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Sonus faber is an Italian manufacturer of some of the world’s best speakers. We have Aida on display in Gramophone’s Experience Center, which sounds incredible - but is a performance-oriented speaker more so than a value-oriented speaker. Sonus faber created the Lumina series for listeners who love the Sonus faber sound, but seek more affordable pricing. Today we look at the stunning Lumina 5 Amator, bringing old-world craftsmanship, plus modern speaker technology, to affordable prices.

A lot of technology that makes Sonus faber’s $10,000 and up speakers, like Amati G5 and Guarneri G5, sound so good is found in the Lumina Series. Lumina V Amator is an up-scaled Lumina V. It looks great, with incredible styling for this price range; slender, with a simple squared design that makes it easier to manufacture, lowering your cost. The highly polished front-baffle veneer, available in glossy red, wenge, or walnut, is angled at 45 degrees to the drivers. Lumina V Amator’s appearance is stunning.  

This is a floor-standing speaker, featuring the famous Sonus faber DAD (Damped Apex Dome) tweeter made of hand-coated soft silk. A tiny re-directing billet at the apex of the dome enables you to hear smooth, clear, clean highs without shrillness. A single 5-inch midrange driver and twin 6 1/2-inch woofers are made of natural fibers and wood pulp, in a sandwich configuration, for fast, tight response and low distortion.  

How hard is it to drive a Lumina V Amator? It’s relatively easy, an 89 dB efficient speaker, so a modestly powered amp will drive these to good levels. It is a nominal 4-ohm speaker, so be sure to pick a quality amplifier - not necessarily an expensive amp, but one that can handle a nominal 4-ohm load. Sonus faber rates them to handle up to 300 watts per channel.

The crossover network is where the Lumina V Amator sound differs from the existing (and solid value) Lumina V. Sonus faber engineers learned much from their Homage speaker project, and in Lumina Amator V are bringing some of that knowledge down to more popular pricing. The crossover points in the V Amator are higher than the V, offering a more open-sounding midrange, with a wide, deep soundstage that really brings the musicians to your living room. 

Our initial listening impressions were lots of fun. Tremors, an album by the British musician SOHN, has many tracks with a full and rich bass sound. The bass lines came through beautifully on V Amator - clear and tight.  The Tenichi Sunoda Big Band recording of Dave Brubeck’s jazz classic, “Take 5”, has an amazing drum sound. It is crisp and clear, but on an artificially bright speaker, the drums might sound exaggerated.  With V Amator, the drumming was up-front but never dominated the other instruments - a commentary on the excellent crossover network.  

Diana Krall’s cover of Burt Bacharach’s “The Look of Love” sounded beautiful, with the instruments blending nicely with her smooth vocals. Aaron Neville’s cover of “Everybody Plays the Fool” had those intricate vocal harmonies making us want to take Lumina V Amator home with us.

What type of music is this speaker most suited to? Off-axis response was very good, with lots of clarity in the midrange (vocals, especially) and high end. Listen to acoustic guitar or other solo instruments - open yet not fatiguing - and there’s plenty of solid, detailed bass energy. That makes Lumina V Amator a great all-rounder, for pretty much any type of music. It’s not a classical speaker, or a rock n roll, or jazz or funk speaker, but all of those. 

Is Lumina V Amator worth a roughly 17% upcharge vs. the original Lumina V? Keeping in mind that “only you and your wallet can truly decide”, at Gramophone we think the amazing finish alone makes it worth at least seeing these before you buy the original. In addition, V Amator simply sounds better. Midrange and high-end sounds are better integrated, the soundstage is broader and deeper, and the bass is slightly better too.    

We’d love to play these for you or help you find something that suits your situation better.  If you can, stop by Gramophone, or call us to arrange an audition. Bring some of your favorite albums, and we’ll help you pick a speaker product that is right for you - maybe this one.  

-Joe Finn