Award winner
Find at
The range of speakers produced by Sonus faber is quite deceptive. With all the comments about artisan craftsmanship and ‘Artisan Sound’ it’s easy to think the speakers themselves leave the factory (or ‘workshop’) in tiny quantities. The reality is that Sonus faber makes a lot of speakers - and does so across both a wide selection of ranges and with a surprising number of different models in those ranges.
Take the Sonetto G2 range. There are five stereo models (of which this Sonetto I G2 is the entry point and the smaller of two standmounts), supported by both surround- and centre-channel options - a rare thing in 2025. The I G2 is a two-way design that shares a tweeter with the rest of the range (including the range-topping V G2 which turned up in support of the McIntosh MSA5000 and did a fine job of it). This is an example of Sonus faber’s ‘Damped Apex Dome’ technology that runs a frame over the top of the 29mm soft dome to better control its movements. The result is a cleaner, more precise top end.
This tweeter hands over at 2.1kHz (you don’t need to be too invested in crossover points, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ number here - it’s largely in keeping with what amny manufacturers go with as a crossover point in a speaker of this size) to a 127mm mid/bass driver. This makes use of design thinking Sonus faber first used on more expensive models, and includes an aluminium demodulation ring that reduces distortion from the voice coil and an ‘organic’ basket that is asymmetric to improve its resonant behaviour. It’s easy to keep thinking Sonus faber speakers are old tech in a pretty cabinet, but that really isn’t the case.
The cabinet is rather lovely though. It has the classic lute-shaped profile when viewed from above, and features ‘Intono’ technology to control the flow of air to the port. The port itself, like the floorstanding models, exits at the bottom of the cabinet against a plinth. This means that the distance it works to is fixed, and should help the I G2 be more flexible in terms of positioning as well. The measurements the Sonus faber presents to the world are 4-ohm impedance and 86dB/w sensitivity. This means the I G2 isn’t the hardest speaker to drive, but will benefit from an amp with reasonably healthy current delivery for it to deliver its best.
Sound Quality
This section starts with a confession. As far as I am concerned, all the greatest Sonus faber speakers, going back decades, have had two drivers. Sure, they’ve made some good ones with more - some very good ones, even, but their true stars have been two-way designs. Nothing about my time with the Sonetto I G2 has done anything to change that belief. I liked the V G2 a great deal, but I would go so far as to say I love the I G2.
So what is it doing to elicit this feeling? The one word answer is ‘energy.’ All Sonus faber speakers are quite a lot less pipe-and-slippers than some people would have you believe, but this one positively radiates get-up-and-go. There is no tempo or time signature that you can throw at them that makes them sound anything other than invigoratingly fast and cohesive. Sometimes this perception is because there physically isn’t that much bass, but that really isn’t the case here. The Sonus faber has superb low end presence for a speaker of this size- easily bettering the claimed 52Hz figure in this test space, and this bass extension is both clean and well integrated with the frequencies above it.
Those upper registers don’t let the side down either. Good midrange is something that Sonus faber has done well for a very long time, and this is no exception to that proficiency. Voices and instruments are unfailingly convincing in terms of both how they sound and how they relate to other information in the music being played.
Something that is readily apparent in these newest Sonetto models is that the cabinet is significantly less audible than in some older designs. There is less noise from the bass port and less outright energy from the cabinet itself, which helps to give the impression of drivers suspended in free space.
The handover from midbass to tweeter is seamless - and it’s here that the nearest thing to a weakness in the I G2’s performance can be experienced. The top end on offer is detailed, airy and no less tonally accurate than the midrange, but a little care will need to be taken in partnering the Sonus faber to ensure that it doesn’t tip over into being a fraction bright - particularly when less than brilliantly recorded material is played. Sonus faber is walking a narrow line here - if the tweeter didn’t have this energy, some of the overall vim and vigour of the speaker would be lost, but it will need a little bit of care to extract the best from it.
That effort is worthwhile. There is something hugely compelling about a speaker that has the combination of invigorating speed and tonal richness this one does. It’s a fine partner for a huge spread of different musical styles and very little I play on them sounds anything other than hugely enjoyable. One last (and, it must be said, quite interesting) facet of the performance is that, for what is a relatively compact speaker, the Sonetto I G2 is perfectly happy to handle larger spaces, combining that healthy bass extension with an effortless ability to go loud when needed.
Living with the Sonetto I G2
There’s a minor bit of accounting to go through when we talk about the Sonetto I G2 costing £2,125 in the UK. This is true as far it goes, but it doesn’t include the rather lovely stands that appear in some of the pictures. This stand is designed for the job and the Sonetto G2 standmount models physically bolt to it, which helps both performance and stability. So far so good - but I’m obliged to point out that a pair costs no less than £975. All of a sudden, the Sonus faber isn’t a £2,125 speaker, but a £3,100 one. You can of course use any stand you like - I did under test, and they worked perfectly well. But in the same way that a welly isn’t the most common partner for a little black dress, it doesn’t look quite the same.
The rest of the news is rather good, though. The Sonetto I G2 is available in three finishes: Gloss Black, Wenge and the Walnut of my review sample, and all three are genuinely lovely. The speaker manages to feel like furniture, and offers a standard of fit and finish that, even judged at a price where the stands are in play, is more than up to the standard of rivals.
As noted, so long as a modicum of care is taken with your partnering equipment, the I G2 is a simple enough speaker to drive. This isn't a demanding bit of kit and it further builds on this by also being pretty unfussy about placement too. It might be very pretty but it’s also pretty viceless.
Conclusion
Sonus faber excels at standmounts, and the Sonetto I G2 encapsulates everything the company does so well. It has a combination of liveliness, realism and engagement that is very hard not to love - and that’s before we consider the rather attractive appearance.
Listening notes
Bonobo The North Border
This rich ‘organic electronica’ shows off the Sonus faber’s hard-hitting low end and tonal richness to fine effect. It can often sound fractionally disjointed - but here it’s a cohesive masterpiece
The Mission Children
One of the stranger ends of the 1980s, the Sonus faber handles this dense and congested tracks with aplomb, giving it the space to reveal that it’s a very good listen.
Ray LaMontagne Monovision
A sumptuous recording full of lovely musical moments that lets the Sonus faber deliver a performance that has you revelling in quite how compelling they can be. It’s hard to make this album sound better.
If you want a serious hi-fi speaker that will look the part in a space where aesthetics matter, the Sonus faber gets an awful lot right. Very little can keep it honest sonically, and most of the things that can don’t look anywhere near as good.
I used a Naim Supernait 3 for most of my testing (Naim and Sonus faber might not be a partnership that leaps to mind when you think of your choices, but I’ve found it works rather well) and it has delivered the current the speakers need without provoking that slightly forward top end. The brilliantly talented Cyrus 40 AMP would also be a fine choice that handles most of your decoding needs at the same time.
