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Of
Being and Becoming, by Marco Caponera
Forewords
Some
years ago, to be precise in 1996, I ran into the first series
of the Sonus faber Concertino speakers, following a convincing
review by our very own Bebo Moroni (his then magazine, Suono,
showed them up on the cover with a tagline which said something
like "A Concertino for the ages"); those words convinced
many audiophiles, looking for thrills for cheap (not cheap
thrills, hehe) to buy a pair sight unseen, voice unheard,
amongst whom was a friend of mine. This friend of mine brought
home, in fact, a pair of very musical speakers. At the time
I was a broke youngster (now I am a broke adult), DIY addict
out of necessity more than out of passion, and I was green
with envy at my rich (to me!) friend's purchase. Those speakers,
I remember them well, were really good considering their price
range (they cost about 500 Euro then, a price which was raised
following their initial success, to tell the truth): neutral-sounding,
capable of pulling a disappearing act, provided with a relaxed
and thorough mid-range and of a full and well delineated bass
range, certainly more than you could expect from a 13 cm midwoofer
and from their size. For about 500 Euro you could buy a pair
of real hi-fi speakers. And the cabinet was really good too:
lots of wood and leather and a captivating design, worth the
Italian tradition. A complete product, and one which had an
outstanding success.
Today,
Sonus faber don't produce the Concertino anymore, but have
in their catalogue a speaker which is part of a more recent
project line, named "Home". The list price is clear,
if we keep in mind the fact that years have passed we are
in the same price range, but what's changed? Is this another
masterpiece or is it one of those products which are designed
just to capitalise a preceding one's success? Are there enhancements
or have Sonus faber designers stood still? During these latest
years, competitors have caught up (Chario and Opera, just
to name the Italian major ones) and in this price range there
are lots of choices, is it still a good idea to buy a Sonus
faber?
To
these and other questions we are trying to answer here, if
you want to go on reading this ruthless comparison between
the Concertino and the Concertino Home
Build quality
Both
contenders are restrained-looking, building on material and
build quality. At a first examination, the two speakers seem
identical, but differences can be spotted at a closer look.
First of all, the new ones are smaller and less box shaped,
the front and the back panel being sloped to towards the inner
side of the speaker, while the first series was more traditional.
The Home seem to be better suited to bookshelf positioning,
as they are less deep. The binding posts of the second version
are better, but there is a single pair of them (in other words,
no more biwiring or biamping), as there's now on most of Sonus
faber's range. It's possible, in both versions, to fix the
speakers on a stand through a couple of screw-holes on the
bottom (doing so is strongly advisable in fact) And then,
yes… the drivers are completely different, both tweeter and
woofer (see the technical section). Someone will now conclude
that the Concertinos are dead with the first version, and
that the second one are a marketing trick geared at the gullible,
technically ignorant and misinformed. Maybe that's not the
case, why not try and read what's below?!
Listening test
At
first, let's be fair, I was very sceptical: I didn't expect
that the new Concertino Home had the same magic touch of the
first version, I was expecting a marketing-driven, look-alike
product. In fact, fine for the screened version, aimed at
giving the ability to buy a complete, relatively low cost
(3570 Euro, here in their home country, for a set of four
Concertino Home, a Solo center channel and a Gravis sub, so
that's "low cost" for Sonus faber…) home theatre solution,
but the drivers have changed and the fact that the speakers
are similar doesn't account for much, does it? Well, I was
quite wrong, in fact. The Concertino Home are real Sonus faber
speakers, a proof of their continuing search for the excellence
(while certainly not being Cremonas or Guarneris…) They aren't
worlds better than their elder sisters, which are preferable
in some aspects, but they are no slouch, they have a precise
point of view on music reproduction and they aren't obviously
coloured or wrong. The listening rooms and the systems we
deployed to put our speakers to the test have shown both speakers
to be extremely able to adapt to different environments, with
a slight edge for the Home, less influenced by the driving
ability of the amp and easier to partner. Most surprising
to me was the fact that we have here two different products,
which, though while being different in their interpretation
of music, give the same impression of no listening fatigue
and refined and detailed reproduction, again with a slight
edge in favour of the newer pair, due to the better quality
of their drivers. The parameter where the elder sisters are
preferable is tonal balance, a fact which, in my opinion,
reverses the final outcome. In fact, the main qualities of
the elder pair are their perfect tonal balance and their crystalline
transparency. You could say that the new ones are more detailed,
precise and dynamic, but all of this fades away compared with
the sheer style of the old ones. Further, the old ones, if
positioned well far away from the walls, have a deeper, rounder
and better controlled bass and a great soundstage. The younger
sisters aren't exactly slouches, but they are a little bit
outshined in these parameters. High frequency extension is
quite similar; the new tweeter, which seems to be a really
good component, is a little bit more detailed. Where the Home
suffer, in comparison, is in the bass range, which is purposely
less full, almost restrained, to allow for a positioning closer
to room boundaries, or on a bookshelf, in accordance with
their home-theater orientation. The old ones, on the contrary,
loose precision and speed on the bass and midbass range if
placed too close to a wall. To tell the truth, I preferred
a similar placement for the two speaker pairs, the Home only
slightly closet closer to the front wall, never to the side
ones: I lost a slight bit of bass, but I enjoyed a better,
more credible soundstage.
Summary of the features
To
sum up for the lazy: the first series has a better tonal balance
in all frequency ranges, better bass and midbass reproduction
(to an incredible, for a 13 cm reflex loaded driver, extent),
a little bit slower but more extended and rounder, a better,
deeper soundstage. A complete speaker, without a real competitor,
even in much higher price ranges. No longer available as factory
new. The Home series is more efficient, can be driven harder,
is more informative, more palpable, has a forward but unfatiguing
midrange (perfect for Home Theatre, the sub can do its job
without superimposing to the main speakers); better and screened
drivers, better crossover components and binding posts, and
is easier to interface (they can really be driven by everything,
even by laughably low power SET amplifiers). Vinyl, for its
tonal balance, is a perfect partner. A very versatile and
enjoyable speaker, flawlessly built, a sure value.
Summing
up
An
interesting concept to put at the feet (or at the pedestal)
of our speakers might be that of Being and Becoming. The Being
would be the Concertino (first series), with their unshielded
drivers, which were aimed at the audiophiles of the Nineties,
who valued their audio systems and had no concept of audio-video
convergence. The Concertino Home are a mature product, with
their shielded drivers and their multi-purpose design. They
look at the wide Home Theatre and multimedia market; they
should be seriously taken into consideration by those who
look for a convergent, video and audio, system, because they
would assure years of listening pleasure. They would thus
be the Becoming, the Becoming versatile: high versatility,
aiming at an enlargement of their usage more than at an enlargement
of their market. It's impossible, to me, to choose a winner,
personal taste is the main factor here; what's sure is that
this is a product which has been intelligently kept up to
date, both technologically and commercially. If the number
of Concertino Home sold to date are a hint, the second series
is on the road to match the success of the older one: good
luck…
1/2>>>
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