Why Merlins sound better then Sonus Faber

So you were able to do a side by side comparison, in the same room, using the same amp, source component(s), and cables, of Sonus Faber's top model(s) vs. Merlin speakers? Exactly which SF speaker(s) did you listen to, side by side, with the Merlin? The Aida? The Lilium? And where did this happen...I didn't know there were any dealers that sold both SF and Merlin together, I thought Merlins were sold direct.

The title of this thread betrays a bias and presumption that automatically nullifies the neutrality with which I might otherwise approach its content. My first tendency upon reading your heading says "troll alert".

The more learned among us repeat daily in these pages that speakers (beyond the measurables) are a purely subjective matter. So what qualifies you to imply that one speaker is better than another by coyly inquiring why an unestablished assertion is true? Don't you first have to establish it is indeed fact? You are behaving like Fox News.

I have heard most Sonus FAber models and besides eye candy they are hand made one at a time and virtually pieces of art. I have heard them with expensive components. I have heard them sound wonderful and have heard them sound so dry and flat that I thought something was wrong.It is possible with your particular components that the Merlins sound better. Enjoy

Macrijack, i am actually trying to understand when paying for SF is it actually that you get ba etter sound or are paying directly for the craftmanship, material and design more then for the reproduction of the sound and that is why there is such a big price difference. I know that sf are known for a specific warm sound, probably less true of the new models, whereas the merlins are always known for being transparent without adding anything extra. So this leaves one wondering should he pay $$$ for wormanship and materials and get less of a sound or get merlins which are not bad looking and be happy with the sound. I am also trying to see if i do get SF, ie amati futura or guarneri evolution, which are gorgeous peace of art btw, will i be dissapointed in sound compared to merlins???

07-05-14: Unistar99
Macrijack, i am actually trying to understand when paying for SF is it actually that you get ba etter sound or are paying directly for the craftmanship, material and design more then for the reproduction of the sound and that is why there is such a big price difference.

Why do you keep insisting that "there is such a big price difference" between the Merlin VSM and a floorstanding Sonus Faber?

The Merlin VSM series 2-way floorstander in all its permutations ranges from $9,020 to $13,600/pair. The Sonus Faber 3-way Olympica II retails at $10,000/pair and the 3-way floorstanding Olympica III retails at $13,500/pair.

Their prices couldn't track much closer had Merlin and Sonus Faber colluded on the matter.

Yes, there are far more expensive SFs in their flagship Aida ($160,000) and "The Sonus Faber" ($200,000) models, but they compete in the Focal Utopia Grande/Wilson Alexandria/XLF stratosphere.