For the past four weeks, I’ve been living with a secret. I signed an NDA to borrow a brand-new pair of active wireless speakers that weren’t due for public launch until October 5. For a month, I couldn’t tell anyone about the speakers and I had to cover them with a blanket whenever anyone came to my home.
Thankfully, all that cloak-and-dagger nonsense has ended. I can now tell you about this exciting new pair of active wireless speakers from the luxury Italian audio brand Sonus faber. The Duetto are wireless speakers with a top-quality amplifier that makes connecting alternative audio sources very simple.
The exterior of the Duetto reflects the craft and design of Sonus faber’s years of exquisite speaker styling. The lute-shaped wooden cabinets with their curves feature a custom-designed heatsink that keeps thinks cool, while some clever internal bracing reduces resonance from the cabinet to a minimum. The Duetto speakers have a luxury inlaid leather top, and the main speaker features Sonos faber’s SENSO interface for controlling volume levels, track selection and input source.
The chief designer at Sonus faber is Livio Cucuzza: “Our intention behind expanding into the wireless speaker category is to provide our consumers with the Sonus faber authentic sound quality they know and love combined into one versatile package.
“Duetto is a true Sonus faber stereo system, blending 40 years of premium speaker design, Italian style and materials, modern technology and streaming features.
“Today’s streaming capabilities do not compromise quality but rather offer an even higher quality for an almost infinite choice of music. Place the Duetto in your preferred space, choose your favorite source, close your eyes, and enjoy a one-of-a-kind listening experience.”
Each Duetto speaker has a two-way design with a 0.7-inch tweeter and a 5.25-inch mid-woofer. Both drivers have been designed and developed by Sonus faber’s team of R&D engineers at the company’s Vicenza headquarters in Italy.
The silk dome tweeter features a copper cap emphasizing lower treble frequencies. The overall sound is clear and remarkably smooth, thanks to a waveguide ring that boosts the out-of-axis response. The mid-woofer is constructed from a traditional paper pulp and the surrounding suspension and neodymium magnet ensure the bass frequencies are boosted. The woofer is housed in a new organic basket, which cuts resonance and helps push the extra airflow created by the extended throw driver.
As well as the two drivers in each speaker, each cabinet houses a 100W Class AB amplifier for the tweeter. The mid-woofer is driven by a 205W Class D amplifier that delivers enough power to produce a superbly deep and warm bass response that has to be heard to be believed.
As well as the lute-shaped remote control that ships with the Duetto, Sonus faber has also developed a smartphone app for customizing the settings. The app also works with other Sonus faber wireless speakers like the Omnia, which can be used together around the home for multi-room audio.
The Duetto can handle a range of audio sources, including a TV via HDMI or optical digital input. Vinyl turntables are also catered for with stereo RCA inputs that can be switched between a phono input stage and line-in sensitivity. The main speaker also features an output for an active subwoofer that is automatically recognized via the Duetto setup system.
Connecting the Duetto to a home network can be via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. The system supports the most popular streaming services, such as Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect. Music can be streamed from computers, tablets or smartphones using Apple’s AirPlay 2, Google’s Chromecast and Bluetooth. The Duetto speakers are also certified as Roon-ready.
The wireless system used on the Duetto is UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) technology, which has very low latency and ensures no interference with the wireless connection between the two speakers. There’s no need for a speaker cable to connect the two speakers and there are no passive speaker inputs as the Deutto are strictly wireless. Using UWB, Sonus faber has enabled the Duetto to reproduce a wide frequency range with a high-fidelity sound.
Setting up the Duetto is a straightforward process, although I had a few issues getting the two speakers to talk to each other at first but there is a pairing button that sorts the connection out. The left and right signals of the speakers can be reversed if you want the main speaker with the embedded controls and inputs to be on the right or left side of the room.
The Duetto have an extensive and luscious sound for such a physically compact pair of speakers. These speakers have plenty of volume and a superbly focused soundstage that brings music alive. Active wireless speakers can sound a bit muddy, but the Duetto sound as good as any wired pair of speakers I’ve ever heard thanks to UWB. The sound is classic Sonus faber with all its beautiful warmth in the midrange, a tight and deep bass, plus a sweet treble from those silk dome tweeters.
I tried listening to as wide a range of music as possible during the four weeks I spent with the Duetto and I think these are the best wireless active speakers I’ve reviewed. These are ideal speakers for anyone short on living space but still wants excellent audio quality. The Duetto are ideal for streaming music but can also work with a CD player, vinyl turntable or TV.
Some people might consider $4,000 a little high for active speakers of this size, but you are buying a complete, high-end audio system with superb amplification, impeccable input stages and crossovers that are close to perfect. If you want a little extra bass ( I am not sure it’s even necessary), then the Duetto can handle a powered sub-woofer to provide some extra bottom.
Verdict: The Duetto are a superb pair of wireless active speakers. They are worth every penny and make for an ideal all-in-one audio system perfect for smaller places with no room to house a conventional hi-fi system of separates. I think it’s worth buying the custom-made stands and, if you have any money left over, get yourself a subscription to Tidal and sit back and enjoy all the world’s music in superbly detailed sound. Highly recommended.
Pricing & Availability: The Sonus faber Duetto wireless active speakers are available through authorized Sonus faber dealers from October 2023. The cost is $4,000 / £3,490 per pair. The Duetto stands are available separately at £649 per pair.
More info: sonusfaber.com
Tech Specs:
- Type: 2-way active wireless speakers.
- Construction: Curved vented box.
- Tweeter: Ferrite magnet system with copper cap, Silk dome and dedicated waveguide.
- Woofer: Neodymium magnet system with copper cap and aluminum ring, Long excursion design.
- Crossover: 1,900Hz.
- Frequency response: 37Hz – 30,000Hz.
- Max SPL: 105 dB SPL @1m.
- Amplification: Tweeter 100W Class AB / Woofer: 250W Class D.
- DAC: Sabre AKM.
- Inputs: RCA Line/Phono, Optical, HDMI ARC/eARC.
- Output: Sub-woofer.
- Streaming: Apple AirPlay 2. Google Chromecast, Spotify, Tidal Connect, Roon Ready, Qobuz.
- Bluetooth codec: aptX HD.