New Homage Series Sonus faber

New Homage Series Sonus faber

Past

The story of the Homage collection begins in 1993 with the creation of the Guarneri, a timeless and innovative 2-way design custom made for the “Museo Del Violino” in Cremona.

With its solid wood, lute shaped cabinet, silk tweeter, pulp mid-woofer, and details inspired by the works of the great luthiers, it not only served its purpose at reproducing the nuanced tonality of the various pieces in the world-renowned stringed instrument collection on display at the museum, it marked the first step in a journey which would guide and elevate the brand ever after.

Five years later, the Guarneri was joined by its floorstanding companion, the Amati.

A commanding design based on the shapes, materials and principles of the Guarneri, Sonus faber’s first full – range loudspeaker design became a leader in its class and demonstrated the brands commitment to its ideals of natural sound, high performance and constant research.

From this point forward, the two speakers would be considered part of a family.

Now, after 30 years of steadfast improvement and dramatic innovation, the Homage family is a collection of designs which represent the very core of the Sonus faber portfolio and the most iconic representation of their ideals.

This generation of Homage keeps the classic iteration of the lute shape first introduced in the previous Homage Tradition family, inspired by the Viva Aquarama water vessel, a staple of the mid- century ‘Dolce Vita’ era of Italian pop culture.

The metalwork, however, has been modified, replacing the angled edges with a smooth rounded ones.

The colour of this metalwork too has changed, replacing a choice of black and brushed aluminum with a single anodised grey offering leaving the moving parts brushed.

Featuring a new naming convention which identifies each model by its generation and a return to the coveted Graphite finish as an additional option, the entire series keeps the most pertinent technologies form the previous generation:

Their research and development team is constantly pushing the boundaries of physics with the aid of the latest generation computer simulation and testing equipment.

The new Homage series by Sonus faber introduces industry leading technology in cabinet construction.

Dramatic improvements have been made to bracing and porting system which allow for more efficiency and greater output while maintaining strategic resonance control.

The midrange and tweeter chambers are now optimised using a novel technology called Intono.

The New Intono Technology

Intono is a new technology implemented in the Amati and Serafino.

While a dedicated midrange driver benefits from a sealed enclosure it will naturally exhibit impedance spikes to the rise in air pressure inside of the enclosure.

Ported systems will have a tuning frequency at which the mass of moving air inside of the port collides with the driver exactly out of phase and the driver loses output.

These are both troublesome yet common issues for which the industry has developed various imperfect solutions, the most common of which is to use damping material to restrict airflow which itself reduces efficiency.

Intono is truly a best of both worlds solution.

The midrange driver is ducted into another sealed enclosure which is tuned just above the frequency of peak pressure.

When the port unloads, or goes below its tuning frequency, the pressure is equalised into the alternate chamber significantly reducing the impedance peak.

The tweeter remains unhindered due to its laser etched resonance-free rear labyrinth which in addition to its acoustic reinforcement function, serves to restrict airflow.

Intono is a more efficient system with the benefits of a sealed enclosure and the benefits of a port. It allows for a simpler crossover design with fewer restrictive parts.

The New Phase Plug

Discovered almost by accident through computer simulation, the new Damping Ring is another new innovation which optimises the air movement of the driver to reduce turbulence while guiding soundwaves to reinforce their propagation into a more consistent wave pattern at listening distances.

The result is a smoother frequency response with higher levels of clarity both on and off axis.

The New Midrange

Available on Amati and Serafino

The new 150mm Midrange driver is more reactive with greater efficiency and clarity.

The new midrange drivers are an absolute marvel.

Powerful Neodynium magnets drive a new voice coil which is shorter and wider to create more overall force factor with faster response and more precise control.

As the motor evolves, so too does the suspension system, optimised for greater speed and control of the latest natural fiber cone.

The New Woofers

Available on Serafino

The moving mass of the new 150mm woofer has been calibrated to avoid vibratory modes.

The Serafino woofer has been updated with a new voice coil and spider material optimised for greater air movement and bass extension.

The entire system has been carefully mass loaded to counterbalance any resonant vibration.

Available on Amati

The 220mm woofer feature a force factor increase of 23,6%.

The new Amati woofer is on a completely new level of performance.

Two separate ultralight CCAW voice coils are implemented in a custom formed neodymium Slug featuring two air gaps for maximum speed and an integrated heat sync for improved power handling.

To handle the considerable improvement in concussive force and excursion, the spider and surround were redesigned using Finite Element Method.

Available on Guarneri

The tuning on the 150mm driver has been improved, reducing resonance to 15Hz.

The Guarneri midwoofer has also been optimised for greater control and excursion.

A purpose built neodymium motor system and a new tuning frequency allowing for deeper extension without distortion.

The entire system has also been optimised, balancing mass to reduce modal vibration.

New Surround with FEM optimisation

Finite Element Method refers to solving problems in structural analysis, transport of mass or fluid

flow for example, to derive a specific outcome criteria by subdividing the complex system to simpler parts and then using the simple solutions to weave a complex mesh.

The solutions in this case met the desired outcome of a form, material and thickness of both the Bimax spider and rubber surround which is capable of controlling greater excursion under higher pressure without losing its optimal pliability.

This combined with the aforementioned custom formed neodymium slug, gives the Amati unmatched bass performance in its category.

The New Crossovers

Sonus faber’s research in the area of crossovers is a steadfast obsession.

Not only scouring the planet for the very best components and designing custom modifications , but also using the latest simulation software and relentless listening trials to push the boundaries in circuit design itself Paracross Topology TM and Interactive Fusion Filtering TM are fully integrated featuring reduction of overall component count due to Intono.

The new hybrid crossover system uses the finest components available on the market today.

Hand selected through various listening tests, Jantzen inductors and custom spec Clarity Caps and Mundorf capacitors and resistors are hand soldered on custom PCBs to ensure maximum clarity, high power handling, low noise floor and long life.

Additionally, timbre and sound-stage are improved with the new Phase Coherent design.

New Phase Coherent Design

In human sound perception, timing is everything.

The new Homage series by Sonus faber features a phase coherent driver array.

While many systems will reverse phase and polarity simultaneously in select drivers to achieve more modest power requirements, the Homage series is time aligned and phase correct on every single driver.

This not only means better impact but considerably better 3- dimensional effect allowing listeners to suspend disbelief and truly be immersed in the latest rendition of Sonus faber’s signature natural sound.

Models at Launch

Amati G5 £30000.00