Headers for speaker listening session(s)

[LunaTempesta]

Update on the situation

Went to listen to the KEF Q11's and see what they had to offer for a way lower price.
Fair shop managed to set it up in such a way that it was very comparable to my home set up with a similar power AVR.
They had a set of the newer Focal Aria's as well so I had some sort of reference to what I am used to.

Broad impressions:
Well balanced speaker.
Tho not as smooth or easy to listen to as the Sonus were.
Tho easier to listen to than the Focals.
Didn't feel like the lower frequencies were as well controlled or tight as the Sonus were.
Stereo imaging was very good. Could close my eyes and forget about the placement, which I like.

Most importantly is 1/3rds the price of the Sonus. And not to mention the Sonus being hooked up to some crazy expensive McIntosh Tube amp.

I will see if I can bring my AMP to the Sonus Faber. If the difference then isn't as awe inspiring as I would like it to be I think I will keep some money in my pocket for other possible upgrades.

 

[LunaTempesta]

Second update.

Went to another store for a 3rd listening session.
Wanted to compared KEF and Sonus faber, and (kinda) had the opportunity to do so here.
Sadly not the Q11's which to me seemed surpisingly good previous session.

But had the following options:
Sonus Faber Sonetto 5 G2
Kef R7 Meta
Dali Rubikore 6
Monitor audio Gold 300 6G

Driven by a Denon PMA-300NE
And later by a Arcam A25, which was by far more pleasant to listen to than the Denon.

Dali and Monitor audio lost out quickly as I don't really like the sparkle of the ribbon tweeter.

However coming from both of those the Kef sounded a bit laid back in presentation, maybe even veiled? Possibly because of the more nutral characteristic.
Swapping to the Sonus Faber now didn't get me the same wow I had as the first time, having it hooked up to a more modest amplification source seemed to give it less of the warm signature I initially noticed (when it was hooked to an expensive tube amp). I even thought the trebble here was a little bit too much, so much so that they swapped the Denon to the Arcam.
Surprisingly that really made a big difference. For both the Kef and the Sonus the sound signature changed for the better.
I lean towards Kef now. Mainly because I feel like the Sonus will be too much for my house and my equipment. To drive that the way I want it's gonna be out of my budget.
The KEF, slightly less expensive give me some more headroom. I also like the wide imaging better and the neutral sound will be more forgiving in my situation probably as well.

Sadly I wasn't able to demo the Q11 here. So at this point I'm still stuck since I had my mind (almost) set on getting the Q11 last session.
I would be curious to listen to the Q11 side by side with the R7 (or maybe the R5?) - I don't know how big the differences between these will be and if there are any for the better, if it is worth the extra money. The R series will probably get me more longevity and future options. Aside from that the finish is a lot nicer, so it's easthetically more pleasing.

Next appointment I guess. Lets see if a store has both KEF ready for listening.