Italy's (and the World's) Best Speaker? The Sonus faber Suprema's New-Era Tech (June 2024)

[@neilrobins3329]

When I win the lotto these will be on my shopping list 😂!

[@enniol8043]

Sonus Faber is so beautiful that people don't realize how incredible the technology is. Did I see a 3500 and a 1.25kw. So because it has an external crossover is it easy to use separate amps for the mids + highs and then the bass? Like a 901 but more powerful.

[@dougschneider8243]

I agree on the beauty -- so much so that we took the focus off all that for this video and instead focuses mostly on the tech. SF doesn't have to convince people of the beauty of the products -- they need to focus more on the tech and getting that across. As for the McIntosh amps, yes, there were MC3500s and MC1.2KWs in the Italy listening room when we shot this.

[@aa5az423]

An astounding accomplishment!

[@Albert-ed3hg]

It's too often the case seeing these video's of high end gear being in rooms not acoustically treated, what a waste those set ups are! Thankfully not the case here and if I had pocket change enough yeah, these would contend for my attention:) Good video and wonderful design work SF!

[@dougschneider8243]

Thanks for the feedback! And, yes, Sonus faber has an interesting, well-designed room. I'm of the opinion that rooms like these are necessary. But I also believe that speakers need to be use in "fairly normal" rooms. Maybe not for a speaker system like this one -- after all, you drop the $750K for this, you better have quite the room -- but for more typical models.

[@soundstagenetwork]

Thank you! And we agree -- SF knows how to design!

[@darylfortney8081]

Can’t wait till mine arrive

[@dougschneider8243]

You purchased a Suprema setup?

[@billr.5808]

You can Never go wrong purchasing Sonus Faber Speakers! 😃

[@dougschneider8243]

In the last decade or so, I'd say yes. I wasn't a fan of the older Sonus Faber speakers. To me, they were pretty hit and miss.

[@Maccaboy1984]

How do those sound without the two subwoofers?

[@dougschneider8243]

As mentioned in the video, the system has been designed to be used with subwoofers -- the default is two, but it can be purchased with just one as well. You don't want to go without. Livio mentions that the towers were designed to roll off at 40Hz, naturally, so that's not full-range sound.

[@Maccaboy1984]

Love my Sonus Faber Olympica Novas, but these do make me jealous ❤

[@good4sound]

How do the Novas sound with Rock/Pop music?

[@Maccaboy1984]

@ great I use them for all genres. Listened to Springsteen, INXS and Maneskin this week

[@good4sound]

@@Maccaboy1984 Thanks for the reply. Most of the reviews for the Nova's talk about how great they are for classical, jazz, and female voice/acoustic. It's hard to imagine dropping that much money when you primarily listen to rock and pop.

[@dougschneider8243]

I'm so pleased to see Sonus faber "go bold" and embrace the separate-subwoofer solution. Will others follow with an approach that's as well-integrated?

[@robertburton295]

What a beautiful speaker !

[@soundstagenetwork]

We agree.

[@dougschneider8243]

Beauty is more or less a given these days with Sonus faber speakers. Overall, probably the best industrial design for speakers in the business. With this, though, they're hoping that the tech will stand out.

[@CarlVanDoren61]

❤ disappearing speakers 🔊 😊

[@BuzzardSalve]

What do they mean by "phase coherent" crossover ?

[@dougschneider8243]

AFAIK, they are talking about the phase relationships of each driver in the crossover. Essentially, how the phase of one looks against the other for the most "cohesive" blend.

[@BuzzardSalve]

@@dougschneider8243 So is it a minimum phase design ?

[@thespeakerproject]

@@BuzzardSalve loudspeakers are minimum phase devices. they are just saying that each overlapping transducer is in time, i.e. in phase. The exact amount that they're in phase is not known from this video.

[@BuzzardSalve]

@@thespeakerproject If the crossover is a non minimum phase design then it's impossible to get a minimum phase response. The only way to do this is with a 1st order crossover. Is this what they are doing ?

[@dougschneider8243]

@@BuzzardSalve As far as I know, they're not saying it's a minimum-phase design. Also, know this -- TRUE first-order designs are very rare. Furthermore, not very desirable with most designs due to the significant driver overlap -- distortion and off-axis errors happen big time. AFAIK, what SF is talking about is the driver-to-driver phase matching in each of the crossover areas.

[@jimhatch1726]

I think the subwoofer cabinets should be deeper ???

[@peteryeung111]

Pretty sure they know what they’re doing and did many configurations in the design phase.

[@richardpeters2193]

It's cheaper to charter a plane and go to any live concert you wish.

[@dougschneider8243]

Perhaps true. But I think it's also safe to say that anyone who can afford these speakers can likely have the speakers and still charter the plane.

[@dougschneider8243]

People do want to know everything. And sometimes what's really basic to some -- others do need to know about.

[@brunorivademar5356]

Do people like you ever get tired of typing the same old dumb comment?

[@mysticrythems2112]

​@@dougschneider8243Eloquently put!

[@peteryeung111]

It’s cheaper to tell time from my phone than buying a $50,000 Rolex. To each their own.😘😘

[@sbonamo]

Natural resonance of the wood, as a good thing???

[@DrBroncanuus]

SF Extrema's are my fav speaker but Multi driver + Crossover's means you will never get the magic of a source point design....

[@dougschneider8243]

They're talking about the summing response of each drive unit as it transitions to another. As one rolls off at the top of its band and the other rolls in, are they summing ideally or, as I sometimes like to say, "fighting to sum." You want ideal summation.

[@amcore6281]

If we compare the Wilson Audio Master Chronosonic... 2 speakers, 2 bass towers and a crossover. it is approximately the same trading price. then the Sonos Faber is completely overpriced! I realize both are completely ridiculously expensive. But the Wilson is miles away from the workmanship and choice of materials of the Sonos Faber.

[@samd3231]

c'est beau c'est beau ... Ça doit coûter des sous lol..... et nous qui ne qui ne pourront jamais souffrir ce genre de matériel on aurait bien aimé pouvoir écouter une petite démonstration en binaural !!!! la musique est le son ne doivent pas être la propriété de personne .. ni réservé à une élite particulière qui n'en appréciera peut-être pas la qualité !!

[@dougschneider8243]

It costs BIG money. But you might be happy to know you can buy many speakers from Sonus faber and numerous other speaker companies for much less. As for binaural music, that's something we don't do in our videos -- but others provide that.

[@hifiman4562]

Best for what? Every speaker has it's purpose.

[@dougschneider8243]

You're 100% right. There is no "best." But if someone wants to quality it, "best big speaker for a big room" perhaps?

[@stevenkoski228]

Paper & silk are antiquated materials, polypropylene, carbon fiber, ceramics, beryllium & diamond achieve better fidelity🙈💩.

[@dougschneider8243]

There are numerous materials that can be used effectively for driver diaphragms. Materials like you mention -- particularly carbon fiber, ceramics, beryllium -- are extremely stiff, but they have limitations, too. Speaker design is a balance of trade-offs, so there are many directions one can go. That said, paper and silk can work well as well.

[@marcellominasi41]

Hai ragione, non comprarle.