From Italy Sonus Faber to Fine Sounds UK - Sonetto I Speakers

A few months back we wrote a blog to introduce the new Sonus Faber ranges, distributed by Fine Sounds UK. This month we thought we would delve a little deeper into Sonus Faber, and take a closer look at the the Sonetto I bookshelf speakers.

Sonus Faber Sonetto1 (white)

Hand-sewn leather top

The Sonus Faber Sonetto 1 is a very pretty loudspeaker with some some fantastic finishes available to compliment your home décor. Gloss Black, Wenge, Wood or Satin White as featured here are the available finishes. These slick cabinet colours are teamed with a hand-sewn leather top, a designed feature filtered down form the Olympica range.

All of the Sonetto range incorporates the Lute shaped cabinet that is not only pleasing to the eye but sonically important. This shape ensures that there are no parallel surfaces in the internal construction, offering perfect control over the internal resonances.

Lute shape cabinet

Bespoke Accessories

Sonetto stand

To complete the stylish look of the Sonetto I, Sonus Faber have created a bespoke pair of Sonetto Stands, manufactured from extruded aluminium to give it the rigidity needed for the performance expected from such a standmount loudspeaker. A nice touch to give piece of mind is the bolt on system for the top plate to the base of the speaker. The Soft velour on the base of the speaker and the top of the stand give a perfect seat for placement before bolting down. A nice extra is the cut out in the back of the stand upright for cable management.

Performance

Now let’s take a look at the sonic performance of the Sonetto I. Sonus Faber talk of the "voice" of its loudspeaker ranges and this voice is provided by the combination of cabinet construction, silk dome tweeter and natural fibre midwoofer and the front reflex port.

The silk dome tweeter is constructed with D.A.D (damped apex dome) technology and the mid-woofer with its natural fibre air dried diaphragm delivers high end performance at an affordable price. This technology has filtered down from their flagship Reference and Olympica ranges to achieve such high sonic presentation.

Tweeter

Midwoofer

If asked, we would describe the Sonetto range as incredibly smooth without lacking punch or detail. The bass is defined, tight and tuneful and the treble is smooth, sweet and not fatiguing. The midrange offers detail in vocals that other loudspeakers at this price struggle to achieve. I think I could put my feet up and listen to these speakers all day and I wouldn’t get tired.

We have found the Sonetto I easy to place in most rooms. If space is tight it is surprising how well they perform close to the wall due to the shape of cabinet and the front mounted bass reflex port .

The System

For the purpose of this demonstration we used a system consisting of -

• Leema Acoustics Elements amplifier - (Soon to be a permanent fixture at Audio T Cardiff, so watch this space for a future blog)

• Bluesound Node 3 Wireless Network Music Streamer

• Rega Planar 8 fitted with a Dynavector 20x cartridge

• Trichord Dino Mk3 phono stage

• All hooked up with Chord Company Epic X speaker cable and Shawline interconnects.

Made in Italy

Demo tracks we've enjoyed on the Sonetto 1 include

• Pearl Jam - Yield - Vinyl

• Jessie Ware - Mirage (Don't Stop) - Tidal Streaming

• Little Simz - Point and Kill - Qobuz Hi-Res Audio

Pearl Jam’s , Yield, is an album recorded in the 90s and when played on vinyl can be a little on the loose side in the bass, but the Sonetto I has no problem in controlling this and offers an immersive experience. Jessie Ware - Mirage offers a disco style with some pace. The vocal reproduction on these speakers is superb, along with the presence and timing of the modulated rhythm guitar. If you are looking to improve your stereo hi-fi or expand on your home cinema the Sonus Faber Sonetto I is a must to audition and are exceptional contenders in their price range.

Thanks for reading.

Nick, Kerrin & Matt - Audio T Cardiff

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Sonus faber can be found at the following Audio-T stores

• BRISTOL

• CARDIFF

• SWINDON

• SOUTHAMPTON

System Synergy! Creating A Great Sounding Home Hi-Fi System Using Naim, Rega & Acoustic Energy

According to Wikipedia, Synergy, is the creation of a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts. At Audio T we have a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from working over many years, with a multitude of different Hi-Fi manufacturers and their products. This collective knowledge means we can suggest and created great value, balanced and musically satisfying home audio systems. We also know that partnering a series of 5 star award winning products doesn’t always make for a great sounding Hi-Fi system!

