Сабвуферы — Sonus Faber GRAVIS V

The Gravis V is an active subwoofer in the Gravis collection from Sonus faber, the Italian company from Arcugnano that has built subwoofers since 1986. The maker states that the Gravis V is matched in acoustics, design and performance with its Homage loudspeakers, and it is also listed as a partner for the Olympica Nova line. In the Gravis range it sits between the entry Gravis III and the larger Gravis VI. The US price is USD 6,000.

Key specs that matter

A single 320 mm long-throw driver with a sandwich honeycomb cone and a wide rubber surround works in a sealed box. The built-in Class AB amplifier is rated at 850 W RMS and 1,200 W peak. With the default setting the response is 20 Hz at -6 dB, shaped by a fourth-order Linkwitz acoustic roll-on, up to a user-set upper limit. The low-pass crossover can be placed anywhere between 40 Hz and 150 Hz with a 24 dB per octave slope, and phase is continuously variable from 0 to 360 degrees. Each unit is 455 x 448 x 448 mm and weighs 32 kg.

Engineering and use context

The sealed cabinet uses one driver and no port, so the cone alone moves the air. Sonus faber describes its amplification approach for Gravis as BASH, short for Bridged Amplifier Switching Hybrid, which combines features of Class AB and Class D operation with a modulated switched-mode power supply that follows the input signal. The top panel is finished in wood or lacquer with 14 layers of hand-applied coats, and the sides are wrapped in Italian leather. Seven finishes are offered - Wenge, Red and Piano Black in high gloss, plus four versions with 45 degree grain and an inlaid logo in Red, Wenge, Graphite and Piano Black, all with black leather. Inputs include left and right or LFE on RCA, a pair of balanced XLR sockets and a Neutrik 4-pole Speakon high-level input. A master volume control sits on the unit, and a dedicated iOS and Android app adds four presets, crossover and phase settings, up to eight parametric filters, delay from 1 to 20 ms and an adjustable auto on and off threshold. An optional Gravis Transmitter allows wireless connection to the system.

Pairing

The Speakon high-level input is wired from the loudspeaker outputs of an amplifier, which suits stereo integrated amplifiers without a preamp output, while the XLR and RCA inputs connect to preamplifiers and AV processors with an LFE channel. Sonus faber aims the Gravis V at Homage owners, though it will work beside main speakers from other brands too.

Alternatives

The Sonus faber Gravis VI is the higher performance model in the same collection for larger systems.