SONUS FABER SE17 - Is This The Best Loudspeaker? - The Shocking Results!

[@jaysaudiolab]

if this type of content is something you appreciate and like, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE & hit the LIKE BUTTON and i will keep doing these raw, unbiased and uncut opinions of many other high end audio components !

[@CarlVanDoren61]

Change of pace w box 📦 speakers Panels w subs best of both worlds 🌎

[@JohnDoe-np3zk]

I subbed because this analysis was worthy and detailed.

[@JohnDoe-np3zk]

​@@CarlVanDoren61well tbh while I like my magnepan lrs with two rel t5 subs they just lack top end and bass depth. I went back to Infinity Kappa 7 and bam back to quality. Now perhaps a magnepan 3 7i with 12 inch subs could compete but that integration of subs never that easy.

[@peter3728]

my only wish is that you run some very simple tests using a program like REW to see what the frequency response looks like for each speaker . In a matter of minutes you can see if the listening impressions match the data.

[@FrankAVEnthusiast]

Hi Jay, I have just Discovered your You tube channel this week and I think You are just AMAZING, your Love, Passion and Enthusiasm for Audio is just Wonderful. I am from DownUnder Australia and have been an Audiophile for over 40 years, Thank You sharing the Marvelous and varied content and for all your effort in allowing us to get a Heavenly Glimpse into Ultra High-end Audio, something many of us Dream of, Keep up the honest and great work. Kind Regards, Frank

[@jimihendrix1575]

I purchased a used pair of Sonus faber Amati Futura's almost 2 years ago, and while nowhere near the performance of the SE17's, I could not be more pleased. Vocals are life-like and seem to be in the room with me. Absolutely ZERO listener fatigue, and sometimes I listen all day long. Fantastic loudspeakers. Great video as usual, Jay.

[@michaelrovner4165]

Sonus Fabre over Magico for sure

[@VinnieMoore1986]

Sonos Faber is wonderful and pretty.❤

[@ernestwaxteriii1179]

Sonus Fabre makes me want to visit Italy.

[@sidvicious3129]

Jay, you are truly killing the game here. You brought in people with compare Lytle systems and you are just letting people give you their opinions, fascinating. The most important thing here is you OWN all of this, so you are beholden to no one. You should be at 100,000 subscribers because you are truly going where no man has gone before!!!

[@Rachel-t9y]

You are the ultimate pro Jay. Thank you for these amazing videos.

[@robbase-f6x]

Yes Jay ....... the Sonus Faber SE17 is the worlds best speaker - hands down

[@bhupendraparekh6225]

Sonuus Faber for musical enjoyment, magico for music analysis, the perfect speaker would be a child of Sonus and magico, but with Sonus looks.

[@net_news]

absolutely, I think SF are for music lovers and Magico's for audiophiles.

[@miguelderivero]

Called Il Cremonese Ex3me….!!! Wonderful speaker…

[@bhupendraparekh6225]

@@miguelderivero if you own those, you are one lucky devil, the ex3ema stand mounts are one of my dream speakers, sadly discontinued

[@j.m.harris4202]

Jay, Multiple Listen Rooms that Match Budgets is an Attainable Goal for the Future! Will keep you in my Prayers asking for your Success!🙌💪

[@jaysaudiolab]

I appreciate that!

[@vicentepostiganogueira3258]

@Jay, thank you! Great to hear these comparisons!

[@parvezshaikhul]

What a analysis and conclusion it happens only in Jays Lab Sonus Faber SE17 and CH precision L10 is my dream system.

[@ivanfilatov7913]

I really liked these two comparisons with other people telling their own opinions!

[@AudiolandCH]

Sonus Faber Reference loudspeakers are an instrument made out of wood. This is music.

[@adrianadrianp5305]

Having fellow audiophiles share there honest opinions is excellent, really helps understand the differences, appreciated

[@iosifderecichei3743]

What you are doing is quite original and unique. Great.

