Floorstanding loudspeakers — Sonus Faber AIDA

The Sonus faber Aida belongs to the Reference collection of the Vicenza speaker maker and is a passive tower, named after the Giuseppe Verdi opera. The cabinet keeps the lute shape of the line, curved on both sides and dressed in high gloss wood, black leather and aluminum. Buyers choose red, wenge or walnut wood, each combined with black leather.

Key specs that matter

Sonus faber describes the Aida as a 3 and 2/3 way system with a para-aperiodic vented box and a staggered low frequency section. The front array starts with a 28 mm H28 XTR-04 extended range soft dome with DAD Arrow Point on a high power neodymium magnet, followed by a 180 mm M18 XTR-04 midrange with a cellulose pulp cone. Two 220 mm W22XTR-12 woofers and a 320 mm SW32XTR-08 subwoofer driver cover the low range, with the network dividing at 55, 150, 200 and 3000 Hz. The maker quotes 18 Hz to 35000 Hz, 92 dB SPL at 2.83 V and 1 m, 4 ohm nominal impedance and suitability for amplifiers from 100 to 1000 W. Each speaker measures 1725 x 482 x 780 mm (HxWxD) and weighs 165 kg net.

Engineering and use context

Beyond the forward drivers, the Aida carries a Sound Field Shaper array made of a 29 mm 29XTR2 tweeter and two 80 mm M8XTR midrange units. Zero Vibration Transmission decoupling is fitted, and the Silent Case enclosure uses its double curvature to control energy inside the box. A Tuned Mass Damper, a device normally found in tall buildings, places suspended masses inside the speaker that vibrate in antiphase to cancel the main cabinet vibrations. The patented Stealth Ultraflex port is designed to cut total harmonic distortion, remove spurious noise from air moving through the reflex duct and allow smaller acoustic chambers. Compared with the previous generation of Aida, every driver is new and built around a neodymium motor system. The crossover is built with high-end components, and the owner can register the pair within 30 days of purchase for an extended warranty.

Pairing

Six binding posts per speaker give separate inputs for the Mid-Hi, Low and Sub sections. Beyond the three standard finishes, Sonus faber offers customization options for the cabinet. Each packed speaker weighs 275 kg in a 1930 x 740 x 1170 mm crate. Sonus faber publishes an owner's manual and technical drawings for the model.

Alternatives

Within the same Reference collection Sonus faber also offers the Suprema, another floor standing system.