Sonus faber has announced its Suprema loudspeaker system, which it says wraps a luxury design around a high-performance loudspeaker.
Marking the brand’s 40th anniversary, the Suprema system features two main columns, two subwoofers and one electronic crossover to represent what the Italian home audio company says is the future of the brand.
Sonus faber states that its latest product is the most ambitious project it has ever undertaken. The company points out the Suprema’s sophisticated four column system is comprised of two main columns and two subwoofers, and the system includes an external electronic crossover. The design of configuration system aims to extend beyond the conventional limits of the frequency band coverage and enhance acoustic performance to new levels of excellence.
Sonus faber Breaks Down the Suprema Loudspeaker’s Designs and Technologies
Each main column of Suprema is a 4/5-way system and features eight front-firing speakers, in addition to two rear-firing drivers. The configuration of tweeters and a midrange utilizes three new elements—a brand new Camila midrange with cellulose pulp diaphragm, as well as a new mid-tweeter with a treated silk dome, and a new super tweeter that includes a treated silk dome. All of the materials, the company emphasizes are in line with Sonus faber tradition.
Elaborating on the design and function of the new speaker’s driver, Sonus faber says the new Camelia midrange, responsible for the most important part of the acoustic spectrum, was developed by a team of electroacoustic engineers to ensure maximum resolution. Inspired by nature, the new membrane is not circular, nor is it masked by the suspensions, offering its entire surface to the listener and avoiding the formation of resonances associated with circular shapes.
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Sonus faber says the speaker’s new dual-drive magnetic system used with the midrange drivers helps to ensure control, dynamics, and air flow management taken care of by the company’s organic basket. Previously implemented on Stradivari woofers, this original design by Sonus faber will be featured in all next generation Sonus faber speakers.
Continuing its explanation on how the speaker was designed, Sonus faber says a special combination of the Camila midrange and tweeters are loaded in a dedicated internal volume to enhance the performance of the drivers. By leveraging simulator technology, this chamber and its inner walls maintain an organic shape, which is made entirely of recycled cork, which Sonus faber asserts, makes it the first to use the natural and sustainable material to create acoustic volume, while enhancing the resolution and naturalness of the midrange performance.
Moreover, for the optimal reproduction of infrasonic frequencies, a separate subwoofer system has been engineered to optimize low-range response regardless of the position of the main columns in the listening environment.
The subwoofer uses a pair of 38cm (14.9 inches) transducers the employ forged carbon fiber membranes and a neodymium magnet motor system to ensure undistorted pressures down to 16hz.
Controlling the coupling between the speaker and the ground is crucial to achieving a quality listening experience so Sonus faber worked with IsoAcoustics to develop a decoupling system. This decoupling system, the company stresses, enables the Suprema to reach its designed level of dynamics and power, while preserving energy content and avoiding the propagation of unwanted vibrations within a home listening space.
Another design element the Italian manufacturer points out are the crossover filters that are partially visible on the sides of the main column, use what Sonus faber says the best mix of electroacoustic configurations developed by its R&D team over the past decade.
The speaker’ s electronic crossover, dual mono and fully balanced designed concepts manages the integration between the Suprema main columns and subwoofers ,and the electronic crossover is said to maximum respect for the electrical signal. Conversely, all phase cutting and control circuits are 100% analog and created using selected discrete components, while the power supply is enclosed in a solid aluminum case, and the audio signals are protected in a lacquered wooden enclosure.
Externally, the Suprema’s four columns were designed as a callback to the brand’s 40-year heritage. The two main columns employ a lute shape as a nod back to the first Guarneri loudspeaker, and the two subwoofers feature an elliptical shape, pulled from the company’s Stradivari product, which allows the two pieces to host large transducers.
Diving deeper into the product development, the speaker features the use of carbon fiber for its exceptional resistance, wood for its harmonic qualities and CNC-manchined solid aluminum for its static qualities. Lending to the sophistication of Suprema’s aesthetics, multilayer wood is used for the side panels of the main columns to create the illusion of “wings” via a 3D bending shape.
Additionally, the Suprema loudspeaker system features a leather front panel to highlight Sonus faber tradition, however, for this project, the brand partnered with the luxury furniture brand Poltrona Frau. Each Suprema speaker system features genuine Italian leather manufactured by the most talented craftsmen in the country, adding a further touch of Italian elegance to the product.
The full 2.2 Sonus faber Suprema loudspeaker system carries a retail price of $750,000, and the company offers a single subwoofer version of the speaker system for $680,000.
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