pangl

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
1.50 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1700.00 from Audiogon.com

Summary:
What other people raved about the Sonata (Mk I) is correct ----- if you have the right room for it. If you cannot have about 4ft from the backwall and the side wall, don't waste money on this - you aren't going to get 1/2 good sound. Also, I found it very surprising that even it's technically an Avalon rip-off in cabintry - which may mean high WAF - many female spouses *hate* them. I simply cannot explain why. They all said it's short and fat. (?????) Sonic wise this is an marvel at this price. Although the high is a bit colored, and bass is lacking substantially (an quality sub is an must), the mid range sound is simply magical. Don't try to feed this with any Chinese made crap, however. My buddy was so elated to play with my Sonata that he drove his Ming Da SET all the way - and had an disasterous listening session. Good speakers like this will make cheap components sound extra bad, period. I had been waiting for an deal on this for almost 2 years, but shortly after I got them, I am forced to sell because of my wife's complains, and I just don't have room for them to sparkle.

Strengths:
Coherent. Magical mids when paired with quality SET amp. An Avalon wannabe's dream speakers. The cabinet quality is the standard that many are measured against at this price class.

Weaknesses:
Not placement friendly as some people may want. The high doesn't sound right. Hostile to solid state equipments in my test (bright). Low wife acceptance factor (WAF).

Similar Products Used:
Paragon REGENT; B&W; Magneplanar; Alon; .... too many to mention!

poppoman

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
My quest is finally over! I've been searching, and after 2 years in search of the perfect speaker found out that there is no such thing. However, I was fortunate to audition the Sonata IIIs. I was amazed by the detail and micro dynamics these speakers reproduced. I heard things happening on stage that other speakers cannot reproduce, for instance, a wooden chair creaking as a guitarist shifts his weight while he plays, as well as instruments being played in the back ground. I feel that what these speakers do best is reproduce stringed instruments. Guitars sound so natural. On the other hand the bass is very full and not overly tight. There is no need for subwoofers for these truly full-range speakers. Great speakers for JAZZ and NEW AGE music But not to good for heavy rock and ROLL, Light ROCK sounds very good These speakers do not like corners and they need a lot of air around them to give them their tonal balance. I always felt Dynaudio made very good tweeters and these Esotec tweeters are no exception. They are very detailed and clean. I auditioned many speakers in the same price range as the Sonata IIIs ($7,200) but the Sonata IIIs just blew the competition away. To get the same quality of the Sonata IIIs you would have to be looking at speakers in the $20,000 range and the higher in price the bigger the speaker and, again, these speakers with their 12 by 12 footprint is quite small for the large sound quality it reproduces.My listening area is 12 by 25 and they fill the room with no problem on the other hand a bigger speaker would of caused to much sound pressure to work in my room.I am very happy with them and they are not fully broken in yet so it must get even better! Give them a listen you won't be disappointed.

Strengths:
detail, micro dynamics,tonal balance

Weaknesses:
very sharp spikes that screw in on the bottom of the speakers.

Similar Products Used:
Mcintosh Ls-360,B&w 801, 802,

Price Paid:  $3000.00 from Used

Summary:
Now that a newer generation of Silverline speakers has come out, the Sonata II is an outstanding value on the used market. I considered several floorstanders in the $4k - $7k range, including Soliloquy, JM Labs, Meadowlark, Legacy, and Aerial. The Sonata II at its list price of $6500 was my clear favorite. If you are predominantly a music listener with a preference toward jazz or acoustic instruments, such as piano, guitar, or strings, you will have to look hard for a speaker with a clearer, more lifelike presentation. If you are into action movies or need to fill an enormous room with gut-wrenching bass, you may not be the right owner for the Sonata IIs. Don't get me wrong - they can rock very hard when you need a jolt, but there are other speakers in this range that will disturb your neighbors in ways that the Sonata IIs won't.

Strengths:
Transparency; imaging; balanced, lifelike presentation; tight, precise bass; simple, dignified appearance; high efficiency (93db)

Weaknesses:
Oversized binding posts require banana plugs; bass sacrifices some depth for precision

Similar Products Used:
Soliloquy 6.5; JM Labs Electra 926 & 936; Meadowlark Heron i & Osprey; Legacy Focus 20/20 & Classic; Aerial 8B & 7B