[@lebohang8405]

Best audio performance judgement session ever

[@lorenzorichardson2999]

Keep up the great work Jay👍🏿🔥

[@monzarace]

Watching this while my amp is warming up for some good jazz later tonight. This was one of your better videos. Thank you for sharing. Kind regards from Copenhagen.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@antoniorivera3709]

I really love your vision with the plans you have with the three exclusive high-end rooms. As I have experience, it is very difficult to test at that level in stores and at exclusive high-end fairs, so you are on the right track, so keep your vision and you will soon be there Jay.. ❤💯❤️👏👏👏😊

[@DrBroncanuus]

for those who want to be moved by emotion from their music then there is only one brand that will deliver above all others...Sonus Faber...

[@pietromanno8916]

SONUS FABER ARE UNBELIEVABLE AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL!!!!👍👍🎼🎶🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵🎶🎵🎵🎵🎶✨✨🎷

[@djurkk1]

SF is music and Magico is analitc machine. Choice is easy, but every has right on his choice !

[@andreas7278]

What a freaking amazing video. It's indeed extremely rare to get unbiased high end system evaluations and thoughts coming from several perspectives at all. It's usually in bad environments (hifi shows), directly coming from a manufacturer (so obviously they all believe that what they do is the best) or reviewers who might be very careful how they describe systems in order to keep getting new items for review from the same manufacturer down the road. I'm not sure if the three gentlement participating here read the comments but if so I'd love to know what John thinks about how the room treatments play into his perceived difference in system quality from his system at home vs the Sonus Faber when hooked up with a pretty damn similar (or nearly identical) chain of electronics. From what I've seen is that John's room is a very lively room (nothing I personally mind as long as it works out in a setup and fits the presentation of the system which in the video about his system he said he was very happy with) with only thick curtains behind but no real other acoustic treatments, no carpeting or lots of furniture while Jay's room seems like quite the opposite, heavily treated and also strongly damped. ... so maybe John in case you read this, a quick reply on your personal take on the room differences would be interesting

[@adrianadrianp5305]

I have always loved SF, and would never sell my original Extremas, Magico have always gained respect but Never desire

[@stevemd8947]

Thank you Jay for this comparison. Honest feedback which most reviewers do not give. Very much appreciated.

[@brodricj3023]

Jay made a good point, about being given too many options.

[@whocares0503]

I like the Nola Baby Grand Reference III, not that I will ever own a pair at 150k!

[@ronkindel9734]

Love this format! It’s refreshing hearing multiple perspectives. Please do this often!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Only if this is shared and liked !

[@oscaronder6277]

Your hi-fi system reviews are incredible, and the guests you bring on are top-notch! Truly impressive work. Congratulations, and looking forward to seeing more in the future. Keep up the great work!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Much appreciated!

[@avbozo]

The reviewer's comments using the CH preamp to tune match the SE17s to the ultra refined Q7s was very interesting. I think the opposite is also worth investigating . Trying a high end tube preamp with the Gryphon monos on the Q7s might be great ..taming the lacking musicality issue of the Q7s .Just a thought......

[@jiyadas]

What is so shocking Jay? just because you like Magico doesn’t mean the whole world does. This hobby is about preference and enjoyment of music not just price!

[@brown-eyedman4040]

Thanks, Jay for keeping it real.

[@xsamitt]

I hope we get more content like this! Love it!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Share this video and like it. That’s the best you can do

[@geir8849]

I am so happy you could do this video with testing the difference between such reference speakers, and also try it with different preamps, with CH Precision. It felt very honest and they wore very articulated, seemed like great guys. I don't judge one brand as better than the other, but suspect I would like the Sonus Faber. I think getting the Sonus Faber speaker has been a very important reference for you. Maybe you sold the tube Dac a bit early (if you did?), could prehaps work well with the Magico. Hope you will continue to try and match the Magico, not sure if you have other sources or Dac's in mind? or maybe a tube preamp? Love it:)

[@fritzyfever]

Should've hooked up the MC901's to the Sonus Fabers and really blew their minds!!!

