Will Sonus Faber Serafino G2 be too much speaker for my space?


Hello Audiogonners.  I am a lover of Sonus Faber speakers and currently have Olympica Nova III.  I have an opportunity to purchase a mint pair of Serafino G2's locally for a good price.  Based on my experience listening, and all the comparisons between the two models, I am convinced the S2's are a better more engaging speaker, with better bass and more resolution up top.  I don't want to afford the next level Amati's.  

 

My only concern is the Serafino might be too much speaker for my space. I don't have the ability to try them in my space before buying.  I've included my system with a photo of my space in my profile.  It is 14'x20' with 9' ceiling. I have no room treatments except the WAF variety (carpets, drapes, upholstery) and it has to stay that way.  The Olympica's sound fine and do not overpower the space.  Do you think the Serafino's will be too much?  Anyone with experience with the Serafino in a space approximately of this size?  I've read all the reviews I can find and cannot find an answer to this question.  Thanks in advance for your help.

ddlux

I have to respectfully disagree with the previous comment. I have owned Olympica Nova IIIs and thought they were quite good when driven properly. I own the Serafinos in one system and they are better than the Olympica’s in every respect. More resolution and detail, smoother, more extended highs and more extended lows. They are an entirely different speakers and voiced and perform very similarly to the Amatis - the latter of which do require a larger room. 

Looking at your room, I think you will be very pleased if you purchase them. In no way a lateral move.

Years ago I was trying to decide between two models from the same company, both transmission line. Concerned that the larger might overwhelm the room, I opted for the smaller (though not small) one.  Guess what?  I was never really satisfied with the bass, and ended up buying a larger and more expensive speaker from a different company.  If I had just bought the larger model originally, I suspect I might have saved myself a bunch of money.  Obviously, neither brands in this story were Sonus Faber, but you get the point.

@twoleftears yup. I bet you lost money selling the smaller one. Then you have to save up again for the one you want. Making the move from 6.5" woofers to 8" and looking back at what I did to get there makes me wiser. Fortunately for me it was a natural progression. But I know my plan B and C would have been a money, time and labor loser. Andrew Robinson just put out a video on his mistake. In any case, whatever he chooses I'm sure he'll be happy with the Serafino. It could have been worse.

Those are awesome. If you can place the speakers optimally in a room then none are too big.  YMMV…comes down to personal preference as is often the case. 

@ddlux,

''I thought, as you go up the model line, the speakers would demand more space to handle the additional output.''

This misunderstanding comes up often. The speakers don't have a mind of their own! You have control of the volume.

''However to properly set and manage your low end sweet spot, speaker size comes into play and there are room/speaker size limitations.''  

You can not manage your bass response by changing the size of the woofers. A change in size will merely alter the magnitude and frequency of the peaks and nulls, something all rooms suffer from. Fact. 

Personally, I would keep the existing speakers and with the money saved buy a pair of sealed subs that have, and this is paramount, variable phase which will allow you to place the subs where they are unobtrusive. This is how you manage the low frequencies. There is nothing else you can do to tame the peaks and fill in the nulls. Nothing. Huge bass traps will help to an extent but as you are not willing to install such, which I do undersatand, subs are needed and they do not neesd to be huge. Cheeck out the size and price of the great value SVS SB1000 PRO.

Small neat and extremely capable. I have a room a little bigger than your's and get tight, clean and informative bass that never draws attention to itself and can really rock out when desired. I have one of the SVS subs I mentioned and a similarly sized REL. The REL is a dated design that only has 0-180 degree phase flip. Avoid this type.

In addition to the link @ditusa provided there is much out there if interested. Something that you may have glossed over in my rant cheeky is where I mentioned the nulls being filled in. It's a null right? It's cancellation, there is important low frequency info missing and no amount of speaker change or component swapping can fill those nulls, sad but true. Peaks cause even bigger problems and lead to complaints of slow bass, boomy bass and one-note bass. No such thing. The improvement extends beyond better bass, with the peaks flattened the detail that was being obscured is now evident. Improvement across the entire spectrum.

This is best dialed in with measurement, . Learn how to do it or hire someone.

Don't shoot the messanger.