Floorstanding loudspeakers — Sonus Faber IL CREMONESE

Il Cremonese, a tower speaker by Sonus Faber, is named after the violin Antonio Stradivari built in Cremona in 1715, linking the design to the Italian violin-making tradition. The maker places it in its reference collection, and its cabinet shape uses a rhomboidal diamond motif inspired by the Lilium project.

Key specs that matter

Its layout is a 3.5-way full para-aperiodic vented box. A 28 mm H28 XTR-04 tweeter with a high power neodymium magnet uses a wide-bandwidth soft dome of the DAD Arrow Point type, an M18 XTR-04 midrange of 180 mm has its own neodymium magnet system, two W18XTR-12 woofers of 180 mm handle the bass and two W22XTR-16 units of 220 mm reach lowest. Crossover points are 80, 250 and 2,500 Hz. Sonus Faber quotes 35 Hz to 35,000 Hz, a sensitivity of 92 dB SPL at 2.83 V and 1 m and a nominal impedance of 4 ohm. Suggested amplifier power is 100 W to 800 W without clipping. Each speaker measures 1,449 x 398 x 621 mm and weighs 84 kg. That gives six drivers per cabinet, with four of them devoted to the bass region.

Engineering and use context

The DAD tweeter combines the character of a classic dome with the advantages of a ring radiator, and its Damped Apex Dome prevents resonances at the centre of the diaphragm. The infra-woofers use a long-stroke voice coil of 63.5 mm. Cabinet walls are not parallel and carry Avional surface treatments, and the diamond pattern adds structural stiffness to the wooden enclosure. Damper shelves cut from Avional, an aerospace aluminium alloy, collect vibrations inside the cabinet to suppress spurious noise. Every driver has its own acoustically treated volume, filled with individually selected materials including open cell thermoplastic foam and fibrous damping of the kind used in piano construction. The double curvature lute cabinet combines high gloss wood, black leather and aluminium. Finishes are Walnut or Red lacquered wood carrying black inlays, or Wenge high gloss with maple inlays, all with black leather accents.

Pairing

Sensitivity in the low nineties is high for a low impedance design, yet the maker still advises a substantial amplifier, so a solid amplifier with good current capability suits it best. Four binding posts are divided into Mid-Hi and Low sections for bi-wiring or bi-amplification with separate amplifier channels.

Alternatives

The Amati Supreme is a 4.5-way Sonus Faber floorstander derived from the Suprema project in a shorter 1,176 mm cabinet.