Hi all, has anyone heard or tried running the Sonus Faber Serafino tradition speakers with the NAP 300 dr?
My current system is 555PS, NDX2, NAC 252, Supercap dr and NAP 300 dr. Im looking to upgrade my Spendor D7 with the serafino but i dont have the option of listening to them but reviews are really good.
Im a bit worried about them being 4 ohm and the 300 dr not being powerful enough.
Thanks.
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This is my last setup before moving to NAP500 DR. 300DR powers the Serafino rather easely but the 500 brings better bass. So 300DR is a good choice until you heard Serafino powered by the 500DR.
The rest of my system is ND555, 555PSDR, 552DR
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Is it too late to suggest caution about ever buying a speaker without hearing it in your actual living room?
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We have baby Sonus Faber 4 ohm and they’re driven easily by a 250DR.
Thanks for that.
Nice setup!
Would you recommend them?
I haven’t ordered them yet as im going to have a home demo of the Sonus faber Olympica Nova II as that was the closest they had at my dealer.
But yeah, not very smart buying them blind.
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Not the Serafino, but the Guarneri Tradition here, with a 300DR too. Beautiful match. The 300DR is a beast of an amp and should drive the Serafino without any problem.
I owned 2 types of Sonus Faber speakers before Serafino: Toys Tower and Cremona M. Serafino are different from the previous families: more neutral, less warm, but also more accurate and with better bass control
Hi Gavin, I have recently acquired a pair of ex demo Nova III’s and they are brilliant - running them with 552DR/300DR/NDX2/XPSDR/Valhalla LP12. Can’t see me changing speakers again, ever to be honest!
A beautiful match indeed. I’ve not long upgraded from a 300DR to a 500DR which sounds even more gorgeous.
I have had a bit of experience auditioning various speakers in the Sonus faber line and owned the Toy Towers and the Olympica Nova 3. I auditioned the Serafino with uniti-Nova and with McIntosh amps. Also did a back to back A/B test between the Serafino and the Olympica Nova 3. I drive the Novas at home with a 300DR.
Allow me to pitch in.
The Nap300 drives the Olympica Nova 3 effortlessly, so should handle the Serafinos quite well. The Uniti-Nova drove the Serafinos OK so the NAP300 should do a much better job.
The serafinos have a fuller bodied sound compared to the O. Novas and when looking at response graphs, they are less forward in the 1K-2.5K range. For that, they sound warmer. If you are after detail and excitment the O.Novas will be more fun. If you are after more warmth, emotion and scale the serafinos are better.
I know that an Olympica Nova vs Serafino was not the OP’s question but I felt relevant to share.
Good luck.
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Thank you all so much for all your advise. Given me much to think about.
Thanks again,
Gavin.
Hi all.
I had a demo of the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova II today at my dealer dem room but was really not impressed.
I liked the treble/mid range of them but the bass seemed really muddy/boomy.
Maybe im too used to my spendor d7’s being 2.5 way but i dont think its a sound i could live with.
So glad i didnt buy the serafinos now and waste ÂŁ20k.
They were powred by the Supernait 3 and some streamer i didnt recognise so not sure if that would be why. I was offered a home demo so might see how they sound in my room before i completely rule them out.
I do love my spendors so maybe the d9 will be my next upgrade.
Glad you can listen before buying, my Serafinos driven by NAP300 DR or NAP500 DR have no bass issues. Maybe Supernait 3 is not enough for Olympica
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Not sure why your dealer wasn’t demonstrating these type of speakers on the end of a price appropriate pre/power combo. SF need grunt behind them.
I bet they’d absolutely sing with your 252/300. Even a 250DR on demo would have a lot more control over them than a SN3.
Isn’t the hint in your thread title “with 300 DR”….
The Supernat 3 was the best they had Naim wise. I will have to try them at home on my system/room before i rule them out.
They are beautiful though!
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The build quality and finish on SF is superb.
We’re about to run lowly Sonetto on a 300DR (and expect them to sound fabulous as they responded really well to upgrade to 250DR), but next year a speaker upgrade could be on the cards. The Novas are definitely on our audition list, we’ve seen them in dealers and they look fantastic.
SWMBO is very fussy on looks in the lounge and many of the speakers I’ve shoved under her nose have received an instant “no”, so we need something which sounds AND looks great.
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Hi all,
While talking to my dealer yesterday he did suggest that my room could be a little small for the serafinos and would be better off with something like the O.ypica Nova II. I did notice that they were setup quite a distance from the back and side walls too.
I just had a quick measure and the room is 11 feet wide and 16 feet long. Listening position is 11 feet from the front wall. Does anyone think that will be too small for a pair of serafinos?
Thanks again
Gavin.
Considering that our ProAc K6 (in the same price and performance range as the Serafinos) already fill perfectly, and without problems throughout the frequency range, our 24x18x12.5 feet room, and that the room has the bigger sound wise effect, the Serafinos seem clearly excessive for the dimensions of that room.
Of course, the Olympica Nova II (not III or V) seem much more reasonable a priori, and even too much loudspeaker for that room, which seem more appropriate for a good pair of standmounters.
I would consider, above all, some good frontported or line transmission standmounters, as Proacs, PMCs and the likes; or some equally frontported or line transmission small floorstanders.
Good luck in any case.
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The Spendor D7s seem like a great option, and I’d bet that even the D9s are a bit excessive.
May be the Spendor Classic 100 could work well…?