[@mcaxz]

He sold the MC901's

[@l67swap1]

One day I'll be able to upgrade to the se17 from my Wilson audio alexia v setup ... The s17 are so full and warm 👍👍 great stuff Jay

[@jamienaquin3918]

Great video and. Interesting hearing their interpretation. I would like to hear more about the Moon amps. My system is nowhere near this level but I enjoy my Sonus Faber Sonetto V's, Moon 330a, and Lumtin T2. Thanks for giving us a taste of the ultra high end.

[@rrd1975]

The good folks at Audio Excellence said that when customers listen to and compare roughly equivalent Magico and Wilson speakers, the otherwise excellent Magico speaker is a harder sell. Maybe for the same factors that the audiophiles are addressing here?

[@jaysaudiolab]

Not sure

[@maurice4407]

@@jaysaudiolabwhy you think so?

[@johnsonadekunle7675]

I still believe the Wilson Chronosonic xvx are the best speakers you’ve had. My opinion.

[@a.s.2426]

Good video, Jay! Still would love to see the TAD R1s in your room sometime. I know you said it wasn't in the cards a number of months back.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Will do

[@michaelgarnett1372]

Would be interested in Magico w substantial tube from end - ie.VTL ?

[@lintashdown4620]

Errm.............This begs a question: if the SE17 is discontinued how good must its replacement be?

[@rebel_soul_eldin]

Magicos are Machines, the Sonus Faber are Instruments. So you decide. I am for SF. Always

[@silviosarunic6709]

Awesome video Jay! thank you for your time. SF are awesome speakers….

[@jaakanshorter]

Your last few videos plus another KZbinr triggered a question. Why do ultra high-end speakers brands still mostly use dome tweaters and not ribbons? I don't remember if you asked any of the companies you interviewed a question like that. ( I'm Including Beryllium/diamond dome tweeters too ) I have my bias of loving ESLs, ribbons, and planars.

[@hindagsxr]

Thanks!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thanks !

[@brentcollins9727]

Woohoo!!! Team Sonus Faber for life!!!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Ok

[@alldhat-n-den-sum4190]

This was really good Jay I wasn't there however I think this review was good and however I think you are right you need a speaker that is able to analyse different components. However I wish you would get proper mics professional audio/studio production mics so that we are able to hear your system properly. But this was a brilliant invitational review I wasn't there but I'll give it 10 out of 10

[@jaysaudiolab]

You will never hear what we hear. KZbin doesn't work. I've said this a million times.

[@alldhat-n-den-sum4190]

@jaysaudiolab That's obvious, but then why ask us to choose between two sound clips that you put up for us to choose between? You've done this with speakers, you've done this with amps, preamps Dac etc. However, there are other channels on KZbin that actually record their environment much better, because they invest in moderately decent microphones and recording equipment. Again I would recommend you check these channels out because you will hear it yourself. By the way I don't say this just to critique for critiquing sake, but because I like and want your channel to get even better and I see your channel going to the next level, in fact it's one of the highest level, if not the HIGHEST level of play Back equipment on KZbin. So if you can invest in speakers and amplifiers which are in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousand dollars surely you can invest in microphones and recording equipment to mic up your situation better, and this recording equipment professional recording microphones are Way way way Way way way cheaper than speaker isolation feet equipment isolation pods or interconnects... Anyway I'll leave it there it is your channel and it's up to you with that being said blessings to you Jay 🙏

[@alldhat-n-den-sum4190]

