[daveneumann]

Lars, I am also a relatively new owner of Strads. You can see my thread called "Strads!" in the Sonus Faber manufacturer's forum here in AA. There are some good recommendations from others who own Strads on set up, including their particular measurements of distance apart, distance from listening seat, and toe-in. I would also encourage you to read about the Sumiko Master Set-Up process that Ivan has made a sticky in the Sonus Faber forum. I found it extremely helpful in setting up my Strads, which I continue to tweak.

As an ex-owner of Wilsons, Audio Physic and Amati Futura's, my experience is that the Strads present the soundstage and imaging a little differently than narrow baffle speakers. Yes they still do all the typical audiophile stuff, but I have found that I have had to adjust my listening expectations. Instead of listening for soundstaging, imaging, disappearing, etc., I now find myself getting lost in the emotion of the music. Over the short time I've owned them, it is this emotional connection that has created some of the most compelling listening experiences.

Here is an excerpt from Michael Fremer's original review way back in 2005:

"The Stradivari's wide baffle produced a singular sonic picture. Instead of the more common narrow-baffle, low-diffraction sound, in which a speaker "disappears" to leave behind a ghostly apparition of a three-dimensional sound picture, the Stradivari presented a more weighty, unusually solid picture that seemed to be a three-dimensional curtain wrapped behind the baffles and extending well back into virtual space. While more conventional baffles have produced wider, more transparent soundstages and perhaps more focused and upfront images, none has delivered such a solid and physically believable three-dimensional soundstage in my room—aided, I'm sure, by the Stradivari's rich, palpable midrange."

Good luck with your set up process. In my experience, the Strads are worth putting the time into. And like me and others, you may find yourself focusing more on the emotional connection they create versus the soundstaging, imaging and disappearing act of other speakers.