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

@gournard most subs cannot complete with an Amati above 100Hz. You would also need a pair for the left/right channels, which puts you in the price of an Amati.

@bartsw, first off, I don't recall the OP mentioning 'Amati' and secondly, if you read my post you will see my recommendation to 'buy a pair of sealed subs'

 I'm not sure whether you fully grasp the situation or not. Subs are not designed to compete above 100Hz. They're subs! Good subs will however extend cleanly an octave or two higher to provide better phase tracking at the crossover frequency.

Please answer this question: Regardless of size of speakers, number of and size of woofers and the positioning of them, how do you deal with the inevitable room modes?

Room modes are an unfortunate phenomenon caused by constructive and destructive combining of low frequencies that all rooms suffer from. This is an undisputed and well documented fact and verifiable by measurement. 

I say again, all rooms will have problematic modes. When there is a bass source present in a room, peaks and nulls will be in evidence. With more than one bass source, the peaks and nulls will be all over the place.

So the takeaway is everybody needs at least 2 subs or be prepared for suboptimal sound. devil

 

@gournard the Nova, Serafino and Amati was the debate. I own speakers larger than the Amati and I own subs. You need both. Here's an analogy; a pair of 1" bluetooth speaker and 24" subs does not work. Speakers with a larger cabinet and cone gives you a more full and involving sound above the range of subwoofers. A grand piano coming from a large cabinet speaker will feel more real and involving than a 1" speaker or even a Nova and Serafino. Given the setup with the integrated amp and room design requirements, that's the argument for the Amati.

 

Theater bassheads, like me, get room modes because they think the solution to a problem is to throw bigger subs (too big for the room) at it when you can do better with more smaller subs. An over-concentration of bass from a big sub, like a hot spot on a pan, can be resolved more wisely with more smaller subs.

gournard, bartsw

I found this discussion of subs vs. larger stand mount to be interesting.  Thanks for the input and sub suggestion.

I am surprised that a pair of $600 sub (SVS SB1000 pro) would measure up to the system quality that I have.  However a quick scan of a few reviews indicates that it does "punch above it's weight" and provide a decent level of low freq performance and great control-ability. Interestingly, the SVS website sub selector tool recommends subs that cost 4-6 times that of the SB1000 pro, and are in 15"-17" dia sub range.  They are much larger, heavier and obtrusive.  If I can convince myself that the SB1000 pro's can provide a noticeable level of performance improvement, I would be inclined to try them.  It's 1050 per pair with a 45 day money back guarantee.  Not much to lose.  Thanks again for the suggestions.

@bartsw, I made a mistake when I said:  I don't recall the OP mentioning 'Amati', when I should have said:  I recall the OP stating he does not want to afford the next level Amati's.  Let's not argue semantics.

I am not sure of your intent here or how you feel you are contributing positively to the initial post with mention of 1" speakers and hot spots on a pan.

I notice you chose not to answer the question I asked, which I underlined.  I'm afraid your post does not make sense and as the OP has not replied I do not wish to engage with you further.