Sonus Faber... the (excellent) Italian design really equal the audio performance?

[jae]

General rule of thumb for me is that if a company cannot make a decent "cheaper" consumer speaker for the everyman, then they probably don't know how to make good expensive ones. This one for example costs $1300 USD and is unacceptable...

There are $150 speakers that perform better than this. In fact you can probably take some off-the-shelf drivers and glue them into some tupperware and accidentally make a better loudspeaker. We might not have quality measurements for their more expensive offerings but in my opinion this brand is not even worth considering unless someone can show reliable measurements proving otherwise. And even if they were good, we have dozens if not hundreds from reliable brands that perform verifiably better for a fraction of the price.

 

[Prolix]

Wharfedale Aura 2 looks at least decent and gets some good user reviews. Not sure of any quality measurements.

I just can't bring myself to consider paying $2500 for speakers that look like they're wrapped in a plastic sticker.

 

[Mr. Widget]

Audition the different Revel bookshelves.

Very nice sounding speakers, but are either an acquired taste visually or are for those who are not aesthetically particular.

I just can't bring myself to consider paying $2500 for speakers that look like they're wrapped in a plastic sticker.

I just can't bring myself to live with ugly speakers. Even though I am an advocate of double blind testing, in my home I have to look at the speakers even if the primary function is to playback music.

 

[Keith_W]

Very nice sounding speakers, but are either an acquired taste visually or are for those who are not aesthetically particular.

I just can't bring myself to live with ugly speakers. Even though I am an advocate of double blind testing, in my home I have to look at the speakers even if the primary function is to playback music.

I sympathize with you totally Linkwitz said that "speakers are transducers". I think what he meant by this is that speakers should be designed with a "form follows function" approach. He consequently designed some truly ugly speakers, including one which was constructed out of plumbing pipes. The objective measurements are beautiful though.

Then there are people like Sonus Faber who (probably?) think that "speakers are furniture". They are the opposite of Linkwitz, they design truly beautiful speakers but with so-so performance.

We are all objectivists here, but we should not ignore the expectation bias part of musical enjoyment. When we see beautiful speakers, we expect them to sound better, so they do sound better.

 

[Puddingbuks]

Focus on audio performance and get something like this:

 

[Penelinfi]

Such nice craftsmanship but measures like a Sonus Faber (he was the original owner of them)

 

[Koeitje]

View attachment 384187

Wharfedale Aura 2 looks at least decent and gets some good user reviews. Not sure of any quality measurements.

Didn't Erin measure this on his Klippel NFS?

 

[Wolf11Man]

A lot of the so called "design artists" have a disturbed relationship to objectivistic technicians. Even more when these want money for work. Bad habit, they should be gracefull to be near the real art maker. So no specialist get's hired. They can do just as well as these "measuring idiots". So they decided that they just need to do something that looks like a fantastic, valueable speaker and it will be one. Art magically creates glorious sound. ( Close to the Chinese mindset, if you can not tell a copy from the outside to be fake, it can be sold just like the real thing. The inventor should be honored that he got copied.)

I'm a bit burned child with these speakers. A friend bought some used and blamed the sound on any component he owned, but not the speaker. Desparetly searched for a few dubious music tracks that sounded good.
He was unable to accept they are just no good sounding speakers, as being praised in so many magazines. Even the obvious inacceptable response, clearly printed in the magazines, didn't convince him. Usually holes in the response can be tollerated, but heavy peaks in the listening range don't go unnoticed. By the way, the bass was another very ugly problem. The mid peak could have been fixed in the crossover, but not the 50% missing volume for the woofer.

 

[MarcT]

Didn't Erin measure this on his Klippel NFS?

Turns out he did, and likes them. He says they are worth the price.

 

[Mr. Widget]

We are all objectivists here, but we should not ignore the expectation bias part of musical enjoyment. When we see beautiful speakers, we expect them to sound better, so they do sound better.

Unless the audio performance is truly sub-par, then yes the expectation bias kicks in and is hard to ignore... but that wasn't my point.

What I was saying was that I will not accept living with ugly speakers regardless of their performance or low price. Unlike an amp that can be hidden in a closet... all of mine are, for a speaker to perform its best it really must be visible in the listening room. (Dedicated theaters or rooms with acoustically transparent fabric walls are the exception to this case, but are relatively rare.)

 

[Oddball]

Unless the audio performance is truly sub-par, then yes the expectation bias kicks in and is hard to ignore... but that wasn't my point.