So, with that in mind, we thought it would put together a complete mid-level Hi-Fi system for small to medium sized rooms, that would cope equally well with reproducing vinyl, but also introduce the option of entering the world of high quality music streaming. We wanted to put together something that would straight away get to the heart of the music and the artists performance, in a thoroughly enjoyable way.

To meet our brief, we have put together some new outstanding products with an old but good favourite. So what have we lined up?

·      Naim Nait XS3 amplifier

·      Naim ND5XS2 streamer

·      Rega Planar 6 with Exact moving magnet cartridge

·      Acoustic Energy AE500 bookshelf speakers

The talented individuals - but do they excel as a team?

Naim Nait XS3

The new Naim Nait XS3 amplifier makes a simple, elegant and powerful music playing solution. The amplifier is all analogue, with a wide and flexible range of inputs; the moving magnet phono stage is a new introduction for this model to reflect the resurgence of vinyl. It makes a great low-box pairing with the matching ND5 XS 2 streamer

Sideways glance..

Naim ND5XS2

The ND5XS2 uses the latest innovative new streaming platform from Naim with an expanded feature set. This is a versatile player giving access to a full range of streaming options including Tidal, Spotify, Internet radio etc. Naturally you can additionally install a server should you wish to stream local files; ripped CDs, Hi-Res downloads etc. It’s also Blutooth and Chromecast enabled. The Naim software can be operated from a mobile phone or tablet. The ND5XS2 can form part of a multi-room setup with other Naim streaming products too. The quality and versatility of the Naim streaming app is very good indeed.

Rega Planar 6 and Exact MM

The Planar 6 benefits from the trickle-down technology derived from ongoing research at Rega. It follows the Rega design ethic of a low mass but rigid structure, to minimise unnecessary distortion. It comes with an advanced anti-vibration motor circuit powered by a separate NEO power supply, tuned to each individual deck. Regas’ attention to rigidity is further enhanced by a double brace between the tonearm and the hub pillars to further accuracy in playback. It is clear that a lot of thought and engineering detail had gone into this simple but elegant package.

Planar 6, Exact and Aswad!

Acoustic Energy AE 500

The AE500 is a new compact stand-mount loudspeaker from the flagship AE 500 Series. It features a newly developed carbon fibre tweeter and mid/bass drivers, to enhance musical power and accuracy, but with improved self-damping for a smoother, more transparent sound. It is an attractive speaker, well put together and surprisingly heavy, given its size!

Showing the carbon drivers

Well, the important bit is how does the system sound?

It sounds very balanced and dynamic, able to easily convey the depth, richness and dynamics available from vinyl. The voicing and phono stage of the XS3 amplifier and the Rega combine to provide a very convincing and immersive sound.

The ND5 XS2 benefits from classic Naim engineering and fastidious attention to detail ensuring that it delivers natural, engaging sound quality from all streamed digital sources. Its musical and technical performance is highly satisfying and informative.

Throughout all this the XS3 provides a solid, powerful and musically coherent, tonally accurate foundation, to allow the system to really breathe and unleash the music.

The AE 500’s more than hold up their end of the bargain being rich, dynamic, insightful and faithful to the intensity of the performance. Given their size they cannot defy the laws of physics and produce prodigious bass, but they nonetheless give a very solid foundation to the music.

Together, it is a great system that makes you forget what kit you are listening to and instead become immersed in the musical performance. Everything works well together to produce an exceptional result. That is true Synergy.

If you are looking for a system built around compact speakers, you need to have a listen to this!

All items are available for demonstration at Audio T Reading.

Rob - Sales Consultant.

Naim Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T.

Rega Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T.

Acoustic Energy HI-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T: Bristol, Cheltenham, Enfield, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Swindon