Help me find WARM speakers a la Sonus Faber

Surely Sonus Faber has less expensive speakers, no?
Vienna Acoustics are good, as are Dynaudio, ProAc, Vandersteen, Verity Audio and a few others. What CAN you audition? Anything?

While I have not heard the new Olympicas, I have auditioned many Sonus Fabers and Vienna Acoustics models. I have found both brands to be more similar than different - warm, lush, very musical. Exactly the kind of speakers I personally like which is why I am a VA owner. If your dealer recommended the Beethovens, I assume that means he can get them and maybe allow a in-home trial.

If he cannot and is truly being a good guy by recommending a speaker that you would have to buy from a competitor dealer, then I applaud him and would take his advice. He has given you a good suggestion.

Now if your dream speaker were B&W 802D's, you couldn't afford them and someone said try VA, I would say don't do it. These two brands sound nothing alike. But as an alternative to Sonus Faber, I say your OK considering the VA'S. Even if you have to go in blind.

Did you audition the floor standing SF Venere? They also sound quite nice. IMO. There are some nice used SF Elipsa's out there too, which I prefer over the Olympica's as I have auditioned both. Again, just my opinion. Good luck in your quest. Hunting for new loudspeakers can be a lot of fun!

From what I can see, your dream speakers go for $13.5K. Maybe you should just stretch a bit and buy them? It's nice to have something you really like, rather than buy something for a few bucks less and keep thinking about how you wish you had something else.

Used original Cremona can be had for less than half that price. I like them better than the Cremona M that replaced them. The original Cremona are fuller and lusher to my ears. Some think them colored and like the M better. They match well with McIntosh equipment, although I have not heard the Cremona with your equipment. Just be sure the speakers can be traced to an original sale from an authorized US dealer as Sumiko can be a problem if repairs are every needed and you cannot prove they were purchased from an authorized US dealer. Used Cremona M are readily available here and Cremona do come up from time to time.