I have had a pair of Serafino Traditions for about 18 months now and absolutely love them. I can't provide much insight versus older SF products, even though I have listened to them on occasion. I did however audition a number of competitors at various dealers including: Martin Logan up to the CLX, Monitor Audio's new line, B&W 802D3, Magico's, Wilson, Vandersteen, Olympicas, and Focal Sopras. Plus a couple of trips to Axpona. In the end the Serafino was an easy choice since it does so many things well. The drivers are beautifully integrated, the speakers disappear and image effortlessly, plenty of bass if presented by the material, and extremely detailed without being harsh or strident.
As a bonus, the cabinetry is beautifully rendered, and the size and shape fits into a living space. Important to me since I use these in a family room versus a dedicated listening room. I chose the Wenge mainly to blend with our transitional decorating, but the Violin Red is gorgeous and would fit well in a more modern setting. I know there is a lot of white noise about how the manufacturer markets this line, but the sound quality is what sold me.
My speakers are fed by McIntosh 501 monoblocks and a MX122 PrePro which provide a great match. The selling dealer demonstrated these with an entry level Accuphase integrated, maybe 50w/channel, and the sound was fabulous. Not sure whether that would be enough with all material, but great on jazz etc at reasonable levels. I can't really say enough good things about these speakers. And despite the skyrocketing cost of high end audio components, I think these are a comparatively good value.
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