Summary: If you're reading thins review, written in 2009, you're probably considering buying these SF's second hand, in which case you might not be able to listen to them first.....
you MUST listen to them with your setup before buying - if not you might be in for dissapointment...
Let me explain.... as per other reviews, these speakers need decent amplification....
I bought these second hand (I'd heard tghem years before and was impressed), and when they arrived, my big amp - (Unison Research Unico) was in the shop getting a humm fixed....
So I hooked them up to my 50W Arcam Alpa 8R. Aaaaargh they sounded horrible - harsh, fatiging.... Had I bought the wrong speakers?.... Tried biamping them with the Alpa 8, same thing!!!
Till the Unico (rated at 80W, but over 100 in practice) arrived home - a different pair of speakers... Harshness gone.
Looks like other folks on this website have had similar experiences, believe them and save yourself some misery....
Hope this helps!
Jazzpioneer, London
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Summary: Especially to those Grand Piano owners who find this speaker glaring and harsh, I would like to share with you my experience. I bought Grand Piano for both stereo playback and hometheatre use after reading Stereophile's review. Even after months of burned in, the speaker still sounded harsh and unpleasant. It wasn't the sound that I imagined from the reviewer. The tone of the human voice sounded thin and strained. I notice from the measurement(published in Stereophile), the SPL reading was quite stable until above 4KHz where the loudness will rise gradually to about 5dB@10kHz. When I measure it at home. I realized that the difference from 1KHz was like 10dB+/-2@10kHz. No wonder the GP sounded harsh and glaring in my living room. I must say that my listening room is not very well damped. My kid's nose is very sensitive to dust. Since the crossover is at 2.3kHz, the harshness seem to come mainly from the tweeter itself. I inserted facial tissue behind the grill only covering the tweeter to tame the harshness from the tweeter. After many attempts I find 3 - 4 layers will be good enough to reduce the glare. The SPL meter now read almost the same as the measurement published by Stereophile magazine (in anechoic chamber). The sound totally change. It took some time to get use to the new tone after so long being tortured by the harshness. After a week or so, I cannot stand without the tweek. The sound became balanced and laid back with sweet details. Violin, guitar and sax sounded very real. I now enjoyed it very much. No more forwardness and harsh sound. I was also able to play louder presumably because the glare is gone. By the way, I am using Audible Illusions L1 with CD input. I find the Aux and Tape inputs very unforgiving.
My conclusion is that the SPL measurement you see from anechoic chamber for you loudspeaker can be very different in your living room which is lively. Grand Piano need to well damped listening room. Try it out.
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Summary: This is an update of the earlier review that I"ve posted below. As I've pointed out earlier, the GP's do require quality amplification to shine, and this belief has been further reinforced after I've got the Plinius SA-100MkIII. Holy Moley this is the best sound that I"ve experienced in my entire life!!(at least in my home)!! I believe that the PLinius has brought out the best in the GP's no doubt about it. The Plinius-Sonus Faber combination is a match made in heaven if you are looking for a smooth and refined sound particularly ideal for jazz material and even for some slower pop music.
Breathtaking transparency and musicality for a pair of speakers that just oozes quality, only with the right amplification. I"m grounded.
Strengths: Silky smooth presentation and having a refined sound ; Plays music with emotion as with Sonus Faber's trademark speakers, making you wanna just sit down and listen to your music all night long. Wonderful speakers if you get the right amp. I thoroughly endorse the Plinius amplification with Sonus Faber line of speakers starting from the SA-102. Extremely satisfied owner.
Weaknesses: None I can think of except that I've been enjoying my music so much with these babies.
Similar Products Used: B&W CDM 1SE, N804
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Summary: Frankly speaking, I've chosen these speakers mainly for its sexy finish and curvaceous looks. Well anyway both sound and aesthetics are equally as important to me when it comes to buying speakers.
Prior to purchasing the GP's I was using B&W CDM1SE which although a small bookshelf speakers were quite respectable on its own account. However, after swapping with the GP's the difference was huge. I was using Classe CAP-100 to drive these babies. I don't want to get into the details on how it sounds like and all those improvements such as detail, soundstaging, bass.....etc. Guess you all must have been bored after reading countless of reviews here.
All that I wanted to add here is that the GP's require good amplification to shine. I've just borrowed the Audio Research D-130 power amp from one of my mate and was now using it to drive the GP's and the sound quality improved a little. I am now looking at the direction of Bryston BP-25/4B-ST amplification to drive the Grand Pianos. I strongly believe this setup will bring me to heaven.
Strengths: Realistically reproduced sound, clear as crystal; Classy finish
Weaknesses: Highs little rolled-off which is inherent in most Sonus Fabers speakers line; Not suitable to play hard rock but that's a minor caveat
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Rating Reviewed by: Dean (Unregistered User)
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date September 6, 2003
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Value Rating 5 of 5
Used product for More than 1 year
Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5,
4.00 votes
Review 5 of 61
, from Manila, Philippines
Price Paid:
$0.00
Summary: After using the SF Grand Pianos with Audio Research SP 9 MkII preamp/Quicksilver 8417 mono amps for more than a year with utmost satisfaction, I have acquired a custombuilt single-ended triode amp fitted with a pr of 845 output tubes with 6AS7 driver tubes. With this SET amp in combo with Audio Research preamp, the Grandpianos sounded extraordinarily with low level resolution. The resulting sound is palpable, luscious and enticing. While the GP's may sound well using pushpull tubed amps with minimum 50 wpc power, they can be driven with success using single-ended triode amps configured with 845 or 211 tubes such as those offered by Cary Audio, Audionote, etc. On account of flexibility in addition to its musicality, aesthetics and build quality, this speaker model will remain a standout in its price level.
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4 of 5
5 of 5
