FAB audio 1 speakers, how good are they?

I am not familiar with the Model 1, but I do own and enjoy the Stonehenge, which utilizes the same tweeter and woofer (only 1 in the Stonehenge) as the Model 1 in a simpler cabinet.

I find the Stonehenge speakers bring a power and scale to the music not attainable with most other speakers (and certainly not on a handful of watts/channel). They present a very vivid sonic picture, but do not err on the clinical or bright side because of the balance in the bottom end.

If you like a relaxed, laid-back soundstage, then the Stonehenge might not be your cup of tea, but if you like realistic dynamics and presence, then check out the Fab line.

My system is posted here. It's similar in many ways to yours, with an Audio Note front end and SET amp. I've been using the Model 1 for about 4 months. They replaced my previous Coincident Total Victories, which were driven by the CA-339, coincidentally.

The Fabs are remarkable speakers. The have very high resolution, excellent dynamics, a real sense of life, and are faster than a Ferrari. As Tasos1 says, they're not laid back - they are very lively and involving, with a third-row presentation rather than mid-hall. They will let everything upstream through, and you'll hear a big difference between the Canaries and a SET amp - in comparison to the SETs I've tried with them, the big Canaries sound a bit unrefined. The speakers themselves are incisive without being bright. There is no honk, and no boxiness that I can hear. They have a very clean, clear sound that is reminiscent of electrostatics. They can let you hear right back into the original recording venues, which is what I like.

Because of their capabilities they are sensitive to room placement. When they are pulled well out from the front wall the resolution improves at the expense of the bass. Pushed back the tonality gets fuller but the resolution and imaging don't develop as much as they can. As a result I've added a pair of subs to fill out the bottom end, and have the speakers pulled out for best detail. The front face of the speaker is about 5 feet from the wall, and with the subs filling in the upper bass it's the best of both worlds.

I heard them at length with Audio Upgrades modified equipment and MuRata super tweeters.

To my ears, they were the most lifelike speakers I have heard in terms of dynamics and bite. Total lack of boxiness as well. Fantastic speakers. The one issue was that they sounded slightly hot to me, but I'm treble sensitive and actually don't mind a slightly rolled-off top-end...

I think it was the MuRatas that weren't doing too well with me (despite the rave reviews) and not an issue with the Model 1s.