It’s a very mature performer at a
price where rivals all too easily betray a lack of breeding…
I’m sure those elaborately shaped and
angled cabinets play at least some part in the success the Venere 2.5s have
with imaging. Again, they’re not up with electrostatic panels in their ability
to hang voices or instruments in space like specific stars in the night sky,
but still proved very handy at articulating a coherent stereo image and ramming
it out into the room with no apologies made. Jazz is of course a great test for
this, so I donned my black polo neck and sparked up a Silk Cut for John
Coltrane and Johnny Hartman’s My One and Only Love – a seminal early sixties
Impulse offering if you’re of the goatee bearded, Jack Kerouac reading
persuasion. These boxes sure got on this track on the road; the saxophone sound
was sublime, the vocals arresting and the piano a joy.
Generally
this is pretty hard to spot, it’s just when the drummer gives it ten tenths the
Venere 2.5 doesn’t quite go the extra mile
None of this would have been possible of
course without a powerful yet disciplined bass performance. You’d never call it
light – even when carefully positioned the low frequencies announced their
presence on everything I played but it was always enjoyable. There was a
physicality to the proceedings that suited rock and jazz really rather well,
but you might find it a little overpowering in smaller listening rooms, or if
you like the sort of anechoic chamber bass which is ultra-damped. In my room it
was great sumptuous and extended right down to the bottom octaves.
So many floor standers of this size and
price seem to slur the leading edges of new notes and cling on to the fading
remains of the old ones, but you could never say that about these Sonus Fabers.
But neither does the low bass stop and start with the speed of a light emitting
diode. Instead it always feels weighty, and this tends to push the song along
very enjoyable. Grace Jones’ Slave to the Rhythm proved wonderfully fulsome and
powerful sounding, but there was just the teensiest sense of overhand on those
bigger bass notes.
The only other mark on an otherwise
squeaky-clean copybook was the very slight compression you get when the volume
is turned up in anger. At high levels, the dynamic accenting on hard hit snare
drums isn’t quite as explicit as, say, on a similarly priced PMC. Generally
this is pretty hard to spot, it’s just when the drummer gives it ten tenths the
Venere 2.5 doesn’t quite go the extra mile. Again however, as soon as you
remember the price, such criticisms seem churlish…
Sound quality
Although not quite the most forensic or
revealing at the price, this speaker boasts a wonderfully smooth and sumptuous
balance that’s delightful to set ears on, yet still exhaustively imparts the
music embedded in any recording. It’s a very mature performer in a way that’s frankly
unexpected at the price one where many rival all too easily betray their lack
of breeding. Factor in the superlative build, styling, finish and pedigree and
Sonus Faber’s new Venere 2.5 floor standing speaker is pretty hard not to love.
In sight
On test
Sounds Faber claims 89dB sensitivity for
the Venere 2.5, which is about 1dB optimistic according to our noise measure of
88.2dB, averaged for the review pair. The specified nominal impedance of 6 ohms
is also somewhat high given our measured minimum modulus of 3-5ohms, which
indicates that a 4 ohm rating would be more appropriate. But the Venere 2.5 is
nonetheless a relatively easy load to drive with a minimum EPDR (equivalent
peak dissipation resistance, which also takes into account impedance phase
angle) of 2.2 ohms at 90 Hz. Frequency response errors 200 Hz – 20 kHz,
measured on the tweeter axis, were a little high at 
6.4dB and 6.6dB respectively, principally because of narrow notch in output
between 6 kHz and 9 kHz, but careful selection of listening height may reduce
this.
Otherwise the overall response trend is
quite flat before a 3dB plateau in the last audible octave. Bass extension is
commendable at 30 Hz for – 6dB ref 200 Hz, explaining the modest sensitivity
figure. Pair matching was a little disappointing at 4dB. The cumulative spectral decay waterfall shows fast initial
energy decay with only some low-level resonances at treble frequencies.
In
sight
1.
29mm silk dome tweeter gives a smooth sound.
2.
180mm Curv polypropylene mid driver integrated
nicely
3.
180 Curv woofer gives plenty of bass heft
4.
bi-ware-able binding posts are beautifully
finished
5.
Front mounted slot type reflex port moves a lot
of air
6.
Internally ribber, curved cabinet is superbly
finished
How it compares
The princely sum of $3,450 buys you monitor
audio’s superb GX200. This is one of the closet price rivals of the Sonus Faber
Venere 2.5, but you’d never know it listening to the two together…
They’re as different as an Aston Martin DB5
and a Ferrari Daytona, the Italian speaker sounding more exuberant emotionally,
a little more expressive and generally a more engagingly emotional experience.
The British box us and altogether more
measured affair, and if truth be told a good deal more accurate. Bass is more
even and slightly tighter; mid band offers a touch more detail (although the
sound staging can’t quite match that of the Italian), and that gorgeous tweeter
gives the sort of high frequency insight that you just can’t get from something
sporting a cloth done.
Annoyingly though, just simply can’t
ascribe an outright win to either. They’re simply different, the Monitor Audio
being a calming, dry Earl Grey tea to the sweet frothy Cappuccino that is the
Sonus Faber. That’s exactly why – yes that’s right – you need to find a good
dealer and go and listen for yourself, preferably with your own amplifier and
ancillaries. Either way, you’ll end up a happy customer.
Specifications
Product
§ Sonus
Faber Venere 2.5
§ Origin:
Italy/ China
§ Type:
Floor standing loudspeaker
§ Weight:
19.45kg
§ Dimensions:
(W x H x D mm): 340 x 1,107 x 437mm
Features
§ Specified
sensitivity: 89dB
§ Specified
impedance: 6hms
§ 29mn
silk dome tweeter
§ 180mm
Curv midrange unit
§ 180mm
Curv
§ Bass
unit
§ Distributor:
absolute sounds
§ Website:
absolutesounds.com
Our verdict
§ Sound
quality: 5/5
§ Value
money: 5/5
§ Build
quality: 5/5
§ Ease
of drive: 4.5/5
§ Like:
Smooth, polished tonal balance; expansive sound staging; overall musicality;
superlative build and styling
§ Dislike:
Bass prominent, especially in smaller rooms
§ We
say: Beautifully presented, great sounding affordable floor stander
§ Overall:
5/5
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