If you're serious about music and happen to have $750,000 burning a hole in your pocket, Sonos Faber may have just the speakers for you. The Sonos Faber Suprema promise to push the boundaries of "audio excellence", and each system will be built to order; if you have three quarters of a million dollars handy, you can order yours today, because they've just been unveiled at the huge consumer electronic show, CES 2024.
There are two lute-shaped models here, the Suprema 2.1 at $680,000 / £625,000 and the Suprema 2.2 at $750,000 / £695,000. The former has two main columns, one subwoofer and one electronic crossover and the latter has two subwoofers for even more low-end thump.
What does a $750,000 speaker system deliver?
These speakers are the same price as the Magico M9 TechRadar was invited to listen to in a chic London dealership, so even at this aspirational price-point, there's competition. And let's not forget, Magico's cheaper 'mid-range' S3 proposition is also a talented beast.
The main column here is inspired by the shape of the lute, while the subs' elliptical shape has been inspired by Stradivari violins. The materials used include carbon fiber, wood and CNC-milled solid aluminum, and there's a special leather front panel that uses chromium-free tanning.
Each main column is a 4/5 way system with eight front-firing speakers and two rear-firing drivers. There's a new "Camilla" mid-range with a cellulose pulp diaphragm, a new tweeter with a treated silk dome, and a new super tweeter, again with treated silk. Inside you'll find recycled cork to shape the sound further, and the separate subwoofers have twin 38cm transducers with carbon fiber membranes and neodymium magnet to deliver undistorted low-end up to 16Hz.
The crossover filters have been designed to deliver "the perfect tonal balance and most rigorous control of the acoustic phases", and the electronic crossover is dual mono and fully balanced with 100% analog phase cutting and control circuits. The power supply is encased in solid aluminum and the audio signal is "guarded in a precious lacquered wooden enclosure".
As you've probably guessed, you can't just pop down to Best Buy and pick up a set: the Sonus Faber Suprema will be "available on request" through authorised dealers from this month.
The revered Italian audio specialist makes one of the best wireless speakers we've ever heard – specifically the Sonus Faber Omnia – but the company also makes glorious active wireless bookshelf speakers in stunning classic clothing and 21-speaker automotive solutions for the Maserati Grecale, for starters.
Are they the most expensive proposition at CES? Possibly. To put the ticket price into context, the new Tesla Model 3 costs around $45,990 – so you can buy 16.3 of them for this money. Or, you could buy eight sets of Wilson's brutalist Audio Alexia V speakers (which start at around $91,069) which is interesting food for thought.
Do I still want a set? I do. The Sonus Faber Suprema 2.2, thank you…
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