Unboxing: Sonus Faber Liuto Loudspeaker
At this year’s CES I was introduced to Sonus Faber’s new Liuto which was being demoed in the Sumiko room. Filling the gap between the Domus line and the exclusive Classic line, the Liuto is a three-way vented design that uses all new drivers including a 6-inch carbon fiber midrange, a 9-inch woofer and a return to the large, 1-inch soft dome tweeter of early models. While it maintains certain classic Sonus trappings like the lute shaped side panels, Liuto is a cleaner more contemporary take that should be an easy and more neutral fit into most rooms. My very preliminary impressions at the time were that "the Liuto applied its handiwork with a combination of warmth, low frequency extension that seemed comfortable and unchallenged in the 40-cycle range, balancing a combination of instrumental detail with enveloping soundstage dimensionality. Bass seemed a little looser and more conventionally box-like than some in this class but it also had a different kind of energy. The Sonus was a bit darker and weightier, perhaps not as fast on transients in some measurements but full of the va-va-voom sensuousness that have come to embody Sonus offerings. Long story short I really wanted a shot at hearing them in my own listening space. A week ago, they arrived! Here is what I saw as I unpacked them.
the accessory kit includes all the necessary spikes and floor pucks as well as the stabilizing outrigger.
Detail of the same.
Flawless arrival, the speakers weigh roughly 60 lbs each
on my trusty hand-truck awaiting installation of outrigger and spikes.
Everything is pretapped and the wood screws were installed with a conventional hand screwdriver.
Detail of unequal length spikes for front and back.
Installed-note the pristine reflection on the ebony balck finish of the Liuto from the nearby outdoor furniture. Time to get these babies inside!
Finally, in my listening room awaiting break-in. Apologies to colleagues and photography mavens Steve Stone and Jonathan Valin for the blurry shot-It was just my excitement showing
Details of drive units
Detail shows spikes and pucks elegantly in place. The speakers are currently breaking in but to be honest straight from the box they already are prving themselves a great fit in my smallish room-powerful, extended and sweet. Perhaps not quite as detail oriented as the $12K+ Cremona M but consider that Liuto is less than half the cost. More impressions to come.
Comments
The part of this article may have been your excitment during the picture of blurriness. I know how excited I was when I seen the boxes for my Proac D28's and I think you know what Im talking about, you all do.
Enjoy
Mike,
You're very kind-I'm a pretty lousy photographer. Next time out I'll grab the ole tripod.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Gorgeous speakers - I have been a fan of the Sonus Faber Grand Pianos for years and have lusted after a set for my own someday. Can't wait to here the full review after break in. What's the current recommended power requirements for these?
I've been driving them with ease thanks to the 100Wpc Simaudio i3.3 integrated but I'm going to pickup the new Plinius Hiato tomorrow so I'll report on my findings shortly. The Plinius brings about 300Wpc to the table-at about 2,5 times the cost of the sweet Simaudio.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Will you audition also the other components of the Liuto series? I am interested in them also for HT application. Maybe pairing them with my Guarnieri.... Let us know.
Angelo
Dear Mr. Gader: I thought this was a very honest review on Liuto, unlike other reveiws I have read on Sonus at this price point, I comend you on this. I had one question , are the liuto better in performance (listenability, dynamics, imaging, etc) compared to Grand Piano. I have owned grand piano and they sound muddied, poor bass performance and dull tweeter sound. Also, you thoughts on Revels F52 VS Grand piano setup for cinema. Thank you and will greatly appreciate your honest assessment.
Forgot to mention, I have been using with B & K 200.7 for both speaker type.
The Liuto is a very different speaker from the Grand Piano and offers stronger performance in pretty much all parameters. It's much closer in straight line performance to the $13k Cremona M than the Grand Piano. Bass is more extended, wider dynamic swings, image scaling more profound, treble response smoother. The Revel F52 is one of my favorite speakers and highly competitive with the Liuto-probably not as sweet but even more dynamic with a bit tighter deeper bass. I hope that helps
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Neil: Thanks for your input. Yes, I agree. I have F52 with C-52 center and S30 surrounds, combined with 2 JL audio F113 subs they sound phenomenal compared to Sonus Domus line
that's a terrific stereo/surround system. Congrats. For what it's worth, I've heard very few speakers that reproduce a concert grand piano as well as the the F52. It's one of the best values in all of the high end. but you already know that.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
The Tower then. A three-way vented box loudspeaker, its shape is optimised for excellent stiffness to eliminate resonance and standing waves. Spec-wise, frequency response runs from 40Hz to 25kHz with 89dB sensitivity, crossover points of 350Hz to 3,000Hz, nominal impedance of 8ohms and power handling of 40W to 250W without clipping. The Liuto Tower retails at £3,500 per pair.
I was hoping that you might be close to providng a more in depth review of the Liuto speakers. I am considering these speakers as well as the VA Concert's. Any thoughts on that would be helpful and appreciated.
Jack,
Look for my SF Liuto review in the next Issue of TAS, 199. Long story short, I think it's a terrific speaker and perhaps the best SF speaker, dollar for dollar in years.
Haven't audtioned the VA Concerts but those are two fine speakers you've winnowed your list down to.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Neil, thank you...I've been away but just saw your response. Looking forward to the full review. When is this expected?
Jack
Jack, Issue 199 should be mailing right about now.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Neil, thank you...downloading as I write this...grazie mille...just what I was waiting for!
Neil, great review and helped seal the deal in my purchase of the Liuto's...I will also be using the setup for my home theater, so was wondering if you thought pairing with Marantz separates (MM8003) would be appropriate.
