Silverline Sonata?

Interesting to see this thread as I was just out auditioning speakers yesterday and happened to listen to a pair of Sonatas. They were originally hooked up to some Denon HT thing and were a little bright. We switched them to an Audio Research 120 amp and an AR preamp (not certain of the model no.) and they were beautiful/musical sounding speakers with the tube setup. Not having read Mark's review I just manhandled them into position (using one arm and my hip) and they were still intact (thank God as my speaker budget is $1000.00 :-). You fail to mention whether you have listened to the speakers Ted. Listening is always my first step in forming an opinion on a product. In addition my only "strong". opinions are on equipment that I have actually lived with. I am sorry that Mark had a structural problem with the speakers but suspect that due to the fact that they were not properly repaired that this may have altered the sound of the speakers as well as the whole ordeal in itself. Certainly if I removed a side from one of my speakers, and replaced it with another material and fit, the sonic signature would change. If the speakers are fragile due to their size, weight, selected material and construction method, then so be it. But sound and durability are two separate issues, I would think anyway. I seems to me, Ted, that you may be confusing and mixing these issues. I would also hope that your slashing post comes from first hand experience as their are a lot of opinions on the web that logically cannot all be right.

I have owned these speakers for several months. There is nothing wrong with how they are built. The build quality is as good as the best speakers around. They have a beautiful, real wood veneer. For some reason Silverline's Mr Yun has garnered a lot of enemies, witness the Avalon suit against him (no basis in my opinion) and the deletion of my favorable review of the Sonatas in the AudioAsylum forum. I don't know why that is, all I can say is the Sonatas are highly musical, low distortion, highly transparent and very enjoyable speakers. They are quite efficient, at well over 90dB and accept a wide range of amplifiers, from muscular solid state to SET. They will downstream the sound you feed them. They are not perfect, of course no speaker is, but easily comparable to other speakers of its price and much higher price as well. These are "window" speakers, that give you a window into the music, as opposed to enveloping you with euphonic sound. Probably Mr Yun has generated much envy in the audio world and stepped on the establishment's toes.

I own a pair of silverline sonatas as well as I have auditioned a lot of speakers,and the Sonatas have a wonderful BIG sound they really make you feel like your at a LARGE,BIG,FABULOUS concert hall(RADIO CITY). Alan Yun himself speaks to you over the phone at the factory, thats real customer service. If you should need advise Alan is there to answer all your questions and offer any help, try that with a big Corporate Speaker Company. Alan Yun will remember your name and has knowlege of your particular speaker, again try that with a large Coporate speaker company. This man loves his craft/Speakers(This is like stepping back in time when everything was made by hand, by someone who really cared and loved what they were making). Not a single speaker leaves the factory without Alan Yun hearing and tweaking the speaker.What does this all say? Just give the Sonata's one listen they can speak for themselves, then liston to what some other speakers have to say. (PROBABLY NOTHING)!

I have owned a pair of the new Silverline Sonatas and ahve been absolutely delighted with them. I had been driving them with an Italiam Mastersound parallel 845, but am now using Don Garbers Fi Super X (2A3s). There seems to be no problem with clipping. Stereophile compared them favorably with the $20K Sonus Faber Amatis and I think that they compare well with the $30K JMLab Utopias. I believe that they have excellent response throughout the frequency range, they image well, and are a great pleasure to listen to. At present, I can think of no speaker that I would rather have, regardless of price.