John Darko
Sonus faber has today announced Duetto, its first streaming active loudspeaker; designed in Italy, made in China. The two-way standmount houses a 0.7″ 1.1″ wave-guided silk dome tweeter driven by a 100-watt Class A/B amplifier and a long-throw paper pulp 5.25″ mid/bass driver driven by a 250-watt Class D amplifier. The crossover sits at 1.9kHz – a little lower than the typical 3kHz.
The tweeter is equipped with a copper cap to steer it towards the unit’s lower frequencies and the mid/bass unit is fitted out with surround suspension and a neodymium magnet “to achieve the deepest frequencies”. According to the press release, the driver’s ‘Organic Basket’ has been designed to prevent unwanted resonances and to ease airflow.
That ‘airflow’ exits vents to the rear with the bass reflex port mounted within a ribbed, die-cast aluminium heatsink, which cools the internal electronics: amplifiers (one per driver), DACs (one per driver) and a streaming board. On streaming support, we get aptX Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast and – eventually – Roon Ready.
Until Qobuz comes through with its own Connect service, its library will remain streamable via AirPlay, Roon or Chromecast — or via Duetto’s accompanying smartphone app, available for iOS and Android. The app also handles speaker settings but some of those settings, along with firmware updates, are also accessible via a web interface. Your choice of Ethernet or wifi.
However, we get no say over the way the primary loudspeaker – which additionally accommodates HDMI eARC, TOSLINK and line/MM phono – hands off any signal to the secondary loudspeaker. Sonus faber has implemented the Duetto’s intralink with ultra-wide band (UWB) technology which, according to the engineering team, “avoids latency and interference in the connection between the two speakers. UWB also guarantees a very wide frequency spectrum to send data signals at high speed.”
Each lute-shaped wooden cabinet is wrapped in real wood veneer for which we get a choice of dark or light finishes. The clever part: the primary speaker’s vegan leather top integrates three strip lights and a touch-sensitive panel for volume up/down, play/pause and input selection. And it all works surprisingly well — I know this because I’ve had a pair of Duetto here in Berlin for the past three months. That’s why this news announcement goes beyond the information contained in the press release.
Old schoolers will no doubt welcome the addition of an infra-red remote control but some might not like the heavy presses required by its buttons. Maybe this will ease over time. But then again, experience tells me that old schoolers are happier with their separates. Nothing for them to see here. This is Future-Fi for the more progressive hi-fi thinker.
Sonus faber rates the Duetto as 3dB down at 37Hz but in my initial listening tests, it sounds like they go lower. That could be the in-built Fletcher-Munson curve correction that begins to boost bass and treble as the volume drops below 20%. Doubtful then that I will need to make use of the auto-sensing subwoofer output on the rear of the primary speaker but a side-by-side comparison with the similarly-priced Buchardt A500 nevertheless awaits.
The Duetto sell for €3999/per pair. Bespoke stands will be available in December for €749/pair. Shipping begins in November.
Further information: Sonus faber