Thank you,
Jack
Jack,
I've always thought the top flight Marantz seps to be under-rated. Haven't had experience with the new multi-channel amp but keep your eyes peeled for Alan Taffel's review of the Marantz UD9004 paired with an SC-7S2 for the front L/R and two SC-11S1 for the side and rear LR. This will be Alan's take on a multichannel music-only system. Should be interesting.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
How does it compare to the SF Toy line? They talk about how nice the Toy is for Home Theater as well as in stereo.
M5,
The Toy line is really not comparable to Liuto either in cost or purpose. It's a more minimalist line geared for lifestyle/HT and desktop. That being said, I love the concept. I'm sure it sounds terrific but will have greater limits as regards dynamics, extension and output.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Neil,
In your opinion would a bel canto ref500 class D amp mate well with the floorstanding Liuto?
Mike
lowkey37,
I haven't spent any appreciable listening time with the BC but I was quite impressed in the way it drove the TAD Reference One at Rocky Mountain a couple months ago-this was in a huge room too. While the Sf is no TAD they are both warmer, fuller systems with true bass extension. For the record Class D topology hasn't made it onto my short list of favorite amps but there's no denying that in this particular setting the BC performed more than capably.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
It is apperent surfing these sites and reading about high end audio that i have been living in musical darkness and poverty. All of my money has been vested in sound gear for mobile appllications. Now that i am retiring and selling the DJ farm, I'm looking to get caught up.
Recently I found myself in a soundroom occupied by a pair of B&W 802Ds. To say i was blown away from a sound and cost experience would be an understatement. How far is the gap between the georgious SF Liuto and B&W 802Ds? Because i would rather be happy about spending 5K verses regretting not spending the12K.
Thanks!
Neil,
How would you compare the Liuto to a 3-way speaker such as paradigm signature s6 or s8? Also, Do you think the Liuto series would make for a good sounding home theater? I've noticed the matching Liuto center is pretty small, just wondering if it could keep up with the floorstanders?
Thanks for the post-both Paradigms are fine speakers. the Paradigm's tend to be a little more dry, and very dynamic. the Liuto will likely be a bit more full even plump in the midbass, smoother in the highs and have a certain richness through the mids that seems to be a trademark of Sf speakers. Ideally you'll be able to hear both prior to making a decision. In terms of multichannel, the Liuto Smart is designed for center and surround duties. It's been voiced to match the Liuto floorstander (Sonus probably considers this model will appeal more to stereo-only listeners) and stand mount. In size, it more closely approximates the compact Liuto but I'm sure it would perform well with either.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
I finally had the opportunity to hear the Liutos in an ideal environment. The highs and lows were better than expected. They filled the room nicely and imaged well, but the mid-range was somewhat dissapointing.
We played a good mix of music (Pink Floyd Money, Steveie Ray Vaughn, Miles Davis, Dave Mathews, and Alicia Keys) but it was the Alisha Keys Empire State of Mind track that killed it for me. The speakers did not do her wonderful voice justice. To be fair, i had a cold and will paying them another visit in the next week or so when I am 100%. But i fear the same verdict.
Oh well, I will have to do more field research. There are worse activities. Any other speaker suggestions in this price range?
Neil,
I asked how the toy compared, I really wanted know how the Liuto would do in a Theater environment. I enjoy music as well but a lot of your comments have to do with the amount of time devoted to music as well as HT. I watch more movies/TV then listen to music. The Toy review done by another magazine said it was a hard system to return. Your review was great but didn't have much to say about the monitors or the smart, or the entire set up of Liuto's. Is there a review out there on them in a HT environment. I know they are twice the price but if they are twice as good I'll but the Luito's.
Thanks in advance
Blaine
Since I haven't reviewed a full Toy multi-channel system in a HT context which is where I presume you're going with this I can only express what I've heard at shows. The Liuto is a better speaker-it has superior and in some cases bigger drivers, a more sophisticated x-over and more robust and better finished enclosures. They are more dynamic, smoother on top and more extended in the low frequencies as well. Flat out more musical. And the Liuto Smart can be adapted for any of the 7 channels of a HT rig. Not possible with the Toy center. That being said the Toy will save you mondo money and is much better than half as good. Just don't expect the kind of refinement or slam of the Liuto. So, If I was enjoying primarily multichannel HT I'd be jazzed to have a Toy system. For mostly music however (the ultimate barometer of sound quality) the Liuto hands down.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
I had the pleasure of comparing the Toy to the Liuto for a few hours this past weekend. I have to agree, the Liuto is hands down a better speaker. It's range is incredible; it is higher, lower, and smoother. I am sure in an HT environment they would be superior to the Toy. I appreciate your time and reviews.
Neil,
I'm sure you hear this a lot but you're absolutely right. I had a chance to demo the Toy and Liuto side by side for a few hours. I took the wife along to see what she thought and hands down she liked the Liuto too. They are far more musical. They were higher and lower and all around smoother. Thank you for your time and reviews.
Neil, I'm sure you hear this a lot but, you're absolutely right. I had a chance to do a side by side for a few hours of the Liuto's and Toy's. I brought my wife along and she agreed the Liuto sounded better all around. I'm sure if they are that musical they will be incredible in a HT environment as well. As always, keep up the good work. Thank you for your time and your reviews.
Neil, I had the chance to compare the Toy to the Liuto side by side for a few hours last weekend. You're right, Liuto hands down. They are very smooth, higher, and lower then the toy. If they are as impressive in a Theater environment one can't go wrong. Thanks for your time and reviews.
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