure. Edited August 9, 2018 by Muon N' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrology Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 (edited) It is a personal preference @BrownieXYZ and ultimately your ears (and perhaps the wife's cosmetic preferences) will help you choose, but in the interest of answering the question you pose, of the three you mention, I would choose the Sonus faber. A much more balanced performer than the other two, and of course goes hand in hand with the Mac. If the budget for the speaker is under $15K, I would also add to the mix:- Martin Logan ESL 9 PMC Twenty.26 Dynaudio Contour 30 or 60 The guys at Douglas HiFi can accommodate a demo (and possibly in-home demo) of the first two. Dropping this kind of money on a speaker that will ultimately stay with you for some time, I would be reluctant to commit to any without an in-home demo, as the room you can hear the SF/B&W/Focal in will be VERY different to your own environment, and this will have as large a bearing on performance as the change in amplifier will ! Edited August 9, 2018 by Hydrology 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownieXYZ Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 Hi @Hydrology Thanks for the options. You are correct an in home demo would be best. I think my dealer will accomodate this if required. They have been amazing this far. On a side note .....I purchased all my current gear from Frank Prowse... small world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrology Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 2 minutes ago, BrownieXYZ said: small world. It is Perth after all ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownieXYZ Posted August 9, 2018 Author Share Posted August 9, 2018 1 minute ago, Hydrology said: It is Perth after all ! True in so many ways Hydrology...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren69 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 (edited) Awesome that you can test drive all of the speakers you are thinking of and even with the same amp!! Yes, as The Mu states above, I had the 1038's, very nice speakers but blown away by the ML5's in a side by side test at Mikes factory (Lenehan Audio) at the Gold Coast. Nicer sound, twice the soundstage etc. Again, really good you have the chance to have a listen as it can be very easy to take s step sideways or worse. You might prefer your existing speakers! Edited August 9, 2018 by Darren69 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryO Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, Hydrology said: It is a personal preference @BrownieXYZ and ultimately your ears (and perhaps the wife's cosmetic preferences) will help you choose, but in the interest of answering the question you pose, of the three you mention, I would choose the Sonus faber. A much more balanced performer than the other two, and of course goes hand in hand with the Mac. If the budget for the speaker is under $15K, I would also add to the mix:- Martin Logan ESL 9 PMC Twenty.26 Dynaudio Contour 30 or 60 The guys at Douglas HiFi can accommodate a demo (and possibly in-home demo) of the first two. Dropping this kind of money on a speaker that will ultimately stay with you for some time, I would be reluctant to commit to any without an in-home demo, as the room you can hear the SF/B&W/Focal in will be VERY different to your own environment, and this will have as large a bearing on performance as the change in amplifier will ! If you are more into commercially recognisable brands rather than locally custom made high end speakers like the ML5's which from my listening make anything near their price point and often double their price sound a bit ordinary then I give another vote for the Martin Logan ESL9's and if you shop around and haggle you can get the ESL11's for not much more than the 9's rrp. The new PMC''s are very nice as well, but the ESL11's from my listening are in a different league. Edited August 9, 2018 by TerryO 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass13 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Everyone likes their sound one way or another, so.... IMO the one that you thought sounded the best with your amp , and with your wife's approval of course... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THOMO Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 You would want to hear the Magico A3. At least they have proper[sealed] bass.I have heard the Focal 1038Be and they have typical one-note,doof-doof ported bass.Lots of quantity but poor quality.All the bigger B&Ws I have heard have sounded a bit like that too. Or extend your budget to some Yamaha NS5000s which sound superb. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest yamaha_man Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 What’s your price range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownieXYZ Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 2 hours ago, yamaha_man said: What’s your price range? Working around the $10k mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WasM Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Frank Prowse have a set of the new Elac floorstanders. I heard the Elac 'book shelves' which were huge both in size and sound stage, and in general to my listening taste. The floor standers should sound fuller but at that time they still needed to break in time as they just unboxed it. Suggest have a go at those which from memory was around the $10k mark. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wimbo Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 @BrownieXYZ If someone has a pair in Perth, Try to listen to the Lenehan ML5's as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownieXYZ Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 Thanks guys. Yes there are many speakers out there. However I am 99.9999% sure my next set will be one of the three mentioned at the start. With that in mind any further thoughts on the good, bad and the ugly of these three will be much appreciated. