Sonus faber Maxima Amator Floorstanding Speaker

The two-way design has been a strong piece of brand identity for Sonus faber products. In general, hi-fi enthusiasts deem the two-way loudspeaker system as one of the purest systems achievable. For this reason, the Maxima Amator was a fun project, serving as the glorification of successfully merging two speakers to achieve a unique emotion with the maximum representation of the “Voice of Sonus faber”– a goal to achieve natural sound.

Solid wood is a living material that continuously changes over time. Because of this, the Maxima Amator’s large cabinet had to be meticulously studied and fine-tuned to avoid the risk of deformation or breakage as the wood ages. Sonus faber was able to overcome this limit thanks to modern wood drying methods, use of internal structural ribs fixed with flexible glues, and new CNC methods that allowed them to maintain a tighter tolerance compared to that of the past.

After the cabinet’s studies and the driver selection, Sonus faber focused on defining the perfect tonal balance of the project. The result is the IFF Crossover “Interactive Fusion Filtering,” the perfect sonic performance beyond their proven classic implementations. This is the heart and the brain of Maxima Amator that allows Sonus faber to obtain a total fusion of the two drivers for an extremely natural and fluid sound reproduction.

The final step of the long design process of Maxima Amator was, as always, the “tuning by ear.” Beside the technique, the R&D team relied on the listening experience and the emotions of music, because Sonus faber is made of this: passion for knowledge, appreciation of beauty and commitment to Italian tradition and craftsmanship.

The Maxima Amator speakers are the same as those used for Electa Amator III. Characterized by D.A.D. (Damped Apex Dome) technology, the 28mm twitter features a Neodymium magnetic motor system and is implemented with a solid spruce wood acoustic labyrinth rear chamber. The 180mm mid-woofer has an air-dried membrane made of cellulose pulp and natural fibers, mounted on the Sonus faber original die-cast aluminum basket. Thanks to the new crossover network, the two interconnected frequencies give life to a homogenous and fluid sound reproduction.

The solid wood cabinet is divided into three separate chambers. The first being the acoustic volume, optimized using software node stimulators and a brand-new damping material made of three layers: two external layers of recycled carbon fiber and one layer of silica fiber in-between. The second chamber is filled with inert material that increases weight, lowers the center of gravity of the system and increases the stability of the structure as well as minimizing its spurious resonances. The third chamber is entirely dedicated to hosting the crossover, which is therefore shielded from any possible vibration generated by the speakers in the acoustic chamber.

The three models’ cabinets are developed from the harmonious combination of various elements. The undisputed focus of Maxima Amator is the solid walnut wood illuminated by the brass inserts and enriched by the hand-applied leather that covers the front and rear panels. Another constant with Amator models is the natural stone that Sonus faber has traditionally used for bases’ construction to guarantee structural rigidity. This is a clear tribute to the Electa Amator stands, but also to the grandiose Guarneri Homage and Guarneri Memento. Maxima Amator leaves the classic white Carrara marble variant to boast the Port Saint Laurent quality, a darker, warm and shaded variant of marble.

The completely new crossover network circuitry design forgoes the classical first order series iteration, to allow the two drivers to work in a maximally interconnected and organic way. The IFF Crossover “Interactive Fusion Filtering” reimagines the main principles of the well-known Paracross Topology and features non-academic transfer functions based on Sonus faber’s accelerated progressive slopes. Meticulous attention was paid to the choice of components: Sonus faber chose Litz Wire Coils impregnated in wax to eliminate vibrations, capacitors with highest quality polypropylene base film combined with thick aluminum metallization and anti-inductive resistors. The final choice is the result of long-listening and testing sessions to guide perfect balance.

Sonus faber wanted to show the world the soul of Maxima Amator. For this reason, as the solid wood rear chamber of the tweeter is visible from the reflex port, the crossover is visible on the back of the speaker behind the terminals. This design choice encourages the listener to peek inside the product as well as the entire Heritage collection invites to experience the purest essence of the Sonus faber brand and sound.

• SYSTEM: 2-way floorstanding vented loudspeaker system
• LOUDSPEAKERS: Tw: H28 XTR-04 DAD™, Ø 28 mm / 1.1 in; Mw: MW18XTR-04, Ø 180 mm / 7 in
• CROSSOVER: 2.100 Hz
• FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 35 Hz – 35.000 Hz
• SENSITIVITY: 88 dB SPL (2,83V/1 m)
• NOMINAL IMPEDANCE: 4 ohm
• SUGGESTED AMPLIFIER POWER OUTPUT: 25 - 125W , without clipping
• SPEAKERS DIMENSIONS (HXWXD) & WEIGHT: 44.1 x 11.8 x 13.8 in / 83.7 lb each – net weight