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Sonus Faber Guarneri
Tradition meets Innovation
An homage to Giuseppe Guarneri, the Italian luthier of the Golden Age of violin making. The Guarneri speakers pay tribute to his precision, craftsmanship, and devotion to music.
UNPARALLELED ARTISTRY AND SOUND
The original Guarneri was the first high-fidelity speaker with a cabinet structure inspired by the lute. Maintaining what has become a signature design of Sonus faber, our Research and Development team has continued to advance Guarneri with every new generation.
BRINGING SOUND TO LIFE
Guarneri maintains Sonus faber’s commitment to classic artisanship that harnesses the power of innovation. The fifth generation Guarneri introduces a groundbreaking new midwoofer that reduces resonance and delivers nuanced acoustic detail. Utilizing new crossover technology, the midwoofer lowers the noise floor and eliminates background noise, delivering three-dimensional sound with the timing and layers of a live performance.
ICONIC SONUS FABER DESIGN
Guarneri G5 unites Sonus faber’s most iconic materials and finishes.
GUARNERI STAND
The Guarneri stand, with its sleek curved design in carbon fiber and aluminum, is crafted exclusively for the Guarneri speaker from the Homage collection.
MORE FROM THE HOMAGE COLLECTION
TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN
The most detailed artisanship meets upgraded patented technology and iconic Sonus faber design queues on the latest generation of Guarneri.
MIDWOOFER
An integral component of Guarneri’s evolution, the fifth generation midwoofer has been optimized for phenomenal control. The pristine neodymium motor system and new tuning frequency are designed to deliver powerful sound free from distortion.
PHASE COHERENT CROSSOVER
Phase Coherent Crossover is designed to deliver immersive, three-dimensional sound throughout the room. The hand soldered high-end custom spec capacitors and inductors create sonic clarity while handling high power levels and lowering the noise floor.
DAMPED APEX DOME TWEETER
A standard soft dome tweeter's apex anti-phase behavior is responsible for early high-frequency roll-off. The D.A.D. tweeter ensures better high-frequency reproduction by dampening the apex of the silk soft dome tweeter, avoiding anti-phase behavior. The silk-dome tweeter echoes the precision and musicality of Giuseppe Guarneri's instruments, contributing to the speakers’ clear and harmonious audio quality.
STEALTH ULTRAFLEX
Thanks to its design, the Stealth Ultraflex— functioning as the exponential section of the duct — improves the aerodynamic flow of the air stream emitted by the reflex ducts and is an integral part of the system. The extruded aluminum parts give further structural rigidity to the cabinet and now come in a beautiful deep gray brushed aluminum finish.
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Professional Reviews 90/100
Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
90/100
Build Quality
95/100
Value for Money
85/100
The Guarneri blends a glorious midrange with pinpoint imaging, casting a richly layered, three-dimensional soundstage from an exquisitely finished compact cabinet. TONEAudio MAGAZINE found its tonal saturation, low-level resolution and expressive handling of voices and acoustic instruments especially compelling. A refined high-end monitor for carefully matched two-channel systems.
What Reviewers Are Saying
Pros
Glorious, tonally saturated midrange makes voices and acoustic instruments especially expressive.
Exceptional pinpoint imaging and layered soundstage extend convincingly beyond the speaker boundaries.
Exquisite lute-shaped cabinet, multilayer lacquer finish, and supplied carbon-fiber/stainless-steel stands deliver standout craftsmanship.
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Cons
Reaches its full bass performance and resolution only with a high-quality, sufficiently powerful amplifier; budget integrated amps are not an ideal match.
Careful placement, particularly in a modest-sized room, is needed to achieve the most coherent imaging and bass balance.
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 90/100
The Guarneri is described as delivering an unusually large, refined and highly resolved sound from a compact monitor. Its strongest reported qualities are a glorious, tonally saturated midrange and exceptionally precise three-dimensional imaging, though it rewards careful placement and a high-quality amplifier.
Bass
85/100
The reviewer says the Guarneri can bring much of the larger Sonus Faber sound to a small cabinet, and notes that modest-room placement adds useful low-frequency room gain. Extracting its best bass performance requires a quality, sufficiently powerful amplifier, so it is not presented as an effortless match for budget electronics.
Mid
95/100
The critical midband is called "glorious," continuing Sonus Faber's established reputation for tonal saturation and expressive vocal reproduction. The reviewer found the balance of voice and piano especially engaging, suggesting a richly communicative and natural-sounding presentation.
Treble
86/100
The review reports greater extension at the frequency extremes and improved retrieval of low-level detail compared with earlier generations. There is little direct comment on treble tone or long-term brightness, although the overall description points to an open and resolving top end.
Soundstage Imaging
96/100
Imaging is a standout: the slim baffle is said to produce panel-like coherence and "pin-point imaging." The reviewer describes instruments and voices occupying stable, layered positions beyond the speaker boundaries, while a modest-sized room is recommended for the most coherent three-dimensional presentation.
Dynamics
91/100
During demanding listening, the Guarneri is said to sail through the material with convincing musical ease. That result was achieved with exceptionally powerful Pass monoblocks, and the reviewer stresses that the speaker still benefits from substantial amplifier quality and power.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
95/100
The lute-shaped cabinet is presented as an integral part of Sonus Faber's acoustic approach rather than mere decoration. The reviewer calls the cabinetry and finish fine art, singling out the multilayer lacquer for exceptional depth, smoothness and luster; the supplied stainless-steel and carbon-fiber stands also receive praise.
Value for Money
85/100
The review cites an asking price just under $16,000 per pair including the dedicated stainless-steel and carbon-fiber stands, and notes that it is lower than the preceding Guarneri. It praises the speaker's beauty and sound, but offers limited direct comparison with competing stand-mount designs at this price.
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Authorized dealers for Sonus Faber Guarneri
- 110Hz — online and in-store — Kielce, Województwo świętokrzyskie, Poland (website)
- A Tube High Fidelity — online and in-store — Almere, Flevoland, Netherlands (website)
- Absolute Sound (SG) — online and in-store — Singapore, Singapore (website)
- Acoustic Designs Inc. — in-store — Scottsdale, Arizona, United States (website)
- Ahead Stereo — in-store — Los Angeles, California, United States (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- Anquan — online and in-store — Glika Nera, Greece (website)
- Arctic Audio — in-store — Fargo, North Dakota, United States (website)
- Area 51 Audio Visual Engineering — in-store — Tucson, Arizona, United States (website)
- Area Hifi — online and in-store — L'Eixample, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (website)
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