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunno77 Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 (edited) Hi @BrownieXYZ I hope that the above advice is making the decision easier. All 3 options really are good speakers as they should be at this price point but these are just my thoughts.... The Sonus Faber's are the first speaker in the same price range as my own Paradigms that I thought might be better sq wise that I heard. Like you mentioned they do have a great wife factor too and I think they're great looking too and not too tall. They are very coherent and I didn't find an issue with bass response when listening. I personally don't like Sonus Faber with McIntosh that much though. I think they become a bit too slow and boring. The pairings you see all the time are due to ownership of the 2 companies. The B&W are pretty good but I think a bit expensive for what they are. The Focals didn't really wow me but then I was listening to Sopras and Utopias the same day though I try to be realistic when listening. Still a good speaker. As said above listening yourself is by far the best test and your lucky the dealer stocks all 3. To throw another option out there in this sort of price range this would be my buy if the Mrs approves Edited August 13, 2018 by Bunno77 Grammar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrology Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 The Marten would eat all three for breakfast! Lovely speakers and going for a great price! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awiseman Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 On 9/8/2018 at 11:23 PM, BrownieXYZ said: Ok guys so I am going through a clean out and selling off my 2-3 year old gear and replacing it with what I hope is better sounding. Current speaker is Sonus Faber Venere 3.0. Purchased these as much for the wife approval as for the sound. However in my room they sound great. The amp which is on its way, by foot it would seem!! is the new McIntosh Ma7200 ok so the contenders are Sonus Faber Olympica II. - full wife approval on looks however I have concerns about the response range. B&W 804 D3. Better range and I have always owned B&W until the current set. Wife says yuk! Or Focal 1038. Never heard them but great reviews. Wife says .. hmmmmm I know now I need to go listen to them and fortunately the dealer I am now using has all three and my amp on hand so will be great to spend an afternoon there switching. However based on on your experience with any and or all of the above..... where is your cash going? Thanks in advance Coincidentally, I just reviewed the Sonus Faber Olympica 1 and Homage Guarneri (standmount), I also am currently a B&W owner. My initial thoughts were that the Homage Guarneri were beautiful sounding, preferred, but at $23k AUD. As for the Olympica I auditioned with Macintosh and I wasn't really excited. They had a bit of boxing of the vocals. I'm not a fan of MacIntosh so it could be the amp as well. I went home and played the same tracks and my old B&W's I felt they delivered better vocals and base even sub priced 705s series (old). I really want to love the Sonus Faber speakers and if I had the spare cash I'd buy the Homage range in an instant. They are the sexiest speakers on the market I think. Contrary to some other comments, I think B&W's deliver the best sound for the price (but you need to match power/source/cable properly). Sonus Faber are extremely pricy and I think we are bedazzled by their looks also. I would have a pair and ideally the Homage range. I can't afford them so I might end up with the Olympica and paired with other amps. Also I will be purchasing the older 803 (or 804) D2's as I think they are nice and warm and will suffice. So I will get best of both worlds. I'd be interested in others opinions on the Sonus Faber's, as I am a potential buyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownieXYZ Posted August 14, 2018 Author Share Posted August 14, 2018 2 hours ago, Awiseman said: Coincidentally, I just reviewed the Sonus Faber Olympica 1 and Homage Guarneri (standmount), I also am currently a B&W owner. My initial ...... @Awiseman very interesting read. Yes I too listened to a high end set of SF. Can remember the line to be honest as it was several years back. The sound to me was superb. A massive leap from the Vanere 3.0 I was considering, then purchased. Prior to this it it was B&W that I owned. I did find the vocals on the Vanere nicer than the B&W I auditioned at the time. Combined with the better styling that sealed the deal. my Amp should be in town in the next day or so. As I still have my Vincent I will have a bit of fun swapping over between the two amps. Hope to goodness the Mc sounds better to me in my room 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddierukiddingvarese Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 B&W 804 D3. and tell the Wife they were on special Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrology Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 On 14/08/2018 at 8:27 PM, BrownieXYZ said: Hope to goodness the Mc sounds better to me in my room You should be ok there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baethos Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 On 14/08/2018 at 9:57 PM, BrownieXYZ said: @Awiseman very interesting read. Yes I too listened to a high end set of SF. Can remember the line to be honest as it was several years back. The sound to me was superb. A massive leap from the Vanere 3.0 I was considering, then purchased. Prior to this it it was B&W that I owned. I did find the vocals on the Vanere nicer than the B&W I auditioned at the time. Combined with the better styling that sealed the deal. my Amp should be in town in the next day or so. As I still have my Vincent I will have a bit of fun swapping over between the two amps. Hope to goodness the Mc sounds better to me in my room Did you end up deciding on a new speaker? How is the MA7200? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownieXYZ Posted August 20, 2018 Author Share Posted August 20, 2018 37 minutes ago, baethos said: Did you end up deciding on a new speaker? How is the MA7200? Not yet on the speaker front. The MA7200 is all set up and sounds great. Definitely a warmer sound than the Vincent. I also like like having the MM and MC inputs so I can flick between the two turntables with ease. So so far so good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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