Sonus Faber Amati Homage versus Vandersteen 5A

Must agree with most of the posters here in that you gotta listen for yourself. Also, I too find the Vandies a bit uninvolving and booring..if not "unpretty sounding". I think they are a tad veiled compared to the more refined soundig SF Amati's. I'm not a HUGE FAN OF THE AMATI'S per se. But then I like the clearer, more transparent sound of these, similarly like Theils, Wilson's, SF Extrema's, Maggies, and similar. The Vandies tend to sound a bit thicker and warmer to me, kind of like the older Mirage line..no biggier personally.
I used to work in a few high end salon's. and I've sold higher end offerings from the likes of wilson, Thiel, Audio Physic, Celestion, Martin Logan, Magnepan, B&W, NHT, Mirage, Sonus, Energy, Sonus Faber, Apogee, Meridian, Avantgarde, and similar. I once heard the Vandie's hooked up in the same system we had some Thiel's and Audiphysics hooked up to...no comparison to my ears. I didn't care for the rather plain sound of the Vandie's. Sounded like old Merlin speakers, but more veiled!(I was listenign to 3c's I believe). Anyway, to each his own.
Some may love em, but I found they added far too much coloration and signature to the sound!..that's just my findings...and of course, simply my opinion.
still, I'd listen for yourself. Buyone pair, then try another..like the rest of us audio enthusiests/junkies

Semi: There is NO WAY that the Amati Homage is time coherent. Just because a manufacturer slants the baffle in no way assures that the speakers will be time coherent. In fact, in a Stereophile review of these speakers,

http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/139/

the step-response measurements clearly show that, although the tweeter and woofer are wired in positive polarity, the midrange driver is wired in inverse polarity relative to the tweeter and woofer.

Now go take a look at the same measurement FOR ANY THIEL.

Also, the bass peaks at 65Hz and then falls off at a rapid rate of 12dB per octave. That's not "first order" crossover, because if it were, then the bass driver would be falling off at a much shallower slope, due to its design needs to accomodate a first order design.

Sonus Faber attempts to replicate and pose as a Thiel, Meadowlark or Vandersteen, but ultimately fails from a design and electrical performance standpoint. And if the measured conditions are not met, then it will never be subjectively "correct" as a time coherent design, no matter how it "sounds."

And what you say about Thiels is absolutely false when it comes to phase coherence in a first order design. Just look at the benign phase angle vs. frequency response for Thiel designs. They blow SF out of the water on that parameter. I mean, give me a break.

Happy Listening (I've got my fire retardant suit on ;-) )

Funny how some people think one "data" equals to a fact. When reviewer measured speakers, do they measure them at listening distance, say 6'? No, it's more like a foot away. How sound and freq propagate over a longer distance is a complicated equation, not something Stereophile measurement can tell you.

And go pickup a circuit design 101 text book before you argue with me about phase. I spend years in school studying electrical engineering, I should have this common sense.

And about the slope of bass roll off. Go pick up a speaker design book 101, you will learn that bass roll off has as much to do with cross over as well as box design.

What matters at the end is how it sounds, and I have never ever heard a pair of Thiel that makes me think I am listening to live music. Isn't live music most phase and time coherent?

Stevecham, Please give us all a break,
Thiels are not anything anyone would want to duplicate,.

Thin lean un involving, toe tapin and Thiels just dont happen. Ettched sterile. Need I say More.

Who cares that they measure great they sound well to me any way not woth 10 Cents on the Dollar of what they cost.

Sonous Farbers Vandies and Meadolarks are all so much better than Thiels.

You are insulting the designers of those fine speakers.

Measurments are for fools who dont have enough sense to let thier ears choose gear.

Semi, could not say it better myself.

Thiels sound like Nails scratching on a Blackboard.

A few non audiophiles I took to a store to listen to gear said, the Thiels hurt thier ears. Nuff said.