Which Sonus faber for you?
We offer you both a cerebral and emotional experience with every Sonus faber model. Each has its own distinct character within their greater family values. The range allows you simple pragmatic choices based on your own requirements, aspirations and budget.
If we had to choose a single model that embodies all that we love about Sonus faber, without necessarily being the most costly option, the new Cremona Auditor M would be the one. These are one of the newest models in the range, an all round improvement on the original Auditor, which in turn was derived from an extended family of high performance compact speakers - Electa Amator, Guaneri, Extrema and Signum. The product of both history and passion, these are speakers that really do shine on audition - even if they would sell quite happily on looks alone.
The suffix M indicates a project for the optimization of the little two-way unit with the application of new technologies already introduced and tested with Elipsa. Auditor M embodies the Sonus faber tradition in the field of compact loudspeakers, making use of top-quality components and a minimal crossover network. Auditor M employs a gentle 6dB per octave roll off in order to create a refined sound, a musicality of unquestionable charm.
If you put the new Cremona Auditor M up against its predecessor, you can see where the differences are almost immediately. The angles behind the grille are sharper, the bass driver is different and the base of the dedicated speaker stand is now V-shaped. The back of the speaker is very different, too. But principally, the two share a lot in common. Naturally, this is only to be expected - the Sonus Faber design school doesn’t re-invent the wheel every time a new speaker is announced, but the closeness of the designs means the products have a distinct suono della famiglia (family sound). But with every step, the Sonus faber sound is becoming more compelling.
The cabinet itself is a tapered lute-shaped sandwich and gorgeously finished. The sandwich construction features hand-selected, top-grade layers of maple, designed to keep resonance and standing waves at bay - and to look fantastic, too. The rear port and terminator block is finished in piano-gloss black, the front is in black leatherette and what’s in between is either finished in natural maple or light graphite-coloured lacquered wood.
You’ll find the Auditor has an effective frequency response of 50Hz-30kHz, including the tuning ports, but this is still impressive for what is essentially a small-box speaker in free space. The reality is that there is plenty of bass for all but the most hardened headbangers. The speaker has a natural backward tilt, which provides a degree of time-alignment in and of itself, but the crossover network is also both time and phase aligned. The speakers are designed for free space use - a good metre or so from rear and side walls - the stands are an intrinsic part of the speakers and there is nothing to be gained by changing these. The protective grilles are a unique design, and add to the appearance while being completely acoustically transparent.
As soon as you hear the Auditors, you’ll understand why we like Sonus fabers so much. They really are the next best thing to the Quad Electrostatics, the model 2805 being the obvious comparison. The mid-range is unique among dynamic speakers, with voice produced in an uncannily natural way and any stringed instrument likewise. Where the Auditor M defines itself in being better than previous models is the overall accuracy and detail - they are fast and clean with extension at both ends of the frequency range that suggest you would be listening to a bigger speaker. But the real trick is attributable to their size - they effectively disappear within their own expansive soundstage
And unlike previous models like the Extrema, the Auditors are very amplifier friendly - they will make many smaller amplifiers sound remarkably good - they even the most out of the little NuForce Icon2 and any of the Audio Analogue amplifiers are a perfect match. Also the Quad II-40s tube amps work brilliantly with Sonus faber. Ultimately true magnificence can be reached with the Pure Audio amplifiers. And don’t feel that the modern Sonus faber can’t deal with more challenging musical tastes - anyone who has searched through our record collection knows that we can push any speaker to the physical limit and we’ve been thrilled with what we hear with the new Auditors.
From the Auditor M, we head in two directions
The larger speakers in the Cremona range deliver more extended and dramatic performances for the more demanding listeners.
And the Concert Domus series give you the essence of Sonus faber at easily affordable prices
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