I think coming from a sound music recording production field that your choice of Magico speakers was on point. Simply because during the music reproduction process sound mixing engineers sound engineers mastering engineers like to be able to hear the very subtle differences within music production which are what most people forget when they listen to very good recorded music you want to be able to hear have to make regarding choosing the right compressor and settings when recording vocals and different musical instruments and this is the same with any other outboard Gear connected to the mixing console or in the box VST software etc so I have to commend you making your choice because it definitely will be able you to see via listening what a piece of particular hardware equipment brings to your listening environment. Having said that I would like you to listen to the differences between two different amplifiers through your amazing system. By the way, I am not trying to bring you down I appreciate and I appreciate that you are of a kind channel to bring playback components that no other channel can reach. I sincerely only want you to be the best and I know you will get there sorry that being said my observations are just coming from a place of love with no Malice intended whatsoever. However, if that's the way it seems that I have come across, I would like to sincerely apologise to you, I am sorry. And I apologise if I've made you feel that way, once again, sincerely I am sorry, I meant no harm to you and what you are doing. I know and I appreciate it takes extreme hard work, dedication and time (time which you cannot get back), to go all out for us, to allow us to witness reference Audio Systems and components and that they are not just expensive for expensive sake what are engineering feats and art that give us the joy of enjoying music and music reproduction the same way professional music systems and components are. Keep up the good work Jay and just to let you know I will always be a fan and cheerleading person of what you do. Bless. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXWkf2aQmLqLfdksi=hY6D1_9MxD35j6l1

[@TheBTG88]

Sounds like my Egglestonworks is the centerline between the Magico and the Sonus Faber house sounds.

[@mrlinde6518]

Great video. How would you rate the Aida 2?

[@jaysaudiolab]

It's good

[@mrlinde6518]

@@jaysaudiolab The SE17's are hard to come by, so I suppose Aida 2's are an option to get close to this level of performance? It also has the back firering module like the SE17.

[@chasehatton3691]

Speakers of that quality and price range should have transparency and high resolution come as standard. Critical listening then should come down to less fatigue in a comfortable tolerance of the process over long periods of time. The Sonus Faber provides the better immersive experience conducive to focused and more importantly relaxed state in critical listening. Conversely, it becomes difficult to laud the Magicos for these same attributes given the colder, antiseptic and metallic nature of the sound delivery. There is even the fear of losing the love of music if in the company of the Magicos for too long.

[@andreascrease5213]

Jay SF far more emotional and musical

[@ProfessorJohnSmith]

can the bookshelf speakers at the back be removed and used in another room

[@mizake01]

WIN!😂

[@quant2011]

Now do 1 on 1 battle of OMA Imperia vs Aries Cerat flagship with their tube amps and turntables.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Nah ive got no interest

[@quant2011]

@@jaysaudiolab too horny? ;)

[@toddwillard8927]

I’m wondering how the Sonos Faber and the Magico compare to the Wilson XVX and Rockport Lyra’s? Also, how would Gryphon ‘s line of speakers compare with these other high end offerings?

[@jaysaudiolab]

Not sure

[@JohnDoe-np3zk]

Interesting video. Basically confirmed my initial reaction to the Q7. That is to say it is too edgy and likely has some listening fatigue.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Cool

[@net_news]

I really expected this... I didn't hear the Q7s in particular but Magico sound is too analytical for my taste the first 5 minutes are amazing, incredible... but then If you have to listen to them for more than 20 minutes they enter in the "too much of a good thing" territory. SF is a safer bet, there's no bad SF they are always delightful.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Fair enough!

[@justadad2304]

It ain't easy bein' an audiophile

[@joshuabrain9751]

Heaps preferred the Magico personally. Just a technically better speaker imo.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Expand on this

[@joshuabrain9751]

@@jaysaudiolab from your videos the SF sounded veiled in comparison to me. Personally I’ve never really liked the SF speakers I’ve heard. For context the best speakers I’ve heard were TAD, Wilson and Magico so that’s my taste.

[@tictocbang7443]

@@joshuabrain9751 Which TAD? I'm curious, because I'm not a big fan of Wilson or Magico, but am really intrigued by TAD. Been considering the CE1TX, but have not heard them in person. Thanks for your comments.