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I purchased a pair of Sonata 3's for use in may main 2 channel system after being blown away by a pair of Sonatina 2's I purchased for front speaker duty in my home theater. The Sonatinas won me over with their gorgeous midrange, and the Sonata 3's provide that and much more. Aside from the superb workmanship evident in both speakers, the only driver in common between the Sonatina 2 and the Sonata 3 is the 2" LPG dome midrange. That is a good thing, because it produces a "luminosity" and sense of visceral presence that is spellbinding. As an amateur cellist and life-long opera fan I am usually very disappointed by how "reproduced" sounding vocals and strings are with most speakers. Not the case here. The Dynaudio Esotec tweeter provides incredible detail and airiness without being edgy or sharp. It blends in beautifully with the other drivers and does not specifically call attention to itself to distract from a harmonious unity. The Dynaudio midwoofer and woofer fill in the lower frequencies with incredible authority, yet provide excellent tonal authenticity. Listening to such legends of the jazz bass like Ray Brown and Chalie Haden is a revelation on the Sonatas. Colorations I have only heard in live performances are right there in my living room. Vocals are breathtaking. Covering the spectrum from Renee Fleming to Bryn Terfel the Sonatas provide vivid, life-like music. With a good recording, I simply have to stop what I am doing, sit down and listen. The Sonatas provide an over-all sense of balance that is right on target, and they pull me into the performance. The soundstage is excellent. I have the speakers placed about 12 feet apart and a foot away from the back wall in a large rectangular room with a very tall cathedral ceiling, and they provide terrific imaging. Whether it is a string quartet, jazz combo or the Berlin Philharmonic, the soundstage is wide and deep with excellent spatial localization. The bass is robust, and I have never felt like the Dynaudio woofer needed any help. In fact, I originally had a sub-woofer in the room, and it has now been relegated to another of my systems to provide low end extension for a pair of Tyler Acoustic Linbrook monitors. The physical aesthetics of the speaker are first rate. They are very solidly built, and the burlwood veneer is simply beautiful. The workmanship is excellent. The seams in the veneer are pretty much invisible. The binding posts are sturdy, and the floor spikes are sharp enough to penetrate metal, literally. I put pennies underneath the spikes so as not to damage my oak floor, and the spikes went right through a couple of the pennies when I applied some pressure. Needless to say, position the speakers before adding the spikes. The bottom line: Alan Yun at Silverline Audio has created a wonderful pair of speakers that are not only a work of art in themselves, but produce music that makes you forget you are listening to a recording. I have worked my way through a lot of audio gear in my day, and rarely has the price/pleasure ratio been so clearly tilted toward pleasure. Not that the Sonatas are inexpensive, but given their performance, I think that you would be crazy not to give them a listen if your price range is anywhere from half to triple their price. They are so good they might make you spend more than you bargained for, and if you had been planning on spending more, the Sonatas will give you reason to pause.

Strengths:
Consumate musicality, detail and balance. Outstanding tonal accuracy - full and lush mid-range that simply grips your attention. Gorgeous design and finish. For my listening range: classical, jazz, acoustic pop -these speakers are about perfect. And on the occasions when I feed them some hard rock, boy do they deliver some gut pounding sound.

Weaknesses:
None for me. I own speakers with bigger woofers and more detailed tweeters (see below) but none that make music as well as the Sonatas.

Similar Products Used:
I currently own Silverline Sonatina 2's, Dunlavy Alethas, Tyler Acoustics Linbrook monitors, and Tag McLaren Calliopes - and the Sonata 3's simply make music better than any of them. I listened to a host of other speakers in audio stores when I decided to replace the Dunlavy's in my main system, and nothing that cost less than a mid-size sedan sounded significantly better than the Sonatas.

Price Paid:  $5000.00 from Dealer

Summary:
The speaker is very easy to accept. It will not impress you with the overly enthusiastic highs (colorations, whatever one may call it); it's simply a good all-round performer.

Strengths:
Smoothness throughout the audible range, which has been cited millions of times, so I will not want to add more adjectives to it.

Weaknesses:
Seems weak in low level resolution. I listend to a CD at a friend's with a JBL horn speaker comparing to the same CD I brought. His bass was so impressive. The same CD, same track, played on the Sonata II doesn't even present the timber anywhere close to the JBL. The Sonata II comes out with only a very slight hint of the rich timber of the track as played on the JBL. My prior speaker was a Joseph RM22Si. Enya's Watermark track has a certain low passage came out very strong even on the Joseph RM22Si; the Sonata II just doesn't have it. My higher hi-fi buff told me it has to do with the design of the speaker also. Within my system, given only the speaker as the variable, everything else the same (equipment-wise), even the Joseph reaches lower than the Sonata II, which is more massive in terms of size. Sizes sometimes doesn't matter? Also, should you need support, you may be surprised. Silverline is pretty much a 1-person operation, owner-designer-techncian-admin.-etc. is on one shoulder, perhaps not so desirable. One wonder how the co. can manage so much. But then speakers don't need too much support, right?