At this year’s CES I was introduced to Sonus Faber’s new Liuto which was being demoed in the Sumiko room. Filling the gap between the Domus line and the exclusive Classic line, the Liuto is a three-way vented design that uses all new drivers including a 6-inch carbon fiber midrange, a 9-inch woofer and a return to the large, 1-inch soft dome tweeter of early models. While it maintains certain classic Sonus trappings like the lute shaped side panels, Liuto is a cleaner more contemporary take that should be an easy and more neutral fit into most rooms. My very preliminary impressions at the time were that “the Liuto applied its handiwork with a combination of warmth, low frequency extension that seemed comfortable and unchallenged in the 40-cycle range, balancing a combination of instrumental detail with enveloping soundstage dimensionality. Bass seemed a little looser and more conventionally box-like than some in this class but it also had a different kind of energy. The Sonus was a bit darker and weightier, perhaps not as fast on transients in some measurements but full of the va-va-voom sensuousness that have come to embody Sonus offerings. Long story short I really wanted a shot at hearing them in my own listening space. A week ago, they arrived! Here is what I saw as I unpacked them.
the accessory kit includes all the necessary spikes and floor pucks as well as the stabilizing outrigger.
Detail of the same.
Flawless arrival, the speakers weigh roughly 60 lbs each
on my trusty hand-truck awaiting installation of outrigger and spikes.
Everything is pretapped and the wood screws were installed with a conventional hand screwdriver.
Detail of unequal length spikes for front and back.
Installed-note the pristine reflection on the ebony balck finish of the Liuto from the nearby outdoor furniture. Time to get these babies inside!
Finally, in my listening room awaiting break-in. Apologies to colleagues and photography mavens Steve Stone and Jonathan Valin for the blurry shot-It was just my excitement showing
Details of drive units
Detail shows spikes and pucks elegantly in place. The speakers are currently breaking in but to be honest straight from the box they already are prving themselves a great fit in my smallish room-powerful, extended and sweet. Perhaps not quite as detail oriented as the $12K+ Cremona M but consider that Liuto is less than half the cost. More impressions to come.
Tags: SONUS FABER
By Neil Gader
My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.
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