I am sorry to hear about your struggles with neighbours. I am quite happy that I am not living in an apartment anymore.@Aslund Why do i not own a pair... (A) i cant afford that sort of money! ... (B) i have always preferred Roksan / Dynaudio (Standmount) / Old REL Sub partnership, (C) My room is on a first floor.. wooden floorboards, almost zero insulation/carpet and i have nosey neighbours underneath me that complain about the slightest bass thump despite the fact they are severe alcholics and keep me up all hours of the night..
As for how i know about them.... I am well versed with alot of amps and speakers I've listened to alot and played with alot since 1996 and have owned stuff from Nytech, Ion, Krell, Sonus Faber, Quadrel, Restek, etc over the years
A lot of brands like to keep a relatively low profile and just concentrate on the equipment these days. Gato-Audio are one such company. You generally only find them at a select few hi-fi dealerships these days that specialise in that niche market of top end hifi from non "domestic names
Think of Gato-Audio like Bang & Olufsen .. a one stop manufacturer, dealer and vender package
To give you an idea of the pedigree of shops that would stock them.. just check out Pink Noise in Bruxelles for example .. PINK NOISE | ENCEINTES ACOUSTIQUES
This is their showroom
Thats the Gato's straddling a pair of Harbeth Super HL5 XD's (6,000 euros for the pair without stands) with the amps there being Gato's on the top and Analogue Audio on the bottom!
Gato-Audio obviously want you to use their own Gato amps for best matching sound.. but looking at the above photo and the one below.. you can see the FM30 has been used with many different brands.. The one below i can see Valve kit, i can see Naim, and a load of other brands on show... with no Gato amps in sight
The above photo was from another polish review.. and they had Musical Fidelity M5si's the Naim is the Supernait 3i and the big reds are the SPL Director preamp with the SPL Performer M1000 Poweramps (each mononlock is nearly 4,000 euros and the pre is about 3,300 euros)
Głośniki podłogowe Gato Audio FM-30 review. Right click to translate to your language
I gave Gato Audio a call but they are totally sold out. They are starting production in a few weeks and will have speakers ready at that time.
It is actually funny how good source of information you get from Polish Hifi sites. I don't know of any place where I have gotten so many measurements of so many speakers as Zaawansowane i profesjonalne testy urządzeń hi-fi, hi-end i kina domowego | AUDIO
Since the Sonetto II and Sonetto Wall is similar priced. Then I wonder how big difference there is on the sound. I especially notice that the Sonetto Wall has a much higher crossover than Sonetto II.I’m convinced you already have your answer.
You clearly love the SF sound so I’d simply go for the wall mounts and the Gravis (or two).
It’s what Lyngdorf strongly recommend and the sound suits you. Best of all worlds imo.
However, the SF subs are expensive.
So for the price of the floorstanders you can get the the wallmounts and a pair of BK Electronics XLS 200s.
Small, in ten finishes and sound superb.
BK ship to Europe and have all the vat/import business sorted out.
Would it not be possible to use standmount speakers together with a shelf. Something like this? Køb Vm Acoustics S0.5 shelf Hylde | 3 års medlemsgaranti
Another concern I have is the sonical qualities between Sonetto II and Sonetto V. There is a Scandinavian magazine who reviewed both. While the Sonetto V got the highest praise the Sonetto II got lurkwarm response:
TEST: Sonus faber Sonetto II – Italiensk silkelyd
De snehvide Sonetto-højttalere spiller godt på det meste og tager sig godt ud.
www.lydogbillede.dk
TEST: Sonus faber Sonetto V – High-end-kup
Sonetto er håndbygget i Italien, og det kan både mærkes på lyden og kvaliteten.
www.lydogbillede.dk
Sonetto V - 6/6
- Pro
- Amazing all-round speaker with almost complete qualities, that can scare neighbors and give goosebumps
- Con
- Requires lots of space in the room. Can't play deepest of bass. Poor floor protectors
- Pro
- Good depth in bass, excellent midtone with wonderful vocal reproduction and very nice finish.
- Con
- Little lacking in dynamic contrast, sound a bit gray and lifeless in the treble.