Alan Sircom reviewed our Lumina III on Hi-Fi +. The Lumina collection is giving us satisfaction and recognition. The Lumina project has been a challenge from the very beginning, but the final result we have done together embodies the soul of Sonus faber.

The reasonable price might suggest that the attention to detail is lower compared to the rest of the Sonus faber catalogue, but this is not true: “So, what you have instead is a very nicely-finished and good-looking loudspeaker, with great lines but in the more traditional rectangular box design. In this case a nicely finished black floorstanding box with a contrasting flat front baffle finished in one of three elegant designs.”

The Lumina line inherits the advanced technology of the higher-end models in our catalogue:” Lumina uses the company’s signature drivers throughout, drawing inspiration from units in higher-end models in the Sonus faber line-up… Lumina III also retains the use of Sonus faber’s patented ‘Paracross’ crossover technology… This is all trickle-down technology from considerably more expensive Sonus faber designs.”

The reputation of a powerful, dynamic and easy pace:

”Sonus faber has a reputation for making loudspeakers that sound as good as they look; sometimes sounding a bit too ‘nice’ in the process, with an indistinctness and warmth in the lower midrange. In fairness, many love this kind of sound, but those who want a bit of pep and pace to the sound often think they should look elsewhere. Recent designs have challenged that perception, and the Lumina III is very much cut from the same nu-Sonus cloth. This is a far more exuberant design; not quite ‘boisterous’ and far from ‘uncontrolled’ but more direct and forward sounding than you might expect from a Sonus faber design.”

The surprising sound:

”The sound is as tight and edgy as the music itself, with a fast and dramatic bass line that is big enough to cope with the live-sounding drums and the head’s down pace of most tracks…there is a lot of refinement and grace to the sound when called for, but there is dynamism and energy when it is not.”

Conclusion:

”Sonus faber’s Lumina III is perhaps an exciting glimpse into the company’s future. It’s hard to make a loudspeaker look good, sound good, be made in the West and not cost a King’s Ransom, but the brand has cracked the code here…Lumina III is capable of playing rough music without ever sounding rough round the edges itself, and that’s a welcome addition to the audio canon.”

New features coming in the next few months… stay tuned!

Read the full review here.