Price Paid:  $811.00 from ebay

Summary:
i have been using my electa's with a audiolab 8000s amp and an arcam alpha 6 cd player with very good results. they sound very sweet with excellent bass extension for there size. i must admit i went for them at first because of there looks and bwfh acceptance factor but i will now be buidling a more apt system around them.

Strengths:
sondstage,bass-mid-high's ,beautiful looks and build quality.

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
proac studio 100 proac response 2's

Price Paid:  $1300.00 from private

Summary:
Bought my speakers from a private owner. Almost 15-years old speakers but in very good shape. Excellent woodwork, stiff cabinet. Price included also original walnutmade feets. Sonus faber electa has used in this model Danish dynaudio esotec elements (modified). Freq. rate is promised to be 50hz-20khz +-3db. That is easy to believe. Bass is deep when you think about the size of the speakers. The sound is not "huge" and most metallica enthusiasts will find better speakers in this price class for sure. Electa sounds best with elegant recordings with only few instruments. I´d describe the sound round and smooth. Piano, violin, latin guitar, Eagles, Dire Staits etc most well recorded discs sounded all right. In my listening room i´m sitting near the speakers. When i listened electas at the previous owners residence, there was more space in the room and the amplifiers+ cables+cd-players were at high end level, electas sounded even better. So if you have space and lots of money to spend to other equipment, you get more out of electas. But in the other hand you can find better sound for a tiny room with less of money. But not with the great look of these ;-)

Strengths:
Good all around speaker
Nice woodwork with solid wood cabinet

Weaknesses:
Sound is not big and does not have "air" in the voice as many big speakers
price

Similar Products Used:
Gradient speakers

Scott in DC

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5, 9.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1300.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
I recently acquired the SF Electas from Audiogon. This model of SF speakers haven't been as common as other SF models. These are fine speakers. The mid range and highs are detailed and clear without being harsh such as the ProAc Response 1S speaker I used to have which could be a little harsh. The Electas don't have this problem at all. The bass goes lower than I've been used to and this is welcome. The bass doesn't seem to match the quantity and quality of the mids and highs but it is very good. These speakers demand high caliber audio components upstream to sound their best. I'm not sure why a couple of the other reveiwers had such a hard time with these speakers. It demonstrates how important it is to audition before you buy.

Strengths:
smooth and detailed highs good impact beautiful construction wonderful midrange

Weaknesses:
bass is less well defined, but I'm using low powered amps so it might be due to that

Similar Products Used:
ProAc Response 1S

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Audio Image

Summary:
I've recently looking for a pair of shelf speakers to match my Audiolab 8000M. With a limited budget constraint, I was able to match my entire Audiolabs with the Sonus Faber Electa. I'm only into Contemporary Jazz and Audiophile recordings ie. Sheffield Lab, FIM, Chesky, DMP, etc. With the price tag of RM 3,800 for a brand new pair of speakers, I guess it really sounds good (musically) both on vocals and acoustic guitar. Fyi, my current set-up consists of: Audiolab 8000CDM Audiolab 8000DAC Audiolab 8000Q Audiolab 8000M @ 4 (bi-amping) QED Silver Spiral speaker cables XLO Pro Interconnects Audioqest Power Cord

Strengths:
Superb Walnut Construction.

Similar Products Used:
ProAc Tablette 2000 Signature ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Signature EgglestonWorks Isabel B&W CDM-1NT Sonus Faber Concerto Sonus Faber Electa Amator

Price Paid:  $2200.00 from Sumiko Audio

Summary:
The Electa's are without doubt one of SF's greatest failures in recent years. I had very high hopes of these speakers based on a positive experience with Fabers, and was actually quite pleased with the way they sounded in the showroom. However, it only took me a few days to realize their terrible shortcomings. It starts with a midrange that seems to impress you at first, but becomes extremely irritating after a while. The lows are out of focus, no matter where I placed the speakers, but it becomes worse as they become closer to the walls. The highs are too bright and very unnatural at times. I did like the stage these speakers set in front of you, which seems to be very balanced and accurate. Using these speakers for home theatre actually hides their weaknesses and provides you with an excellent experience. But again, for critical listening of high quality material, it is very evident that these speakers are certainly two or three levels lower than what they promise to be. Don't be fooled like me and trust the name and a few hours of random listening. Listen to them with the music you know best and make sure you are able to withstand that terribly undefined bass and that over-emphasized howling midrange. The design is surely beautiful and at least I am at least happy about their build quality, but as soon as I can afford it I won't hesitate to get rid of them and buy something better (and maybe even cheaper). Just to get an idea, I use a Meridian 502/557 (pre/power combo), which should be more than enough to provide these speakers with anything they're up to.

Strengths:
Classic Faber design, balanced sound stage, enjoyable for HT

Weaknesses:
Undefined bass, very bright, terrible coloring of the midrage, so-so dynamics, unnatural sound, sounds bad with any amp I tried.