Sonus Faber Maxima Amator without the fancy

My 2 cents: if at all possible, spend some time thinking hard about your speaker placement options, e.g., how far from the rear wall can you get them if switched them to the short wall ? How far from the long wall? Distance apart, distance to listening position, etc., and then take that info with you as you go to dealers to listen.  Share those measurements with the dealers. Good ones will steer you away from speakers that will not perform their best in your space.  As was alluded to above, for example, speakers with rear bass ports generally don't sound great if there are close to the rear wall. But even those with down facing ports, like my Revel F226Bes in my 2d system, needed more space than i was originally giving them.

With the help of brother @soix , i recently discovered how much improvement in sound experience even 9” to a foot can make. 

This thread might also be of interest to you : https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/speaker-placement-frequent-placement-changes  

Plus one for Vandersteen and Revel.

I also like the ProAc suggestion, or some of the bigger models from other English brands like Spender and Harbeth (rear ported for short wall, front ported for long wall placement) as a substitute for Sonus Faber bling boxes.

ATC is another British speaker that has a sealed cabinet and can do well close to the wall, but it has a more pro type sound and just the facts mam presentation.  That said, the excellent motor structure of their bass and midrange drivers would deliver Phil Lesh’s bass and the two Dead drummers in a whole different light.

I heard a pair of ProAc Response D48 recently paired with some Moon separates and a Rega Naia turntable and Rega phono pre with top line Shunyata cables and that experience was quite memorable.

Good luck,

kn

I purchased a pair of SF Olympica Nova 5 speakers this year. Nice wood (and very little leather) aside, these don't sound like other speakers I've heard. IMHO, most of the speakers being rated highly are very analytical. Sonus Faber tunes their speakers by ear, toward the warm side. I can't remember the name, but they just came out with what sounds like a kick-ass pair of speakers for about $10K. They have more bass punch than mine, but cannot produce the detail of the Olympica Novas. I haven't heard them, but for rock, they sound like they'd be damn good.  

If you want the essence of Sonus Faber in a less glamorous (but still beautiful) package, I HIGHLY recommend you look at Rosso Fiorentino speakers.....also Italian made. They are well built, well thought of, well reviewed, and in my opinion a deal compared to Sonus Faber or Franco Serblin.

I've spent a good amount of time with the Elba 2 $7,000, and Certaldo 2 $10,000 as a friend in my club owns a pair of each. I've heard the Arno 40 $14,000, but only for about 30 minutes in a slightly noisy environment....but they could be very impressive.

@vthokie83 I am looking my eyes out but the Rosso Fiorentino models are not in any way cheaper than comparable Sonus Fabers