[@MrTripoint1]

Jay, let me know when you want to ground the Q7. I will shock you to your core, all your assessments will have to be retested. Plus Q7 would achieve real musical realism.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Will let you know

[@MW-ii5nb]

The Sonus Faber SE17 or Tannoy kingdom Royal?

[@mizake01]

Bose 901s r best

[@thomprd]

Need a bigger mini split.

[@MrBoomtheroom]

l10 good specs will be outputting tru sound.....

[@nedeljkokopikopac1516]

Loved thiese 2 comparison of speakers!! Hope U will do IT in 2025!! Jay,do U know there is No Videos Like this on KZbin?? Keep hammering and Wish U Lots of Luck!!

[@jaysaudiolab]

Thank you

[@EfraimAvi-wb8zm]

I’ve had Magico Q3, then Magico S3 mk2 (which then they change all Magico’s tonal balance to be more warm sounding) then I replaced it to Wilson Alexia 2 which were by far better than any Magicos out there. After leaving some years with Magicos I for sure saying their sealed box concept is crap to my ears. Have heard some Sonus, Rockports and some other known ported speakers - They all do better in the regard of being MUCH more musicality experience, I’m not saying that any ported automatically lead to a more musical beast but that closed box concept lead to that annoying analytical presentation!

[@lbrizzle18]

👍

[@raphaelmeillat8527]

Sonus Faber vs Magico?? SF all day, every day! You forget the performance, and focus on the music and emotions instead! Oh... Did I mention they look better too!?

[@billrobertson2437]

Jay, both of these speakers are discontinued by the manufacturer. A person who is following your channel to help with a purchasing decision is getting very little benefit ftom this. I'm sure you are buying used because you get so much more value. I would like to see a comparison of the Aidas to the M6. These are both still in production and are similarly priced.

[@andreas7278]

That would indeed be pretty cool but I believe that Jay, very understandably so, doesn't want to buy speakers at this price level for the retail price to then sell them off for half of their value months down the road. By buying and reselling at the used market "to try out highend gear" (especially him being a used audio dealer which lets him sell used gear at better prices than private people due to higher trust when buying from a dealer than a private person) he makes this type of stuff viable in the first place. So I don't think we will see brand new current top of the line speaker models in his lab since very few people who buy those speakers sell them off before a new interesting model comes out. So it takes time for single ones to even show up on the used market even once at all.

[@brunodenis294]

Thanks for that jay

[@joshuabrain9751]

People saying Magico is dry and analytical I can’t agree with that. At this level/price of speaker you’re still getting an incredibly “musical” speaker. IMO the Magico is just better in every way. The SF are not a bad speaker by any means but imo not at the level of the Magico.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Why not ?

[@joshuabrain9751]

@@jaysaudiolab just from my personal experience from what I’ve heard at shows I feel like basically all speakers above a certain price don’t have that dry analytical sound, in my experience you get this more from the budget end. In saying this I’m only comparing these two speaker via your videos but the Magico sounded three dimensional through my integrated iPhone speaker, I didn’t get that with the SF. I could be completely way off here but that was my take away from your videos.

[@Carl-bd1rf]

The Q7 isn’t good for long periods of listening, that’s the common thread. That’s just unacceptable at that price point. Or any price point imho. My listening sessions are longer than they are shorter.

[@KT88gs]

You may get tired/bored with the romantic sound of Sonus Faber,every recording sounds the same,is that what you want.Magico is about the musical truth so you never get bored,every recording sounds different,for me,this is a better deal...but never buy a Magico as your first speaker...

[@joebeckham8352]

Its not the "best" speaker...Quit with the bests and betters, this is a subjective hobby. As everyone said, its just different. Thats the entire hobby. I love the way the listeners unpack what they like/dislike about both, that's what these channels should be about. Not what's best because it costs more $.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Ok

[@PickanPop]

Great video! Pass Labs and Sonus Faber are like peanut butter and jelly. Search that combo on KZbin. The clarity of the Pass with the musicality of the Sonus are a perfect match. It's too bad they usually pair them with Mcintosh as I find those electronics too dark for the already warm Sonus Faber sound.