What I was saying was that I will not accept living with ugly speakers regardless of their performance or low price. Unlike an amp that can be hidden in a closet... all of mine are, for a speaker to perform its best it really must be visible in the listening room. (Dedicated theaters or rooms with acoustically transparent fabric walls are the exception to this case, but are relatively rare.)

I could not agree more. But what’a ugly vs not or in the middle? Best guess people will have different opinions on that point in most cases? I certainly don’t have ugly speakers IMO, but someone else could have a different view.

 

[Shorty]

Who cares about frequency response when you can be looking at something like the SF16 sitting on the sideboard?

 

[YSDR]

General rule of thumb for me is that if a company cannot make a decent "cheaper" consumer speaker for the everyman, then they probably don't know how to make good expensive ones. This one for example costs $1300 USD and is unacceptable...

They can but probably they don't want to make cheap good ones. They reserves the good measurements for their more expensive models.
BTW the Lumina II does not measures bad at all, it's even good I say. The frequency response easily correctable if one wants that.

 

[GXAlan]

They reserves the good measurements for their more expensive models.

Sonus Faber Cremona loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 2: Measurements The Cremona was significantly more sensitive than average, at an estimated 91dB(B)/2.83V/m. It should therefore work well with moderately powered amplifiers. However, that amplifier must still be capable of delivering a goodly amount of current. Even though the Sonus...

www.stereophile.com

Sonus Faber Stradivari Homage loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 2: Measurements The drop-dead gorgeous Stradivari Homage is specified as having a very high 92dB voltage sensitivity; to Sonus Faber's credit, my estimated figure was even higher, at 93dB(B)/2.83V/m. However, the speaker asks the partnering amplifier for a lot of current capability, its...

www.stereophile.com

Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

www.stereophile.com

These are really reasonable measurements especially knowing that frequency response irregularities will be masked in stereo with real music. You can use sighted bias to positive effect since these speakers are BEAUTIFUL.

The old ones aimed for neutral, maybe with rolled off highs, but they didn’t have the technology to fully optimize the frequency response.

But the newer ones are more voiced away from neutral despite having more technology at their disposal.

Sonus Faber Lumina III loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Sonus Faber Lumina III's frequency response in the farfield and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike to measure the nearfield and in-room responses. I measured the speaker's impedance with MLSSA...

www.stereophile.com

Sonus Faber Olympica Nova 1 loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 4: Measurements

www.stereophile.com

Sonus Faber Guarneri Tradition loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

www.stereophile.com

I would still buy a first generation Stradivari just for the looks.

 

[MarcT]

I own the Lumina V, which imo is worth the extra price over the Lumina III because the V has an internal chamber for the mid-range driver. Tested here:

SONUS FABER Lumina V

Sonus odpuścił (tymczasem?) serie niskobudżetowe, które wprowadził kilka lat temu, ale nie okopał się na pozycjach high-endowych. Seria ...

audio.com.pl

The English translation is not great but you can get the gist of it. There are some measurements, but I'm not the one to comment on those.

 

[Mr. Widget]

These are really reasonable measurements especially knowing that frequency response irregularities will be masked in stereo with real music. You can use sighted bias to positive effect since these speakers are BEAUTIFUL.

And why not!

Obviously we all have different aesthetic opinions and personal priorities, but why not enjoy a piece of art that can ALSO play music?

 

[MarcT]

It appears we may have lost the OP.

 

[Oddball]

And why not!

Obviously we all have different aesthetic opinions and personal priorities, but why not enjoy a piece of art that can ALSO play music?

Wholeheartedly agree. But then when to draw a line where the measurements are the reason why the work of art would be undesirable? Is there any predetermined criteria that could help with getting both of both worlds?

 

[kelesh]

They design medium quality speaker from medium priced chassis and then take some CNC'd Italian wallnut and glue it on the side walls. I would call the idea revolutionary.
Look at that center speaker, a true marvel in Italian design. Makes me think of that chunk of slightly used soap we have in the guest room.
At least the cladding does nothing bad to the sound. Maybe even a 0.965% improvement in sound. Don't beat me on the last digit.

Cosmetic changes, then. And if, like me, you don't like that rounded edge design, then it is a medium quality speaker made even worse by means of ornamentation.

 

[GXAlan]

And why not!

Obviously we all have different aesthetic opinions and personal priorities, but why not enjoy a piece of art that can ALSO can play music?

Exactly!

Although if I had the budget to spend on a $150,000 sound system, I would probably just buy a Steinway Spirio R and stick with a $10k sound system.