Sonus faber vs Marten

[Mr Peabody]

I have heard the Sonus Faber up to the $12k model, I think the Cremona and in my opinion they are bested by other brands in the same price. I have not heard Marten.

Have you heard Revel Studio or Dynaudio Confidence? That's where I'd be listening along with the Canton Reference series.

[RGA]

Sonus Faber makes fine speakers - it comes down to whether their darker nature appeals to you. They're never bright or fatiguing - I would be careful what gear you put in front of them to drive them.

I have only heard Marten at CES and I liked them but the same advice follows - with Cary it didn't quite have enough gusto. I much prefer Marten to Dynaudio Confidence or Revel Studio speakers. They have a different take on things which you may enjoy but if Sonus is your front runner (number 1) then you probably like that sort of presentation which means you probably won't like the Dynaudio and Revel house sound.

If this size and shape of speaker is appealing to you I would add two others - Usher Be 10 and Sony's new flagship SS - AR1loudspeaker. The Usher is one of the few speakers in this size and shape class that I like - has cohesion (rare in 3+ way designs) has bass that is in sync with the rest of the spectrum and is not overdone like most speakers. The new Sony (if you can get past the name brand) is also very good.

But if you've heard those and these are your finalists you really don't need us.