B&W vs. Sonus Faber

Emerging Soul

I have run McIntosh C2600/MC302 through Sonus Fabers.

I personally auditioned the Sonus Fabers against B&W. It’s personal choice. And there’s a lot of good choices for speakers.

I am now biased towards Sonus Fabers...I have friends who prefer Maggies and appreciate personal preference.

Therefore, my recommendation would by the Olympica Nova V. And I’d listen to Davor Fidelity...I was impressed when I heard the gibbon Super Nine and perhaps ProAc

Enjoy the process, good luck and share your ultimate selection.

I own B&W D3 speakers, but I really like the sound of Sonus Faber when I have heard them.  McIntosh room at RMAF 2018 had some Sonus Faber bookshelves that sounded really special.  However, Sonus Faber with their soft dome tweeters is just a little laid back in the high frequencies.  Pairing with a laid-back McIntosh amp didn't give me a fast enough sound, but it still sounded very good.

In my opinion the B&W is likely going to be a better pairing with the McIntosh amp if you want a faster and more exciting type of sound, due to the diamond tweeters.  It depends on what kind of sound you're after.

Even though I can really appreciate the Sonus Faber, it's still just a little bit too laid back in the highs for my tastes, even with a high resolution amp.

I demoed SF top of range floor stander (£22k) and stand mounted top of the range. I own B&W 804d. SF floor stander was demoed with McKintosh amps. SF sounded absolutely fantastic with classical music, completely mesmerising, with great depth of sound and a real orchestral live feeling. But on pop/rock/electronic or most things amplified it sounded a bit dull, soft and uninteresting. .

B&W 8 series generally sound good with every amp I’ve heard them with.

So if you listen to just classical I would go SF. Otherwise B&W.

Or maybe used in the 16K range? You can a LOT of great stuff.
I'm a happy SF camper but for 16K maybe some Tanny's or Revels?

https://www.audiogon.com/listings?q=Sonus+Faber+

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisa42fd-tannoy-kensington-gr-prestige-full-range


Revel Reference Salon2

Have you figured out the preamp thing yet?  Obviously these speakers are quite different from one another, so it’s a little surprising you didn’t have a more definite preference for one over the other. An outstanding speaker in that price range that to my ears falls between the two are the Joseph Audio Perspective 2 if you can find a dealer.  Vandersteen, ProAc, and Usher are a few others well worth hearing.  It sounds like you’d benefit from listening to more speakers to better nail down what really appeals to you — even traveling a bit would be well worth the investment if necessary.  FWIW...