Sonus Faber Duetto

Sonus Faber Duetto

The sound of Sonus Faber – without the wires

Italy’s Sonus Faber dipped their toes into the wireless Hi-Fi world with the excellent Omnia speaker, and with the Duetto they are launching their first wireless stereo speaker set.

Sonus Faber Duetto Highlights

• Classic Sonus Faber design and sound
• Streaming from online and local sources
• Analog input with phono stage option
• Roon Ready certified
• 350 watts of power per speaker

Sonus Faber have been a bit slow out of the gate when it comes to wireless speakers, and active speakers in general. But maybe they don't need to be first, but simply be the best? - Whether this is the case with the Sonus Faber Duetto, there is of course no single, true answer, but there is no doubt that with this pair of speakers, they have combined all of their know-how and experience, to create something really special. Where their strength is indisputable is in speaker development, where they have decades of experience in everything from budget-friendly two-way speakers to bank account-annihilating High-End floorstanders. And we certainly mustn't forget what a lot of people associate Sonus Faber with - namely an incredibly beautiful design, where the visual experience is paramount, and materials are top shelf. Naturally, this also applies to Duetto, which with its furniture-quality elegance, slides into the living room as a natural part of the decor.

The Duetto is classic Sonus Faber - in sound and design

The lute-shaped cabinet design is nothing new, but a tried-and-tested form at Sonus Faber, which uses it in e.g., Sonetto series, with great success. The design contributes to a natural sound balance and musicality and breaks up resonances that can arise inside the cabinet. It is Sonus Faber's signature sound, or what they call Natural Sound. Since the Duetto is an active and wireless speaker, some features and technologies have been added that have not previously been seen on speakers from the Italian manufacturer, as their back-catalog only consists of passive speakers.

On the leather-clad top of one of the speakers, you will find SENSO, which is Sonus Faber's touch-sensitive control. We saw it for the first time on the Sonus Faber Omnia, and it both works well and looks great with its pulsating light and user-friendly controls. The back of the speakers is also adorned with something you won’t find on a passive speaker, namely a heatsink, which, in usual Sonus Faber style, is of course neatly shaped to fit the cabinet, in a nice, organic style. Even though you will probably rarely look at it, it is visually pleasing, which emphasizes Sonus Faber's eye for detail.

With or without the wires

Functionally, the Sonus Faber Duetto is a comprehensive speaker that offers fantastic sound experiences from a variety of different sources. The advantage of a speaker of this kind is that you can ditch your amplifier and just keep the sources you need. In principle, you don't need any physical sources, as the Duetto has several streaming functions on board. However, it is possible to connect, for example, a record player, and the RCA input on the back of one speaker is equipped with a phono stage, so you can connect the record player without additional amplification. The phono stage can be disengaged so you can use your own external phono pre-amplifier if you prefer or connect a source that does not need the extra gain and EQ, like a CD player. Additionally, there is also an HDMI input with Audio Return Channel, so you can connect your TV and get a tangible upgrade in sound when watching movies or TV series. If your TV does not have an ARC-compatible output – most newer ones do – it probably has an optical TosLink output, to which you can connect the corresponding input on the Sonus Faber Duetto. If a little extra low end is needed in the sound, regardless of whether it is for music or movies, a powered subwoofer can be set up to supplement the speakers.

Boatloads of streaming options

A top-notch speaker like this, with built-in streaming, is of course obvious to use with one of the available music streaming services. As a starting point, Duetto supports streaming from Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect. If you use another streaming service, you can opt to send the audio via Apple AirPlay, Google Chromecast or – in the absence of the first two – Bluetooth. If you have invested in a Roon server, you can send music directly from it to the Duetto speakers, as they have received a Roon Ready certification. The advantage here is that Roon uses software that is optimized for audio, and it is thus possible to stream in very high quality – both locally stored music, but also from Tidal and Qobuz, which can be set up and integrated into Roon.

The Sonus Faber Duetto is a two-way configuration, fitted with a 1.1” silk-dome tweeter and a 5.25” Neodymium woofer. Each speaker is equipped with two amplifiers, which drive the upper and lower frequency range, with the power benefit of 100 watts class-A/B for the treble and 250 watts class-D for the bass midrange. Duetto reproduces a frequency range from 37 to 30,000Hz.

Stands are not included for this pair of loudspeakers. You'll find the dedicated Duetto stands here