Price Paid:  $2800.00 from Audio Video

Summary:
Equipment:
Amp: Adcom 545
Preamp: Meridian 541
CD player: Primare
Interconnects: double shielded cables from Blue Jeans Cable for about $20/each
Speaker cables: 10 gauge copper zip cord from AVCable.

----------------

These speakers are absolutely amazing and a pure joy to listen. The high end frequencies are clear, conscise, smooth and not harsh on the ear.

Midrange is superb and these speakers excel in replicating voice. Sound is smooth and clear. Not clinical or cold. Just a natural sounding voice like you hear in everyday conversations.

Bass: Really good considering that these speakers are 2.5 way. I play lots of electronica/techno with heavy bass and these speakers go way down. If you want the walls or the glass to shake or feeling of deep bass penetrating your body, then get a subwoofer to complement.

If you use these speakers for home theatre, then these speakers will do very well. Just get a subwoofer with it.

For music: jazz, classical, techno/electronica (which I listens mostly) rock.. It does it well for all music type. For some reason, my U2 CDs don't come out well. But for bands like Flamming Lips or Pink Floyd, they sound awesome from the sonus faber.

If you can find yourself a pair, get them. You won't be dissapointed.

Also.. no need to spend stupid money on speaker cables and interconnects. Spending hundreds of dollars on cables is for gullible people who don't know any better.

Strengths:
Great sounds.. clear, concise, warm and very very very smooth.

With proper set up, these speakers image like crazy.

To get good sound quality, you need to treat your listening room..

Weaknesses:
The price.

Similar Products Used:
Auditioned
B&W.. sounded bland
Triangle... good
Audio Physic... good but too expensive.. also require a powerful amp to drive it.
B&O.... hurts my ears... harsh and sounded shrilly.
Martin Logan -- ok.. too hard on the ears
Bose... unimpressive.
Revel Studio and Ultima -- Great but again too expensive. Also very heavy speakers and stick out like a sore thumb.

A bunch of other speakers from Best Buy & Frys and Circuit City.. they all sounded unimpressive.

Price Paid:  $2700.00 from USED

Summary:
I picked up these SF GrandPiano Home used and found them incredible sounding. They are extremely musical with airyness in the highs and never harsh sounding. Its vocal quality is superb and i must say that these are the best value for money speakers you can find at this price range.

Strengths:
Airy, clear, detailed, extended and sweet vocals....

Surprising bass for such a speaker ...


very very balanced sounding speakers and not demanding to equipment

Weaknesses:
Yet to discover

Similar Products Used:
Many many branded high end stuff which I will not list , just too many

Price Paid:  $3200.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
Simply amazing!!!!! I looked at Martin Logans as well, but the quality of these speakers stood out. They sound rich, clear, and really natural. I recommend them to anyone as they are unbeatable for their price.

Strengths:
very clear, solid construction, very high quality!

Weaknesses:
none

Doron Or

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 3 years

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 14.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I was dreaming about these babies since my parents got the older Grand Piano some more than 10 years ago.
I loved their mids, their clarity and especially their vocals reproduction.
When I finally had the money to buy these, the first GP model was unavailable and I went for the GP Home edition and a good thing too.
I know a lot of folks will swear by the older GP version but when I had the chance to compare between the GP and GP Home, hooked to Audio Research CD2 Player and ARC tube amp, the GP Home sounded better to me, especially in the bass department but not just. It was a beefier sound with more air around the instruments and a sense of volume. Definitely an improvement over the former GP.
One of the more impressive qualities of these speakers is the fact that unlike some more expensive SF models (Electa Amator, Extrema, Guarneri, etc) they are very forgiving to the electronics.
I started by using NAD 317 integrated with, embarrassed to say, Sony DVP-S550D as a player with some low end Monster cables and interconnects. You know what? they sounded more than decent.
Went though many players (Nad 541i, Rega Apollo, Naim CD5, Unison Research) and amps (Some tube amps, Meridian 105 monoblocks) and ended up with Meridian 596 player/Meridian G02 as pre-amp /Meridian G57 amp (200 w/channel) with Madrigal Labs Cz Gel and MDC-1 interconnects and Cardas Crooslink speaker cables.
The result? Out of this world!
Such clarity and definition without sounding harsh, metallic or fatiguing, such sense of volume and space, such powerful but tight and controlled bass.
Quiet moments sound as dramatic as music!

By the way in my humble opinion they sound better with SS electronics than with Tubes but that is my personal view and it is based on limited tube listening sessions and this is a generalization as I recently listened to a Joule Electra LA100 MKlll Tube Pre-Amp which sounds heavenly (Lush, Sensuous, fast and detailed)

Generally speaking I find that Meridian and SF is a marriage made in heaven.

All in all It is a matter of personal taste but nothing compares in my mind to SF as these are speakers that were made with true love!

Strengths:
Mids, Mids and Mids!
The SF forte.
Surprisingly powerful and tight bass for such small drivers’ size.
Huge potential to grow with the rest of your equipment unlike many other speakers that require the best of the best in electronics to sound half decent.
Once you hooked them to truly high-end gear they sound superb.
Beautiful speakers that look like an elegant furniture in your living room- hence high WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor).
Sound best with Acoustic material (acoustic guitar, Jazz trios, chamber music) and Vocals (I dare you to listen to Dianna Krall's "The girl in the other room" and claim that Dianna did not physically come to perform in your living room... ).

Weaknesses:
There are Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento out there...

Similar Products Used:
Sonus Faber Cremona, B&W (805, 802 and other various models), Magnepan (various models), Dynaudio Contour 1.4S, Dali ikon 6, Triangle Naia, Thiel CS2.4, PSB Platinum T8, Paradigm Signature (latest flagship model hooked to Clear-Audio Turntable and a pair of Mark Levinson Monbolocks), Kef, Polk Audio SRS 1.2TL, Kef 105/4 Raymond Cooke Signature, Infinity Kappa 8, Acoustat 3, and more.

tsoomro

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.25 of 5, 8.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from high & audio,Riyad

Summary:
After using them for years,i am still hooked on these beautiful speakers..These ripe transducers produce great sound..Highs are well extended, mids are mesmerising and lows are satisfying.They sound best with jazz,vocals and acoustic material..Soft rock and pop sounds ok,but if are a heavy metal fan you may not get the kicks. I use them with both valve amps(audioresearch) and solid state krell. Valve amps drive them better for long listening/.Depth and width of soundstage is very very good.
Overall they are very well balanced speakers,both for music and movies.I rarely use subwoofer while listening to music. They need to be partnered with good electronics and cables ....I will only think of replacing them, if I have enough money to get Amati's.

Strengths:
Beauty, balanced sound mainly for Jazz, acoustic and vocals...and modest price.

Weaknesses:
Not for heavy rock. Require very carefull positioning.,must be toed in. Need good amps, source and cables as all fine speakers do..

Similar Products Used:
B&W , Mission , Sonus faber concerto.