My Sonus Faber Speakers are in the house!!

[GaryProtein]

Congratulations, your system set-up looks great.

Your collection of components should make everything sound fantastic.

[Toobs]

Mike
Beautiful room, beautiful amps and beautiful speakers May you enjoy for many years to come

[cmalak]

Mike...a big congrats on the Strads. Enjoy them in good health.

[bzr]

Congrats Mike, I am envious with the "guy with new gear syndrome". Hope you have a huge time with them.

[mbovaird]

Thanks Gary, Kev, Bob, cmalak, etc. I still cannot believe how they sound with the 2301's. Pure magic. I know that some proper pure copper speaker cables can only make things better. The silver speaker cables were certainly not to my liking (in my room anyway). The pure copper is MUCH better.

I've been listening to some older Diana Krall and everything sounds fresh and new. I will say this, they honestly can make even bad recordings sound good. For example, I never felt the Adele 21 CD was particularly well recorded....average to poor at best. But played through the Strads, it sounds above average.

What I still cannot figure out is how the MEN220 has no effect on the sound. In or out, I hear no difference. If anything, it sounds 5-10% worse with it in! I ran through the MEN220 setup - TWICE. I switched back and forth for hours over 2 days - nothing. A week ago, I would have told you the MEN220 was the best audio investment I've ever made (and some think it is worth of Product of the Year) and I can tell you it took my Salon 2's to a whole new level. In my room, without it, they were a 5/10. With it, they were a 10/10. But....

Today, I have it packed up ready to ship out on Monday - its been sold (yes, already).

Mike

[vintage_tube]

Originally Posted by mbovaird

I've been listening to some older Diana Krall and everything sounds fresh and new. I will say this, they honestly can make even bad recordings sound good. For example, I never felt the Adele 21 CD was particularly well recorded....average to poor at best. But played through the Strads, it sounds above average.

Mike

I have found a similiar trait of the MC2301's themselves; what you believed to be a good recording with a prior amplifier; does not sound not as good with the MC2301's.

Of course proper speaker synergy is is critical as you have now discovered.

Best

Bob

P.S. Let me get to the other side of the fence quickly before the Sf police come after me.

[mbovaird]

I've moved them back quite a bit and in a bit. I've spent hours shifting them around to find the right spot. I've found it! The sweet spot has gotten huge and rich sounding, without loosing any depth of stage.

The Eclipse 6 are incredible cables for the Strads IMO. I hate to admit it, but cables DO make a difference. In my case, the Silver Eclipse 6 were not too my liking (far far too bright). The regular copper Eclipse 6 are glorious....and in my opinion, bring about all the good aspects of the WW Silver Eclipse 6, without any of the negatives. I'm not a fan of silver anything in my system.

All in all, I love listening at moderate to loud levels with 3 watts. What a treat!! These speakers are incredible to look at and listen to. If you're in the market at this level, grab the ones for sale here on AA. You will never look back.

Pair these beauties with a couple of tube amps, and you'll find music nirvana.

Mike

[jfray]

Originally Posted by mbovaird

Thanks Gary, Kev, Bob, cmalak, etc. I still cannot believe how they sound with the 2301's. Pure magic. I know that some proper pure copper speaker cables can only make things better. The silver speaker cables were certainly not to my liking (in my room anyway). The pure copper is MUCH better.

I've been listening to some older Diana Krall and everything sounds fresh and new. I will say this, they honestly can make even bad recordings sound good. For example, I never felt the Adele 21 CD was particularly well recorded....average to poor at best. But played through the Strads, it sounds above average.

What I still cannot figure out is how the MEN220 has no effect on the sound. In or out, I hear no difference. If anything, it sounds 5-10% worse with it in! I ran through the MEN220 setup - TWICE. I switched back and forth for hours over 2 days - nothing. A week ago, I would have told you the MEN220 was the best audio investment I've ever made (and some think it is worth of Product of the Year) and I can tell you it took my Salon 2's to a whole new level. In my room, without it, they were a 5/10. With it, they were a 10/10. But....

Today, I have it packed up ready to ship out on Monday - its been sold (yes, already).

Mike

Mike,

I have been so busy at work and I missed that you bought the Strads!!!! Congrats They are sweet speakers..........

I am surprised that you hear no difference with the MEN220 but with your room you may not need it.....

[Fabiano]

Only one word to it: WoW!! Congratulations!!!

[mbovaird]

Originally Posted by jfray

Mike,

I have been so busy at work and I missed that you bought the Strads!!!! Congrats They are sweet speakers..........

I am surprised that you hear no difference with the MEN220 but with your room you may not need it.....

Josh - thank you. It drove me crazy that the MEN220 had no impact. I ran through the setup three times and nothing. Zippo. Nothing. I checked all the connections. I checked that it wasn't on bypass mode. Everything. Nothing.

The MEN220 worked absolute wonders on my Revel Salon 2's. It took them to a whole new level. I was swearing by the MEN220 a week before my Strads arrived.

Why do I think it had no impact? My guess - and this is just a guess - is that the crossover points on the Strads are unique. If you read M. Fremmers review of the Strads, he discusses these crossover points. I believe that the filters in the MEN220 were geared more towards "common/traditional" crossover points. But again, this is just a guess...I knew it did nothing, so I sold it.

If you've noticed, other SF owners have mentioned similar experiences for them. Maybe the MEN220 works wonders on 95% of the speakers out there....but there are some where it's filters just have no affect. Who knows?

Mike