Sonus faber was founded in 1983 by Franco Serblin in the Veneto, in northern Italy, and its loudspeakers are still built by hand in Arcugnano, near Vicenza. The name is Latin for handcrafted sound, and the company has always treated a loudspeaker as an instrument. The region's violin makers are its reference: the Homage loudspeakers are named for Guarneri, Amati and Stradivari, and the lute-shaped cabinet that Sonus faber made its own comes from the same tradition.
Part of the appeal of a Sonus faber is the way it is built. Cabinets are shaped from solid wood and layered staves, stained and varnished by hand and sanded between coats, with leather laid over the baffle. The drive units and crossovers are designed for each model in Arcugnano. The result is a loudspeaker that is as much furniture as equipment, and one that tends to be kept for a long time.
The collections run from Lumina and Sonetto, through Olympica Nova and the Heritage collection, to Homage and Reference. Each step brings a more elaborate cabinet and drive units, but the family character is consistent: natural, warm and refined, with a midrange that suits voices and acoustic instruments particularly well. The Sonetto V and Sonetto VIII are the two models chosen most often at Pearl Audio.
We have known these loudspeakers for more than twenty years. John Loranger was trained in Sonus faber setup by the brand's American distributor, where the class positioned and tuned every model then in the range, and the Concertino, the Cremona and the early Guarneri and Amati Homage all stood in our showroom in the early years of our Sonus faber line. In 2025 John and Tara visited the workshop in Arcugnano and came home struck by how much of each loudspeaker is still made by hand.
That history is told in full, with our photographs from Italy, in Pearl Audio and Sonus faber, and the Sonus faber Library follows individual models through time.
Tell us which models interest you and we will bring them into a listening room for your appointment, with electronics close to your own. We deliver Sonus faber loudspeakers ourselves in the Portland area and position them in your room, which matters more with these than with most: a few inches of placement and toe-in is the difference between a good result and the one the loudspeaker is capable of.
See the Sonus faber loudspeakers we represent, call (503) 222-2599 or arrange an audition.