[@user-bk9bc9gq7u]

Dear Jay! I see many people are not aware of the meaning of words and expressions. Audiophile equates to music lovers, which means that Sonus faber is for them. The analytic equipment does not deal with music, but with their analysis. So Magico doesn't care about the essence of the music, it just delivers data without emotion. Music is an art where the author tells his feelings and thoughts with music. So how is it now? It is very frustrating that your listeners, and unfortunately many others, are so unaware of the essence of musical expression. Unfortunately, this is partly your responsibility.🤗

[@mizake01]

Wow. So deep. Never knew this. I too like pointing out that i know more and better than others. Indeed . 😘

[@NW-q8z]

Qualified Clients was your remark at the end of the video. As subscribers to your channel I feel recently you have gone from a reviewer to boasting about the esoteric equipment you now own. These channels are not for directing people to your website to buy products that you sell. Please go back to what you used to do. And as for being qualified I’m an audiophile and a musician of over 45 years. One less subscriber to your sales now

[@jaysaudiolab]

Don’t announce it…just leave … when you have your own channel then you can do as you wish with your content and the direction in which you want to go. In the meantime, thanks for all the future views you’ll give me.

[@mrhd5831]

The Q7 design is ~10 years old. Get an M7, so you can be relevant.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Is this coming from someone who owns one ?

[@mrhd5831]

@@jaysaudiolab Heard them twice, over few hours each time. A different story than the Q7 which I'm very familiar with.

[@jaysaudiolab]

@@mrhd5831 ok so you’re talking by giving an opinion but not a qualified opinion with actual ownership. Thanks !🙏

[@mrhd5831]

​@@jaysaudiolab 🤔So, the people you invited over own both these speakers? Or is their opinion not qualified, either?

[@mizake01]

For those of us who love this shift, 10 years old makes no difference. I could not afford Jay's speaker xables in 3 lifetimes, but the video was enjoyable. Vicariuosly living my dream. If you want utuber to be "relevant" to YOUR taste, then buy M7s for Jay. Otherwise, sit down and shut up. How rude!

[@mizake01]

Who farted after shaking hands?

[@dwaynengreen1]

j don’t listen to my system all day long . I don’t care about speak fatigue. I want my wig blown off. For 30-45 minutes. Speak fatigue is so misused

[@jaysaudiolab]

Lol😂

[@mizake01]

4 hours in a seat!!?? OUCH! Agreed, if i only have 45minutes a week to sit n listen, i want my face ripped off with awesome sound. At the price, get a second rig that does what the first doesnt do. Simple.

[@peterrichard3706]

Get a regular dude, ya know someone who's got a best buy system to do comparison. Then we'll see.

[@mizake01]

YES. Mix normal people with philes. I remember learning that bass boom is not bass frequency: ports, passive radiators, transLines, Ripole, etc ., all work differently in bass frequencies. That Revelation is fun. Addicting. Mixing BestBiy folks (me) with these boutique audiophiles would be fun. The experienced philes could teach new, future audiophiles. Thats how u make a better world. Cheers 🥂

[@Simplyveej]

16:00 no need for foul language. I had this playing in my living room with my 10 years old nearby. Caused needless embarrassment and exposed my kid to bad language without warning, in a video about speakers! No need!

[@mizake01]

What the fuck do you mean? Have you been in public the last 50 years? Kids curse in ways we cant even imagine. Im more concerned with kids wasting € on Beats n Bose than hearing 4 intelligents talk without interrupting each other.

[@nicolatovey2687]

British speakers are better.

[@jaysaudiolab]

Hmmm 🤔

[@connorduke4619]

The Danes do it even better.

[@nirodha35]

😂

[@bhupendraparekh6225]

​@@johnwicks6187think it's spelt ATC

[@nicolatovey2687]

​@jaysaudiolab afraid so my friend