re: Audiophile/Vinyl Thread - Post Pics, Advice, Questions, Setups, etc.

The 2.5’s were the 3rd pair of SF speakers I’ve owned (the other two were bookshelf). I didn’t find any issues with the build quality, they seemed as solid as the Italian made ones. My change was due to their house sound. I find SF to be a relatively laid back speaker that is brilliant with classical, acoustic rock/ country, bluegrass, etc. My preamp
at the time was a Meridian G68 and was powered by a pair of McIntosh MC352s.

I wasn’t a fan of the warm Mac sound paired with the laid back SF traits. I ended up going with the Focal Aria 936’s. I listen to a lot of electric blues, modern blues rock, alternative, etc. and relatively loud. I found the Macs to pair very nicely with the Focal’s and do a great job at getting the most out of their tweeter, which can be bright. The Focal’s were pretty much equal to the 2.5’s in their ability to reproduce a delicate sound while also being great at handling hard rock and high volumes. My pair of Aria’s are gloss white and are gorgeous. I can post a pic if you’d like. I like the Focal sound so much, I ended up getting a pair of the Aria bookshelf
speakers for my office. I’ll be honest, I almost like the Aria’s more than my B&W 802D’s that are used in the theater/media room.

Given what you listen to, I would seriously consider getting a pair of older SF speakers and pairing with a sub. The right combo here is unreal. Running a pair of Sonus Faber Liuto Wood Monitors with a pair of used small SVS subs would blow the 3.0’s out of the water.